Sideshow: Murphy's widower dead
Brittany Murphy's widower, Simon Monjack, 39, was found dead Sunday night in his Hollywood home, five months after his wife's death. The cause of death has yet to be determined, but police say there were no signs of foul play or suicide. Brit's mom, Sharon Murphy, who shares a house with Simon, called 911 when she found him unconscious. Paramedics responded, but it was too late.
Brittany Murphy
's widower,
Simon Monjack
, 39, was found dead Sunday night in his Hollywood home, five months after his wife's death. The cause of death has yet to be determined, but police say there were no signs of foul play or suicide. Brit's mom,
Sharon Murphy
, who shares a house with Simon, called 911 when she found him unconscious. Paramedics responded, but it was too late.
Monjack rep Roger Neal says the British screenwriter had heart troubles and was due for a bypass but kept putting off the operation. Simon's mother, Linda Monjack, in January told People that he suffered a minor heart attack a week before Brit died. She died Dec. 20 of pneumonia, with prescription medications playing a role.
Brit's brother, Tony Bertolotti, tells RadarOnline he's not surprised about the death. "[He] had all his wagons circled and he couldn't do it any longer," he said.
Simon, who had watched paramedics try to revive his wife, later told reporters his "world was destroyed" by her death.
LiLo's shiny new bracelet
The
Lindsay Lohan
tragedy reached a new nadir Monday when the onetime sweetie-pie was slapped with a sexy new accessory: an alcohol-monitoring SCRAM device.
LiLo, who last week missed a probation hearing stemming from her two '07 DUI convictions, on Monday finally made it to court, where she was severely rebuked by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel.
LiLo, who remains free on $100,000 bail, has been in trouble since ditching her court-ordered alcohol education classes. The judge, who could have sent her to jail, ordered the actress to complete her classes and to refrain from drugs and alcohol.
"I want the court to know that Ms. Lohan intends to comply," LiLo lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley told the court. He objected - to no avail - to the SCRAM jewelry.
He was also ticked at Revel's insistence that LiLo must submit to random weekly drug testing - which must be administered in Los Angeles. It means LiLo may have to scrap an upcoming movie shoot in Texas.
LiLo is next due in court July 6.
Sean Hayes celebrates Broadway
Will & Grace
star
Sean Hayes
, 39, will host the theater's greatest exercise in narcissism, The Tony Awards, at New York's Radio City Music Hall on June 19, ABC announced on Monday. The network plans to broadcast the fab fest live. "As the new guy on Broadway, it's an honor to be included in the established alumni," said Hayes, currently on stage in
Promises, Promises
. The musical has earned him a Tony nod for best actor.
Newsweek recently sparked a controversy with an article saying the openly gay Hayes is unconvincing in heterosexual roles.
Tidbits 'n' pieces
Chicken killers KFC, whose last slogan was the brilliant Zen koan, "Unthink," has come up with another P.R. winner, says AdAge.com: "so good." So
not
! . . . ABC's
Lost
ended with more of a whimper than a bang: According to Nielsen, Sunday's two-and-a-half-hour finale drew 13.5 mil viewers. So, were all your questions cleared up? Or are you still lost? . . .
Jessica Simpson
has won an arbitration to bar Speedfit L.L.C. and its owner,
Alex Astilean
, from using her image and name to promote its exercise vid. Jess, who shot the vid in '05, sued because she felt the company had produced an inferior product unworthy of her name. . . . ABC has kindly released another clip from its
Nightline
interview with
Jesse James
, set to air Tuesday. Calling himself "the most hated man in the world," JJ says he felt "horrible" while cheating on wife
Sandra Bullock
and that he was in a mode of "self-sabotage." . . . ABC has signed a three-year deal to broadcast the
Miss America
pageant. The network dumped the show in '05. . . . Is
Alicia Keys
pregnant? Gossip site JustJared.com says the delish singing angel has a tummy bump. . . . New York Magazine says
American Idol
alum
Paula Abdul
has a job: Lead judge on CBS's
Got to Dance
, which the mag describes as a "mash-up of
So You Think You Can Dance
and
America's Got Talent
."
Bret wins on 'Apprentice'
Poison
front man
Bret Michaels
, 47, who has been recuperating after suffering a brain hemorrhage last month, won
Donald Trump
's reality show,
Celebrity Apprentice
, on Sunday. Bret, who has diabetes, won $250,000 for his nominated charity, the American Diabetes Association.
The Donald told Bret that he was "popular, imaginative and brave," adding that "everyone loved you."
Holly Robinson Peete, who came in second, won $250,000 for her chosen charity, her own HollyRod Foundation that supports families facing a serious illness.
Gene will kiss Philly with KISS
Gene Simmons
' prodigious tongue will entertain the Philly area when the rocker brings his awesome band,
KISS
, to the Susquehanna Bank Center on Aug. 6. The glam-metal band, who mounted a final farewell tour a decade ago, will launch a summer tour in Cheyenne, Wyo., on July 23. They are promoting their first album in 11 years,
Sonic Boom
.
"The bands that have to worry about the recession are the ones who don't give their money's worth to the audience," singer-guitarist Paul Stanley tells Reuters.
"If you come to see us, your money will blind you and deafen you and pummel you."
Dolly: Miley's show parallels real life
Country queen
Dolly Parton
, who plays
Miley Cyrus
' aunt on
Hannah Montana
, says the show's fourth and final season, which premieres in July, reflects Miley's real life.
Dolly says this year, Miley will finally take off her mystical magical Hannah Montana wig and reveal her true identity as lil' ol' Miley.
The unveiling, Dolly says, will be met with critical jeers, "just the same way they're doing now in the real press." Miley, 17, was recently criticized for a video in which she did a sexually-charged bump 'n' grind with So You Think You Can Dance judge Adam Shankman.
Dolly says she asked Miley, " 'Do you feel like we're just living out the show we did?' And [Miley] said, 'Yeah, but that's great, because I was at least braced for it.' "
Lady Gaga hates fame, but isn't sick
Flamboyant musical sensation
Lady Gaga
tells the London Times she enjoys neither money nor fame. "You see, I don't really spend money and I don't really like fame. . . . I don't like buying things," LG says in the gazillion-word story. "But you know what I spend most of my money on? Disappearing. I hate the paparazzi."
The Lady also sends out a shiver of fear and concern when she announces that her aunt Joanne died of lupus. The warbler got all cagey when asked if she's been tested for the disease, which has a strong genetic component.
"Yes," she said before a dramatic pause. "But I don't want anyone to be worried."