Goo-Goo, Googling
Gnawing on barbecued ribs at Cynthia Palmer Gershman’s Beverly Hills Fourth of July party, we encountered Kimberly Blackford, who’s the mother of George Hamilton’s 18-month-old son. Contrary to tabloid reports, she said, Hamilton did indeed sign the baby’s birth certificate.
They’re no longer an item but remain very close friends, the leggy blond says. So close, that when the baby-sitter canceled at the last minute, Hamilton offered to watch little Georgethomas himself.
Perhaps the muggy weather brought back some fond memories. Blackford, a 32-year-old actress, told us she met Hamilton while partying on a yacht off the Florida coast. She didn’t give him her number, but he has ways of finding these things out. On their first date, at a Palm Beach restaurant, Hamilton brought both his mother and brother along. Still, something clicked, and she soon began a three-year romance with the tanned one.
The baby was born after the breakup. But their relationship is so modernly cozy that Hamilton advises Blackford on potential beaus. “When he was in New York filming a Woody Allen movie, I would call him, and ask, ‘What do you think of this guy?’ If he didn’t know the person, he would get on his computer and Google him. Fifteen minutes later, he would call back, and say, ‘Yeah, he’s a good guy,’ or ‘No, stay away from him.”’
Except for a minor crisis involving banana yogurt, Hamilton’s adventure in baby-sitting went smoothly, and Blackford was able to party on with Tina Louise, Mr. Blackwel, Red Buttons and Sid Caesar.
Send in the Clowns
Monaco’s gorgeous scandal magnet, Princess Stephanie, has outdone herself. Royal watchers are shocked, absolutely shocked, that the 36-year-old daughter of the late Grace Kelly and Rainier III has run off and joined the circus. Stephanie took up residence a few months ago in a 150-foot camper she parks outside the big top. Granted, it’s a $27,400 model.
According to the August issue of Talk magazine, Her Serene Highness is happy at last. The reason, Michael Gross writes, is her new boyfriend. He’s Franco Knie, 46, the co-owner of Circus Knie, the Swiss national circus. Earlier this year Knie, an accomplished elephant tamer, walked out on his wife of 14 years and their autistic son. Circus folk tell Talk that the marriage had been dead for years and that Stephanie did not cause the breakup.
Still, the princess’ romantic history is even more checkered than that of Julia Roberts’. She had three children with two bodyguards; before that, she’d been linked to actors Rob Lowe, Mickey Rourke, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Christopher Lambert and various unsavory playboy types.
According to Talk, Stephanie has always had the big top in her blood. A distant cousin, Joseph “Joey” Grimaldi, performed in London at the turn of the last century and is considered the father of modern clowning. And, the magazine says, Rainier himself often fantasized about joining the circus when other students taunted him, calling him “Fat Monaco” at a British boarding school.
Grace Kelly biographer Robert Lacey claims that Rainier keeps his own luxurious circus trailer stashed away, awaiting the day that he, too, can run off and join the circus.
Movie Night
Is the world ready for a Robert Blake film festival? We think not. Still, in the interest of current events, the New Beverly Cinema featured two of Blake’s movies, “In Cold Blood” and “Electra Glide in Blue,” on Wednesday and Thursday. We hear that the video rental versions flew off shelves immediately after Blake’s wife was shot to death in his car May 4.
No Fun, Fun, Fun
Those battling Beach Boys are at it again. Original member Al Jardine is suing former band mates Mike Love and Brian Wilson in L.A. Superior Court, claiming he’s been squeezed out of the 1960s surfer group. Also named in the suit are the Carl Wilson Trust and Brother Records Inc., corporate parent of the original Beach Boys.
Jardine claims he has been excluded from Beach Boys concerts. Love, he says, is promoting his Beach Boys lineup as the “genuine” group, even though Love is the only original member.
Meanwhile, Jardine’s competing Beach Boy derivative group has had trouble getting bookings. He is seeking about $4 million in damages.
Mike Flynn, a lawyer for Brother Records, said Jardine’s allegations are nothing new. He filed a nearly identical suit in federal court a couple of years ago. “He fired his lawyer of 13 years and hired a new lawyer when it looked like he was losing his case,” Flynn said. The lawyer added that he’ll ask a judge to dismiss Jardine’s suit as “frivolous.”
Meanwhile, Brian Wilson has been experiencing a mini-comeback as a solo act. “An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson” aired Wednesday night on TNT. Doing the honors were Ricky Martin, Carly Simon, Vince Gill, the Go-Go’s and Billy Joel.
The previous day, Wilson told “Good Morning America” that he hears voices in his head when he’s on stage.
“I have auditory hallucinations that I get,” he said. “Voices saying, ‘I’m going to hurt you, we’re going to kill you, we’re going to kill,’ you know, crazy stuff.”
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Times staff writers Gina Piccalo and Louise Roug contributed to this column. City of Angles runs Tuesday-Friday. E-mail: angles@latimes.com.
