Dig A Hole: Jett Travolta, 16-year-old son of John Travolta & Kelly Preston
January 2nd, 2009 by Scott Marks
Kelly Preston and Jett Travolta.
The 16-year-old son of actor John Travolta died Friday morning after suffering a seizure at the actor’s vacation home.According to the Associated Press, police spokeswoman Loretta Mackey says 16-year-old Jett Travolta fell and hit his head in a bathtub Friday morning.
Jett was the oldest child of Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston. The cause of death is not known, Jett Travolta had a developmental disability that his parents have linked to Kawasaki disease, an inflammatory disorder of the artery walls that affects young children and can lead to heart disease.
After Jett was diagnosed with Kawasaki’s Syndrome, Kelly Preston worked tirelessly on behalf of CHEC, the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, which is a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating parents about environmental toxins that can affect children’s health. Olivia Newton-John is also a CHEC board member.
The causes of Kawasaki disease are unknown. Some scientists think it’s caused by an infectious agent, such as a virus. Some studies have noted a link between the disease and carpet cleaning chemicals.
John Travolta told CNN’s Larry King in 2001, “With my son … I was obsessive about cleaning — his space being clean, so we constantly had the carpets cleaned…And I think, between him, the fumes and walking around, maybe picking up pieces or something, he got what is rarely a thing to deal with, but it’s Kawasaki Syndrome.”
John Travolta married Kelly Preston twice. Their first wedding on 5 September 1991, by a French scientologist minister, was declared illegal. The couple met during the filming of The Experts (1989). They also have an 8-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta.
Filed Under Obituaries
AMERICAN IDOL adds Kara DioGuardi to its panel of judges
August 25th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Kara DioGuardi
Just as my annual withdrawal symptoms from American Idol appear to have subsided, news comes that the show’s producers are going to fix what isn’t broken by adding a fourth judge.
When season 8 kicks off next January, look for Grammy-nominated songwriter Kara DioGuardi to get her own gigantic Coca-Cola cup as she takes a seat alongside Simon, Paula and Randy on the judges’ panel. In a statement, Mike Darnell, Fox’s president of alternative programming said, “For the past seven seasons, Paula has had to endure the experience of being the only woman at the judges’ table.”
Gender notwithstanding, Abdul is clearly the dopiest of the three judges. She makes Randy’s banter about the “dog pound” and his constant use of the word “pitchy” look pithy. Apart from the audition phase, where America looks for its next William Hung, Abdul’s slurred line readings, hackneyed advice and verbal bouts with Simon are invariably more entertaining than any of the contestants vocal skills.
“With Kara by her side, Paula has some backup and now there is going to be a lot more `girl power’ on the show,” Darnell said. WOOOOOOOO! GIRL POWER! WOOOOOO! Give the goddamned simple-minded sloganizing a rest already!
“We are turning the heat up on Idol this year and are thrilled to welcome Kara to the judges’ table,” said creator and executive producer Simon Fuller in a statement. “She is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America’s most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show.”
Turning up the heat or desperately trying to win back viewers tired of the same-old same-old?
The extremely successful Ms. DioGuardi has written, produced and/or sang backup for Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Pink, Miley Cyrus and the Pussycat Dolls. For me, the biggest news to come from this story is that someone actually writes the crap the Pussycat Dolls sing.
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