Jewish World Review Feb. 11, 2004 / 19 Shevat, 5764

Lloyd Grove

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HE FEELS BAD!; Dick Cheney, still not dead; more


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | NEW YORK — James Brown's marital woes lumbered down the runway Monday morning and took flight for Puerto Rico.

Passengers in the first-class cabin of American Airlines Flight 699, leaving for San Juan from John F. Kennedy Airport, were treated to the less-than-dulcet tones of 33-year-old Tomi Rae, Brown's fourth wife, savagely berating the Godfather of Soul.

"I'm just here for damage control! You are in more trouble than you realize!" the fuchsia-haired former backup singer screamed at her 70-year-old husband. "So what if I was married to another man?"

An eyewitness said: "She was causing a total scene, not trying to hide it at all."

Recently, Brown announced that he wanted to annul the marriage because Tomi Rae was supposedly still hitched to another husband. Last summer, the Godfather bought a full-page ad in Variety announcing their separation.

The Godfather has been attempting to clean up his image since he was arrested Jan. 28 on criminal domestic violence charges for allegedly beating and threatening Tomi Rae with an iron chair at their Beech Island, S.C., home.

Tomi Rae Brown was treated at a local hospital for bruises and scratches. Her husband was released from jail the following day and denied any wrongdoing.

The couple — who've been married for over two years and have a 2-year-old son, James Brown II — have reconciled, according to their publicist.

"Mr. and Mrs. Brown are very much in love," said Susan Blond. "Perhaps she said that in jest. She has a very dry sense of humor. They've reconciled, and the charges have been dropped."

How sweet. Just don't make us go on vacation with them.

DICK CHENEY, STILL NOT DEAD

One of this column's eagle-eyed spies, while browsing the Web for Halliburton Co. news, came upon the following shocking item on MSNBC.com: "Cheney dead at age 62."

"Dick Cheney, the stalwart conservative and unflappable Washington insider picked by George W. Bush to be his vice president, died DAY TK in PLACE TK." ("TK" is journalistic shorthand for "to come.")

My source told me: "This obit for Dick Cheney popped up as a hit. Apparently it was uploaded May 23, 2003. . . . When I clicked on the headline, it said 'article not found.' Still, kind of a dopey thing to have your obit file anywhere near the live Web site. I wonder, though, did they think the veep was near death on May 23? That was the day Cheney cast the deciding Senate vote for Bush's $35 billion tax cut."

An embarrassed MSNBC.com spokeswoman confirmed that the Cheney obit was accidentally posted on the site a few weeks ago, and said his May 23 Senate vote wasn't a factor. "It was caught within an hour and taken down," she said. "Obviously, we're not happy."


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An adviser to Vice President Cheney, who wears a state-of-the-art pacemaker after suffering several heart attacks, declined my invitation to make light of MSNBC.com's boo-boo: "You're asking me to say something witty and memorable about a false obituary? OK then, I have three words for you: Wouldn't be prudent."

THE BRIEFING

SOUR GRAPES?: Fortune magazine, which names Jay Leno the "MVP of Late Night" in its latest issue, reports that "The Tonight Show" earns $100 million in annual profits for NBC — $1 billion since Leno took over the show a decade ago.

Leno, meanwhile, gets a mere $16 million a year from the hit show — compared with $31 million for CBS' less-watched David Letterman (6.1 million viewers for Jay, 4.3 million for Dave). "How am I getting screwed?" the workaholic Leno muses. "I've got a house in Beverly Hills."

But Letterman producer Rob Burnett is not impressed.

"Jay runs 'The Tonight Show' like a political campaign," he sniffs. "Dave is an artist."

DOMESTIC ISSUES: Who's the U.S. president "most likely to personally shop for his wife's Valentine's Day gift"? It's Jimmy Carter, according to a survey of 1,400 readers of Smithsonian magazine. Carter got 63 percent, far ahead of Ronald Reagan (14 percent), Gerald Ford (7 percent) and both George Bushes (6 percent). Isn't it romantic?



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© 2003, Creators Syndicate