The Mega Book of Useless Information - Noel Botham

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Warren Beatty, who had lost out for Heaven Can Wait. ‘I want to use this opportunity to say how proud I am of my little brother. Just imagine what you could accomplish if you tried celibacy!’ He was not amused.

      • A low-cut gown worn by Elizabeth Taylor in 1969 fetched £98,000 at auction.

      • The youngest actor to win an Oscar was 29-year-old Adrien Brody in 2003 for The Pianist. Shirley Temple is the youngest actress. She won a special award in 1934 aged six.

      • The song ‘When Irish Eyes Are Smiling’ was written by George Graff, who was German and was never in Ireland in his life.

      • Talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey and legendary singer Elvis Presley are distant cousins.

      • The estates of 22 dead celebrities earned over £2.6 million in 2004. These celebrities include Elvis Presley, Dr Seuss, Charles Schulz, J R R Tolkien and John Lennon.

      • CBS’s fine for Janet Jackson’s ‘wardrobe malfunction’ in the 2004 Super Bowl show was £286,000. This could be paid with only 7.5 seconds of commercial time during the same Super Bowl telecast.

      • Kill Bill star Vivica A Fox ruined a diamond-encrusted dress worth $1.5 million with red wine.

      • In 1938, Walt Disney won one full-sized Oscar and seven miniature Oscars for his classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

      • Actor Gary Lucy thought he had paid £6,000 for one of Paul Weller’s guitars at an auction, but got rugs belonging to Madonna instead.

      • Nicole Kidman says when she was younger she used to pray she would be turned into a witch.

      • Al Gore’s roommate in college (Harvard, class of 1969) was Tommy Lee Jones.

      • The trucking company Elvis Presley worked at as a young man was owned by Frank Sinatra.

      • Lenny Kravitz says he’s happy Courtney Love is his neighbour – because she runs around naked.

      • Britney Spears has more hate websites than Saddam Hussein.

      • Calvin Klein model-turned-actor Travis Fimmel had to audition nine times before landing the title role in the new TV series Tarzan.

      • Three Oscars have been refused by winners, including Marlon Brando in 1972, who rejected his second Oscar for The Godfather.

      • The Strokes star Nikolai Fraiture once shamed his dad when he was caught trying to steal a Luke Skywalker doll from the Macy’s store where his father worked as a security guard.

      • Actress Rosie O’Donnell’s lover Kelli Carpenter has founded a new travel company that helps gay and lesbian couples seek out the perfect getaway. R Family Vacations will specialize in gay cruises.

      • The first Oscar went to Emil Jannings in 1929 for Best Actor. He didn’t turn up for it.

      • US singer Shania Twain has started the day off the same way for the past ten years – with a fruit smoothie made with grapes and ginger.

      • Pop hunk Justin Timberlake’s links with McDonald’s have paid off for the fast-food chain – profits are up 12 per cent since the *NSYNC star started endorsing the company by letting them use his ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ tune for TV commercials.

      • Posh frocks at the Oscars can mean huge publicity for designers. Valentino estimated that Erin Brockovich star Julia Roberts’s appearance in one of his designs generated some £13 million worth of publicity.

      • Jet-setting pop svengali Simon Fuller, creator of Pop Idol, spent £9 million on two aeroplanes and a helicopter because he was sick of flying 90,000 miles a year on commercial airlines.

      • Hollywood veteran Jack Nicholson became addicted to baked beans on toast after discovering the snack when serving it to his son, Raymond.

      • Malnourished magician David Blaine’s first public meal after his self-imposed 44-day incarceration in a plastic box was a plate of chicken satay at Mr Chow’s restaurant in Knightsbridge, London. He followed this with a big helping of dessert.

      • Former basketball ace Dennis Rodman claims the police have visited his Newport Beach, California, home over 80 times because of noise complaints.

      • The first Oscar went to Emil Jannings in 1929 for Best Actor. He didn’t turn up for it.

      • Dennis Rodman claims he’s pierced his penis three times.

      • The Strokes star Julian Casablancas doesn’t own a mobile phone, a computer or a watch.

      • During a one-day shopping spree in Japan, US rapper Lil Kim spent £25,000 on clothes – and Barbie dolls.

      • Hollywood stars Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher spent the Halloween of 2003 dressed as rival supercouple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

      • Model-turned-actress Jerry Hall has appeared on stage 536 times in plays.

      • It takes 12 people 20 hours to make one Oscar statuette.

      • Indie rockers Coldplay like to keep in touch with their family and friends when they’re touring – their backstage requirements include eight ‘stamped, local postcards’.

      • Disney’s The Lion King has become the most successful re-release ever, after three million copies of the new DVD sold in its first two days on release.

      • Rocker Sting is Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio’s next-door neighbour in Malibu, California.

      • Dustin Hoffman had to pass up the chance of appearing in a jury for the first time because he had to publicize his film Runaway Jury, in which he plays a lawyer.

      • Friends star Courtney Cox is scared of dogs – unless they’re her own. The actress owns three pooches.

      • Pop star Jessica Simpson used to keep photographs of missing children under her pillow and pray for them every night when she was a teenager. She also tried to adopt a Mexican baby found in a dumpster when she was 16.

      • Ex-pop couple Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey had a television mounted in their shower.

      • When Orson Welles won the Screenplay Oscar for his classic Citizen Kane in 1941, it wasn’t a popular choice. The audience booed.

      • American Idol star Clay Aiken is allergic to mushrooms, shellfish, chocolate, mint and coffee.

      • There was havoc on the shoot for Atomic Kitten video ‘Ladies Night’ – the British trio hired famous drag queen Lily Savage, real name Paul O’Grady, to star, but Savage stormed out when he discovered he was to be appearing alongside a troop of unknown female impersonators.

      • Gravel-voiced singer Macy Gray has puffer fish pets named Justin Timberlake, Muhammad Ali and R Kelly.

      • Rap mogul Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs spends £625 on each of his haircuts. His personal barber sketches out styles before even touching Diddy’s dome.

      • Bad-boy rapper Eminem’s two favourite places to tour are Amsterdam, The Netherlands, because of its liberal laws, and London, England, because of its food.

      • Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is studying German, as she endeavours to conquer European languages. She’s already fluent in Spanish, Italian and French.

      • Super-rich movie beauty Cameron Diaz recently bought a £1.25 Californian lottery ticket – and won £3,125.

      • Oscar winner Holly Hunter used to be a poultry judge in her native Georgia.

      • Austin Powers creator Mike Myers has two streets named after him in his native Toronto, Canada.

      • Crooner Harry Connick Jr. quit smoking when his idol Mel Torme told him he’d never speak

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