“Iowa Jim” was suspicious. Was Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson really putting messages on his official website urging people to contribute to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts?
The Web surfer using that screen name e-mailed a challenge: If Wilson called and proved it was really him, Jim would gladly donate $100.
“So I called him up!” a jovial Wilson told The Associated Press. “I was surprised that he said he didn’t think I was involved because I really was. So I called him up.”
Then Wilson and his wife, Melinda, got another brainstorm. Why not have the legend behind such musical standards as “Good Vibrations,” “California Girls” and “Surfin’ ” call everyone who donates $100 or more. And he decided to match any contribution of $100 or more posted through his website by Oct. 1.
Actor Dean McDermott wants out after 12 years of marriage.
McDermott, who recently filmed the TV film “Mind Over Murder” with Tori Spelling, filed for divorce Sept. 9 from Mary Jo Eustace, listing irreconcilable differences as the reason, according to court documents. The pair married in July 1993 and separated Sept. 2.
McDermott, 38, has appeared in more than 25 made-for-TV movies.
Winchester, Va., the home of Patsy Cline, already a favorite stop for country music fans, is now recognized by Virginia as a landmark.
Cline, born in 1932 as Virginia Paterson Hensley in Winchester, was in 1973 the first solo female to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She is best known for “Crazy,” the torch song penned by Willie Nelson.
Cline lived at 608 South Kent St. from age 16 to 21, and lived there off and on through 1957. The home was listed this month on the Virginia Landmarks Register. It also has been proposed for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
Steve Carell will host the season premiere of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 1 with Kanye West as the late-night show’s musical guest.
Also scheduled as hosts during October: “Napoleon Dynamite” star Jon Heder, Oscar- winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, with his fiancée, Sheryl Crow, as musical guest.
Musical instruments and memorabilia from CBS’ “Rock Star: INXS” are being auctioned to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Among the 125 items up for bid: a signed Roland keyboard, signed Gibson guitars, and wardrobe pieces worn by the cast. The auction on www.rock star-Auctions.com, which began last week, will continue through Friday.
“I am proud that we have been able to continue to help raise awareness of the foundation’s critical efforts and provide vital funding,” Mark Burnett, executive producer of “Rock Star: INXS,” said.
J.D. Fortune was chosen as INXS’s new lead singer for an upcoming tour.
A gift of giant guitars
Chicago fancifully painted fiberglass cows, the streets of Washington were decorated with donkeys and elephants, and now the Phoenix area is getting 10-foot guitars transformed by artists including Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Nicks and Alice Cooper.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona hopes to raise $1 million by auctioning off 90 giant guitars, painted by celebrities and local artists, which will be on display across the metropolitan area from Monday through early February.
