While the Sanitation Department struggled to clear snowy streets in New York City, Tony Soprano was out to rescue those stranded by the great blizzard of 2010.
“Sopranos” star James Gandolfini came to the rescue of a stricken motorist who got stuck on unplowed Bedford Street in the West Village on Monday night, the New York Post reports.
The actor, who lives in the neighborhood, helped dig and then push out the stranger’s car and then popped into a nearby bar and restaurant to change a $100 bill to tip others who pitched in to help out.
Daddy-O owner Phil Casaceli told the Post, “Bedford Street didn’t get plowed until late Monday night, and the whole street was a 3-foot drift of snow. Somebody driving down the street got stuck in their car around 8 p.m. — and the next minute, James Gandolfini appeared from another car behind and offered to help out.
“He helped dig their car out and then rocked it back and forth to get it out of the snow bank. He used a lot of old-school elbow grease.
“It took him 45 minutes to get the car unstuck” with the help of others who started coming out of the bars and restaurants to see what was going on, Casaceli said.
“Some offered to help, and others just watched because you don’t often see Tony Soprano digging people out of the snow. It was a real New York moment. Somebody had the luck of the draw, and it was James Gandolfini who came to their rescue.”
Once the snowbound car was finally free, the star of the HBO mob drama popped into Daddy-O. But instead of ordering a drink, he asked bartenders to make change for a $100 bill.
It was a different story with 50 Cent.
The MC offered to shovel neighbors’ walks in Connecticut for $100 a pop.
Then he posted photos of himself doing the grunt work on Twitter.
“I’m going out to shovel snow and see if I can make me a few extra dollars today,” 50 Cent, who lives in Connecticut, tweeted Monday afternoon. “I’m charging more if they want to take pictures.”
Soon after, he told followers that four people had agreed to pay the fee and that he’d hired “employees” to increase efficiency, saying, “This snow moving business is just to see if laws apply to every business. After the first job I got 4 more now I have 3 kid(s) I hired.”
50 Cent posted two photos that showed the rapper himself digging out snow with an average-looking blue shovel and wearing a parka and hat, but no gloves.
When one concerned fan asked, “Where are your gloves? I don’t want your hands to get cold,” he replied that he’d since found some.
Sir Elton John declared himself ‘overwhelmed with happiness and joy’ after becoming a father at 63.
And it turns out that through the complicated fertility arrangement the child actually has two fathers and two mothers, according to London’s Daily Mail.
He and his partner, David Furnish, 48, fulfilled their dream of having a child when their son Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John was born in Los Angeles on Christmas Day, weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces.
He was born to an unidentified surrogate mother who, it turns out, was not his biological mother but had carried the baby after being implanted with a donor egg from another mystery woman.
The complicated arrangement carried out by the Encino, California-based Center For Surrogate Parenting Inc. means that little Zachary effectively has two fathers and two mothers.
The Center for Surrogate Parenting confirmed they had worked with Elton John and partner David, and said ‘it was a lovely, beautiful surrogacy journey for all parties involved’
The center previously arranged for “Frasier” actor Kelsey Grammer and his soon to be ex-wife Camille to have two children by the same surrogate mother – their daughter Mason Olivia, in 2001 and son, Jude Gordon, in 2004.
And actress Angela Bassett and husband Courtney Vance became parents of twins, a boy and a girl, who were born through a surrogate in January 2006.
Justin Timberlake is Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Man of the Year.
The multi-talented musician/actor/restaurant entrepreneur headed to Cambridge, Mass., recently to receive the award.
He said, “Secretly I always wanted to attend college and I didn’t get the chance to do that.” Justin’s mom and girlfriend, Jessica Biel, also attended the ceremony. Coincidentally, Justin recently starred in “The Social Network,” which took place at Harvard.
The Hasty Pudding Award is bestowed by the theatrical group on campus that dates back to 1844. Every year they crown two celebrities with their tongue-in-cheek award; Anne Hathaway received the accolade for Woman of the Year. Past recipients include James Franco, Sandra Bullock and Robert Downey, Jr.
— lsmith@denverpost.com
