Issue Date: June 14, 2009
Chelsea Handler, host of E!'s 11 p.m. talk and comedy show, "Chelsea Lately," is sardonic, funny and a female anchor -- a welcome alternative to the traditional late-night lineup that Conan O'Brien joined this month. Unedited, occasionally tasteless but always topical, Handler, 34, says the average age of her viewer is 33, and she doesn't covet a network desk because "I like my audience young and hip and fresh." A comedian who travels the country and a best-selling author (she's writing her third book now), Handler tells me she is a big reader. "I'm now reading Tender Is The Night, along with Candy Spelling's autobiography."
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I'd like some background on Reggie Love. How did he become President Obama's personal aide?
Sandra Weeks, Hull, Mass.
Love, 27, a former Duke basketball and football player and a poli-sci and public policy major, applied for a Capitol Hill internship in 2006. He was hired in the mailroom of Obama's Senate office, making less than $30,000. Several promotions and a lucky presidential bid later, Love is, to Obama, the kid brother he never had. Not only does the 6-foot-4, 225-pound personal aide, or "body man," have a prime seat right next to the Oval Office, but he can call the prez his workout partner. The "White House's hottest employee" also exposed the Commander in Chief to rapper Jay-Z and taught Obama the now-infamous fist bump.
Love, with Obama, is single.
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Parminder Nagra, 33, has found that pregnancy does wonders for getting over one's TV show going off the air -- in her case NBC's "ER." "It's the end of something, but the beginning of something so wonderful," says the U.K. native, whose baby is due this summer. Her agents wonder when she'll be ready for work, but she says she's just concerned about getting through the body changes. "Luckily, there are a lot of pregnant people around me, so I can talk to them and go, 'Did you feel this?' or 'What's that pain?' " Nagra tells us her sweet tooth has gone into overdrive, and for a while she craved McDonald's fish sandwiches. "Everyone was like, 'Ugh, do they still make that?' "
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When FX's "Nip/Tuck" wraps, will star Julian McMahon consider doing another series? Or does he have his sights set on film?
Linda McIlveen, Canandaigua, N.Y.
McMahon, 40, didn't rush to answer us, but that may be because there's no decision to make right now. He's filming the last 19 episodes of "Nip/Tuck."
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5 questions for John Edward
The psychic medium, 39, launches InfiniteQuest.com this month.
1. How do you explain your abilities to your 6-year-old son?
When he watched "Chronicles of Narnia," it was a great opportunity to teach about spirituality with a sprinkling of Christian belief. When I felt he got it, we had the big "daddy" conversation.
2. Does your work ever scare you?
Living people scare me more than dead people.
3. What do you think of the psychic dramas on TV?
Patricia Arquette [on "Medium"] does a great job ... I like "Ghost Whisperer" because it has a cathartic healing moment.
4. Are psychics born with their abilities, or can they be learned?
Everyone is born with ability. On a scale of 1 to 10, most people will average out with 6 or 7, but people like me, with proper training, could hit 11, 12, 13, 14.
5. Ever get confused with politician John Edwards?
My publicist got a call to book me on NPR. I told her to tell them I'm not a Republican or a Democrat, I'm a Deadocrat.
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I look forward to "Weeds"' return to Showtime. Any news?
Ted Seip, Phoenix
"Weeds" came back this week, and I can tell you we will see more of Mexican actor Demian Bichir. A star in his native country, Bichir, 45, is back as Tijuana's corrupt mayor. He grew up acting; his mom's an actress, his dad a director. But Bichir did have other dreams. "Every single kid in Mexico wants to play soccer," he tells us. Relocated to L.A. and far from family, he now relies on his girlfriend, actress Sandra Echeverria, for encouragement. Marriage? "I'm really close to it," Bichir says. "Hopefully, it will come."
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BIRTHDAYS
June 14: Donald Trump, 63
June 15: Neil Patrick Harris, 36; Ice Cube, 40; Courteney Cox Arquette, 45
June 16: Phil Mickelson, 39
June 17: Venus Williams, 29; Greg Kinnear, 46
June 18: Paul McCartney, 67
June 19: Paula Abdul, 47
June 20: Nicole Kidman, 42; John Goodman, 57
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Reyhaneh Fathieh, Brian Truitt
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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