They’ve gone for the dogs
New book “Pup Culture” by four-legged lover Victoria Lily Shaffer has barks by Glenn Close, Vanessa Williams, Tony Bennett, David Letterman and a crateful of animal owners.
Letterman: “Years ago, waiting to go on in the San Fernando Valley nightclub Show-Biz near where I lived, was this dog. He was eating a cheeseburger off the kitchen floor then roaming aimlessly.”
No collar or tag, this “small Belgian shepherdlike dog just wandered in from the parking lot. So staffers fed him.” Later, Letterman took him home and next day drove around to find the owner. Nobody claimed him. Obviously a stray, David then took him to the vet. “The poor thing had worms and, by the way, I will say the dog and I had that in common.”
Letterman named him Bob. The YMCA gave dog-training lessons, so they signed up.
“One Thanksgiving was at my girlfriend’s. The day before the holiday we placed our frozen turkey on the counter to thaw and went food shopping.” When they returned, the turkey had disappeared! “Next day there’s banging at the back door. Bob! Bringing back the original turkey, semi-frozen, covered in mud. He’d somehow knocked the 15-pound bird off the counter, dragged it, let himself out and buried it in the backyard.
“Smelling our newest turkey cooking in the house, he dragged his back in. I thought, I will never witness anything this magical again.
“Bob, my good friend for years and years, became my Thanksgiving miracle. I will forever love him.”
Bold-facers get ruff
Celebrities loving dogs goes from Ariana Grande — who’s mothered 10 at a time — to Hugh Jackman who’s always photographed walking his, Ben Affleck who pets many creatures apart from Jennifer, Kylie Jenner, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Garner. Hey, in the business of making money, you sometimes need something else to love.
Di lives on
More more yet more on Princess Di. Broadway’s “Diana: The Musical” opens tonight. Previewers rated it four oys. One muttered it should’ve been five ughs.
Her biographer Andrew Morton: “I’m portrayed in it. My character tap dances, which is more than I can do myself.”
About Charles and Diana: “Star-crossed. Neither’s to blame. Different needs. He needed companionship. She needed love. And that’s a fair summary of both. Diana loved Charles. Question being was she in love with the man independently or with his position. You can’t distinguish between the two.”
About Camilla the killa thrilla: “Comes off in the musical well. Not as an evil caricature. The great scene in true life was their confrontation at Ham House in South London, the 40th birthday party of Annabel Elliot, Camilla’s sister. Charles and Camilla were there. All guests were part of their circle. Unexpectedly, last minute, to everyone’s astonishment Diana arrived. Standing in the basement where the party took place and in view of Diana’s bodyguard she told Camilla: ‘I want you to leave my husband alone.’ Camilla: ‘You’ve got everything. You’ve got two children.’
“In real life Diana and Camilla had several confrontations.”
About the famous tight slinky F-U revenge dress: “When I first saw this scene in the musical’s La Jolla tryout two years ago, the Queen character stole the show. It was when she saw that dress. The rendition was amusing. I don’t know if anything about that has since been changed.
“In real life Diana wore it to the opening of a gallery. It was Burrell the butler who picked it out for her.””
Morton began reporting on Her Majesty in 1983. He’s still doing it.
So this rock ’n’ roller’s pet got loose, skittered away from a jam session and ran up to a parking meter near a curb. The pet was just about to anoint it when a motorist slipped a coin into the slot. “Wow,” cried the R&R owner, “dig that crazy pay toilet!”
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.