Patty Jackson Weekly 411 courtesy 2 Down Front Entertainment

PATTY JACKSON'S 4-1-1
WEEK ENDING: March 12th, 2010

Only God can save The Answer. The sad decline of Allen Iverson continues, and many are wondering who in his inner circle can help him. Iverson has been dropped by the Sixers, is divorcing his wife, dealing with a sick child and the reports of drinking and gambling. Iverson was one of basketball’s greats, but now he is just a shell of his former self. He is running through his money, and his wife Tawana has had enough. In her divorce petition, she is seeking temporary and permanent custody for their five kids. She is also seeking child support and alimony. The Iversons have been together for 20 years and married for 8 ½. Mrs. Iverson says the marriage is irretrievably broken. What led to the breakup? Sources cite the jumpoffs who have been harassing her.

D’Angelo has hit a speed bump on his comeback. The singer was arrested last weekend for soliciting an undercover female cop. D’Angelo, 36, says he’s innocent. When he was stopped by the cops in his Range Rover, he had $12,000 in the glove compartment. D’Angelo is working on his first album in ten years. He has had bouts with drinking, drugs, jail and car accidents. A new album is expected later this year

How much more can Nick Cannon take? His wife’s drinking is out of control, and she treats him like a flunky. Cannon is married to Singer Mariah Carey, and her love of the bubbly is no secret. Carey has been drinking a lot. At recent show in Las Vegas, fans had to wait two hours for her arrival. At The Palm Springs Film Festival, she accepted her award drunk as a skunk admitting she was F’ed up. During the red carpet arrival at The Academy Awards, Cannon suffered the worst embarrassment. Mariah was about to be interviewed, and she was chewing gum. She took the gum out of her mouth when she decided to do the interview. Then she handed Cannon her gum to hold while she talked. It was seen all over the world. What the heck is he…. her lap dog or her husband? He has been pleading with her to stop the drinking. Mariah is gaining weight, and she can barely walk when she’s out of it. Cannon is busy with his own career as a radio host and TV producer, but how can he do his job when he has to tend to a drunk wife?

This is the weekend (March 13th) for Daylight Savings Time. Before you go to bed Saturday, March 13th, set your clocks ahead by one hour. We will lose an hour’s sleep, but it will stay lighter longer. Also, it’s good to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.

Mike Tyson has reunited with Don King. Tyson has had an incredible year with his documentary, Tyson, his appearance in the movie The Hangover, his appearance on Oprah and his stint on Italy’s Dancing With The Stars. He hasn’t fought since 2005, but sources say he could be staging a boxing comeback.

It will be the reunion of Run DMC at The 3rd Annual Roots Picnic. The event is happening June 5th at Penns Landing. This will be their first performance since the death of Jam Master Jay, who was murdered in 2002.

As he prepares for his new reality show as a high school dropout getting his G.E.D., Flavor Flav, 50, is sporting a new look: no grills on his teeth. Flav’s teeth looked surprisingly good…… he just needs some teeth whitening.

Get ready for two new reality shows on April 8th, it’s LisaRaye’s The Real McCoy on TV One. The eight-episode series will air at 9pm and shows LisaRaye’s life as the former First Lady Of The Turks And Caicos Islands, a mother to a 19-year old daughter, dealing with her incarcerated sister, Rapper Da Brat, and caring for her ailing mother. We’ll also see LisaRaye with her celebrity friends, and she will reveal the celebrity women who have betrayed her. On April 11th, it’s Chilli from TLC in her reality show What Chilli Wants airing on VH1. Chilli says she wants a man who is gorgeous, sensitive and charming, but he can’t drink, smoke or eat pork.

How is Katherine Jackson handling all the kids in her home? A couple of weeks ago, there was an incident at her home involving a purchase of a stun gun. Katherine, 74, is dealing with a lot as she cares for her grandkids. All told, there are eight kids in her home including Michael’s three, an adopted child, plus four by Alejandra Jackson (she’s Jermaine’s ex-wife and has two kids by him and two kids by his brother Randy). Alejandra lives with Katherine because she has no way to support her kids by Katherine’s sons. Can these two women handle these responsibilities? Despite the money coming in, do they need additional help? Nanny Grace Rwaramba, who was in charge of Michael’s kids, has been let go. Sources say she is the one leaking stories about the Jackson household and how Katherine can’t handle the kids.

Ron Banks of The Dramatics passed away last week. Banks, 58, died of a massive heart attack. He founded the legendary Detroit group who are best known for their hits Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get, Hey You! Get Off My Mountain, Be My Girl, Get Up And Get Down and their #1 hit In The Rain.

Jada Pinkett Smith recently lost her father. Robsol Pinkett, Jr. passed away two weeks ago.

President Blair Underwood. Underwood has signed on for the NBC pilot show The Event, where he will play the President Of The United States.

Talk Show Host Montel Williams says he has no money to pay child support for his two teenage children. In a court statement, Williams says since he ended his talk show and lost his radio job, he can’t afford the hefty $8,000 a month. Since his divorce from his second wife, Grace Morley, Williams has had no contact with his children.

Ruben Studdard is sporting a new look. Studdard is a strict vegetarian, and he recently lost 100 pounds. Studdard is going to be in Philadelphia next week as part of The Steve Harvey Morning Show broadcast. Studdard has a new song out called Don’t Make Em’ Like You No More.

Stevie Wonder got a new honor. Last weekend in France, he was presented with the nation’s top cultural honor y being made a Commander Of The National Order Of Arts And Letters.

It’s splitsville for Singer Kimberly Locke (American Idol) and Sgt. Harvey from Celebrity Fit Club. He wouldn’t marry her, so she dropped him. Sgt. Harvey just got divorced, and he was in no rush to marry again.

The BET network is celebrating its 30th anniversary by bringing back one of its favorite sons. Newsman Ed Gordon is returning to the network after stints at MSNBC and 60 Minutes II. Gordon will be hosting BET’s special news programs.

Babyface is doing a tour. Tour page will be posted shortly.

Oscar Winner Forest Whitaker (Our Family Wedding) has announced plans to star and direct a movie based on the life of Louis Armstrong. Filming starts next year. Whitaker is already practicing the trumpet. He says he plans to cover all aspects of Armstrong’s life, including musical legend’s love for marijuana, which he smoked every day.

Another music bio in the works is the life story of Jazz Great Miles Davis. Don Cheadle plans to star and direct with Herbie Hancock doing the score.

Season three of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta is going to be interesting. Housewife NeNe Leakes is dealing with her oldest son and his legal issues. Leakes’ son Bryant was jailed for unpaid parking tickets and for possessing a small amount of marijuana. He had to spend three days in jail before it was all straightened out. In a statement, Leakes says her family will work through this, but she will be showing tough love.

Has Eddie Murphy found love again, and who is the lucky lady? Murphy has been spotted with Actress Maya Gilbert. She plays a doctor on the soft porn Zane Sex Chronicles cable series. The two have been spotted out on the town, and Murphy looks serious. Gilbert looks like…….well….. let’s just say she’s ready to be wife number two (smile!).

Actor Darius McCrary is headed for divorce court. Hot on the heels of landing the role as the new “Malcolm” on the soap opera The Young And The Restless, his marriage has fallen apart. McCrary is best for his role as “Eddie Winslow” on the TV show Family Matters. He married Video Vixen/Author Karrine Steffans (Superhead) last year. Sources say the couple has been having problems for a while, and that McCrary could no longer deal with his wife’s lies. Steffans is best known for her numerous affairs with rappers and actors. She detailed it all in her book Confessions Of A Video Vixen.

The hippest trip in America is coming to DVD. The Best Of Soul Train is a nine-disc DVD box set, which features performances from The O’Jays, Sly Stone, Michael Jackson & The Jacksons, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Teddy Pendergrass, James Brown and Ike & Tina Turner, just to name a few. The box set comes out March 29th.

Maxwell and Jill Scott are going on a 21-city tour. They will be in Philadelphia June 19th at the Wachovia Center.

Sade is the April cover girl for Ebony magazine, and Actress Zoe Saldana (Avatar) is the cover girl for the April issue of Essence. Speaking of Zoe, she teams up with Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence for the comedy Death At a Funeral. The movie opens in theatres April 16th and also stars Tracy Morgan, Kevin Hart, Luke Wilson and Danny Glover.

Season number ten of Dancing With The Stars kicks off March 22nd. This season’s cast includes an interesting bunch including Niecy Nash (The Insider, Reno 911) Pamela Anderson, Olympic Gold Medalist Evan Lysacek, Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals, and Kate Gosselin (Kate And Jon Plus 8), just to name a few.

Congratulations to Singer Brian McKnight. McKnight recently proposed to his girlfriend at one of his shows. No wedding date has been set, but he is coming to the area March 13th at Resorts in Atlantic City.

The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is getting help from Actor Billy Dee Williams for her latest album. Williams will be reciting on the album A Woman Falling Out Of Love, which is due out this month. Franklin says the album is based on a past relationship she had.

Congrats to Aja and Fatin Dantzler, a.k.a. Kindred The Family Soul. Baby number six is a son named Deen, and they say This Is It, which is the name of their new web-based reality show. It’s a bi-weekly series detailing their family life, six kids and their marriage. I often ask them how they do it. They do it with lots of love and you can check out the series for yourself at kindredthefamilysoul.com. On March 15th, they are participating in a benefit for Haiti at the World Café, 3025 Walnut Street.

Janet Jackson is gearing up for the promo tour for the latest Tyler Perry movie Why Did I Get Married Too. She is doing a song called Nothing for the soundtrack. Jermaine Dupri produced it. Janet will hit the road to promote the movie, which also stars Jill Scott and Tasha Smith, and of course Tyler Perry. Oscar Winner Louis Gossett, Jr. is also in the movie. Gossett recently revealed that he has been battling prostate cancer. He says early detection saved his life. Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too opens in theatres Easter weekend (April 2nd).

The new season of TV One’s music documentary show Unsung kicks off March 22nd with Rose Royce. Then March 29th, it’s Sylvester; April 12th, it’s Stacy Lattisaw; and, April 19th, it’s The Bar-Kays.

Toni Braxton’s new album, Pulse, has a new release date: May 4th. The album has undergone some changes, including appearances by Mo’Nique and Robin Thicke.

Get ready for the return of Dru Hill. Sisqo, Nokio, Jazz and newcomer Tao. Their new album, IndDRUpendence, arrives in stores April 13th. Dru Hill is also ready to debut their new reality show Sweat’s Platinum House, which will be produced by Keith Sweat and air on BET’s Centric channel.

At the movies this week, it’s Our Family Wedding with Forest Whitaker, Regina King, Lance Gross and America Ferrera. Speaking of Lance Gross, he is planning a summer wedding to Top Model Eva Pigford.

Get ready for the brother and sister duo of Brandy and Ray-J. The Norwood siblings are getting their own reality show. Brandy and Ray-J: A Family Business debuts Sunday, April 11th on VH1.

Will Celebrity Apprentice help this funny man get out of debt? Actor/Comedian Sinbad is having serious financial problems, and he is going to be a part of the new season of Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. The show will also feature Holly Robinson Peete, and kicks off March 14th on NBC.

The Princess And The Frog, featuring Disney’s first African American princess, hits DVD shelves March 16th. The animated box office hit features the voice of Dreamgirls’ Anika Noni Rose.

Jet Magazine has exclusive coverage of Oscar Winning Comedienne Mo’Nique at The Academy Awards. That issue hits newsstands March 29th.

Get ready for Sarah Jessica Parker and the girls in Sex And The City II coming out next May.

Big Daddy Aaron McCargo, Jr. from the Food Network is working on a cookbook. The book is due out this fall. You can catch new shows of Big Daddy’s House on the Food Network every Sunday at 1:30pm.

Philadelphia’s own Bill Cosby will be the 2010 recipient of the Marian Anderson Award. The Marian Anderson Award is an honor that salutes artists whose leadership benefits society. The awards ceremony takes place April 6th at the Kimmel Center, Broad & Spruce. Past winners include Danny Glover, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier and Quincy Jones.

The new version of the Karate Kid hits theatres next summer with Jaden Smith, Taraji P. Henson and Jackie Chan.

Check out Tyler Perry with his latest stage production, Madea’s Big Happy Family.