Michael Jackson asked Dr Conrad Murray to live with him because he “treated him as family”, the doctor’s attorney has insisted.
“Dr Murray was not a doctor first – he was a friend first,” his attorney Ed Chernoff claimed.
“He was a close personal friend and he had been for several years, before he ever became his doctor. Michael Jackson really treated him as family, and on occasion he would ask him to stay over.
“In this case it was tragic – but if he was ever going to be saved it was lucky he was staying over.”
Mr Chernoff said that Dr Murray had only been working for Jackson for less than two months, starting early May, despite the lengthy friendship.
And he swore that in that time he ‘didn’t know’ of the star ever using Demerol.
“He’s heard the reports now,” Mr Chernoff added.
“He’s been his doctor for less than two months but he has never seen him use Demerol, he’s never seen him use Oxycontin – so that would be a surprise.”
The attorney also dismissed criticisms leveled at how his client handled the crisis, saying there is a ‘difference in opinion’ as to whether CPR can be performed successfully while the patient is on a bed.
“Dr Murray is a cardiologist – he knows how to perform CPR, he knows the importance of getting Michael Jackson’s heart going, and he did just that,” he insisted.
“He worked and worked and worked to try to revive him.”
He also insisted that Jackson’s children were not in the room at the time and only knew what was happening when they arrived at the hospital.
“They were not allowed in Mr Jackson’s room, and the doctor does not recall them being around,” the attorney said. “But they did make it to the hospital after the fact.”
Of the police questioning Dr Murray, Mr Chernoff insisted: “He is not a suspect. “I think everybody is being investigated, if you put it that way, but he is not a suspect. We’ve been told he is not a suspect by the police many times.”
Tennis babe Maria Sharapova has cooled her heels on the back of a comeback appearance at Wimbledon after losing her match to Gisela Dulko.
The Argentinian has emerged as “the new glamour queen of SW19″ after a hair-raising scorecard of 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 that was billed the “battle of the babes”.
Dulko, who appears long limbed and swathed in satin in off-court photos, is ranked 45th in the world to Sharapova’s 60th.
Sharapova, who was winner of the tournament in 2004, allowed her signature shrieks to reach a recorded 103 decibels in the second set, it was reported.
She was almost tearful after the loss, saying she was struggling to get back to her form after the shoulder surgery that put her out of competition for several months. “I wasn’t good enough. The losses are tough – more here than at any other tournament.
“Just being here was a wonderful accomplishment. This whole event, there’s nothing I don’t like about it. I enjoy every single minute of it.”
Dulko, 24, said: “The crowd were with me and I started to feel they were with me all the time, and not with her … It was very surprising and very nice. I was feeling great.”
Hollywood stars Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and their young daughter Suri Cruise have arrived in Melbourne.
Cruise was glimpsed by television cameras walking down the steps of an aircraft carrying an apparently sleeping Suri, her head buried in his shoulder.
The high power couple arrived in their private jet at suburban Essendon airport at the start of winter today – out of the way of international airport crowds, media and traffic.
The pair were expected to make their way to the luxury suite awaiting them at the Crown Casino, a glitzy tower that fits into Melbourne’s futuristic new skyline.
Holmes will work at a Docklands’ movie studio on Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark in what is being reported as a media-free zone.
The lockdown is one of many attempts to roll out the best in star treatment for the Cruises.
Cruise has a previous connection with Australia through his former wife, Nicole Kidman, and the attention and economy he generated making Mission Impossible II in Sydney.
Leonardo DiCaprio was left barefoot after US tourists stole his shoes from outside a Japanese temple.
A pair of fans spotted the Titanic star at a hilltop shrine in Kyoto last week and asked him to pose for a photo with them.
But when he refused – pointing to a sign that said picture-taking was prohibited – they waited for him to go inside then pinched his Nike Dunks trainers.
A source told a US newspaper: “They just ran off with them.
A ‘lost’ film in which Angelina Jolie made her screen debut at the age of five is to be released on DVD for the first time.
The screen beauty played the daughter of her real-life estranged father, Jon Voight, in flick, Lookin’ To Get Out.
The Las Vegas-set comedy, directed by Hal Ashby, was shot in 1980 on a budget of US$17 million, but did not get a theatrical release until two years later.
It was a huge critical and box-office failure – selling less than a million dollars worth of tickets.
And it has never been available on video until Tuesday’s DVD release of the newly edited version.
Jolie’s scene with Voight lasts just over a minute.
He explains to the blonde child that he’s wearing bandages because he crossed against traffic and that he comes from New York.
The girl replies that the man she believes is her father – Ann-Margret’s male companion in the movie, played by Richard Bradford – “visits New York” a lot.
“I was a co-writer and co-producer, so I had a lot to say about the casting,” said Voight, 70.
He told the newspaper: “Angie was terrific, very well-prepared. I wasn’t looking for any signs whether she’d be an actress.”
Tomb Raider actress Jolie, 34, has been estranged from her father for several years after he accused her of having “serious mental problems” on a US TV show.
Amanda Brumfield, the estranged daughter of Billy Bob Thornton, has recently been convicted with manslaughter due to her little mishap while babysitting. It seems that the child she was taking care of actually did die from brain injury which makes Billy Bob Thornton’s daughter responsible for the death. What effect does this have on the singer? Apparently none other than the grief for the baby’s family, as his publicist states: “However, when informed about this situation, he commented that, ‘Any time a baby’s life is lost is an unimaginable tragedy and my heart goes out to the baby’s family and loved ones.’” This is one of those cases when it doesn’t really pay off to have a celebrity as a parent… one of those so very rare cases.
Michael Jackson had previously said he wanted to “go out like Elvis” when he died, according to pal Deepak Chopra.
Chopra, 62, revealed that his son went on tour with the King of Pop: “My son Gotham travelled with Michael as a roadie on his Dangerous tour when he was 13. It sends a shiver to recall something he told Gotham: ‘I don’t want to go out like Marlon Brando. I want to go out like Elvis.’”
Chopra also revealed he spoke to the star two days before his death and he sounded “upbeat”: “Two days previously he had called me in an upbeat, excited mood. The voice message said: ‘I’ve got some really good news to share with you.’
“He was writing a song about the environment, and he wanted me to help informally with the lyrics, as we had done several times before. When I tried to return his call, however, the number was disconnected. So I never got to talk to him, and the music demo he sent me lies on my bedside as a poignant symbol of an unfinished life.”
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Iconic actress Farrah Fawcett looked "beautiful" in the moments before she died, according to her close pal.
Mela Murphy, Farrah’s friend and hairdresser, was one of only four people present at the former Charlie’s Angels star’s hospital bedside before her death, on Thursday.
Alongside Farrah’s long-term partner Ryan O’Neal, her doctor and another close friend, she watched as the 62-year-old drew her last breaths at St John’s Health Centre, in Santa Monica, California.
"I’m so glad I was with her," Murphy told Radaronline.com. "She looked beautiful. She is beautiful and she has left a wonderful legacy."
Mela was one of Farrah’s closest supporters during her long and courageous cancer battle.
She said she is overcome with grief and devastated that Farrah lost her fight.
Choking back tears, she added: "It fills me with so much emotion. But I am glad that she called me her friend and allowed me to be there with her."
In addition to Mela, Ryan O’Neal, Alana Stewart and Dr. Lawrence Piro were with Farrah when she died.
Sex bomb Kim Kardashian has admitted she has a “girl crush” on scorching hot Megan Fox.
The reality TV beauty even turned up to the Los Angeles premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in a special attempt to catch a glimpse of FHM’s sexiest woman in the world.
“Megan Fox is so hot,” Kim, 28, told Entertainment Tonight. “She is, like, my girl crush – and I don’t have girl crushes!”
Kim, who dates NFL star Reggie Bush, gushed: “That’s really the only reason I’m here. I’m just really confident sexually, and I think that sort of oozes out of my pores. It’s just there. It’s something I don’t have to turn on.”
Katie Price’s new “boyfriend” Anthony Lowther has claimed they’re having a “great time” and claimed she will soon be returning to Ibiza to see him.
Anthony, 28, was pictured partying with Katie, 31, while she was out on the Spanish island shooting her new calendar after they met at the Clothes Show Live in London.
He said: “I really like her. We are well suited. She likes to party as much as I do. We’re having a great time and I’m so glad she came out to see me. She’s coming back next month.”
He was reportedly overheard saying to pals: “Yes, we’ve slept together. She’s gorgeous with an amazing body. She’s not the villain she’s been made out to be, just a single girl who wants fun.”
It was revealed last month that Katie and husband Peter Andre, 36, were separating after three and a half years of marriage.
Transformers star Megan Fox has admitted she is more of a comedian than a sex symbol.
Megan, 23, stars alongside Shia LaBeouf, also 23, in the new action flick.
She is regularly compared to Angelina Jolie, 34, and the star said she doesn’t think she is that similar to the actress.
She said: “I think there is a slight lack of creativity from the media on that one. I get that I’m tattooed and I have dark hair, but she is like a living tigress.
“She’s this angular, very sexual, aggressive woman. She’s like a warrior princess. People try to sell me as that, like I’m a femme fatale, but I’m not.
“I’m actually really silly. I’m more of a comedian than I am a sex symbol.”
X Factor judge Simon Cowell has reportedly treated fellow judges Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh to a day at Wimbledon – but not fourth judge Dannii Minogue.
Simon, 49, reportedly asked for tickets for himself and pals Cheryl, 26, and Louis, 56 – however there was no mention of Dannii, 37.
A source close to Simon said: “He was really upset having missed the first day at Wimbledon. He’s a keen tennis fan and was eager to see the matches.
“He asked if he could replace his centre court tickets for Friday and said that he would also like to bring along Cheryl and Louis – but there was no mention of Dannii.
“There may be a good reason for this, as she might be busy, but it seems quite odd that she was left out.”
It is also claimed Cheryl is being paid three times more than Dannii for their judging job on the show and Cheryl will receive a whopping £1.2million.
Ugly Betty star Becki Newton said she has a feeling co-star Ashley Jensen will return to the show after she left earlier this year.
Newton, 30, plays bitchy receptionist Amanda in the hit US sitcom. Jensen, 39, who played Christina, quit the show after location conflicts.
Newton said: “Personally – and I can speak for everyone on the show – we’re really gonna miss Ashley. She’s a very talented, cool, chick. We’ve loved having her around. I think she’ll be back though. I have a feeling!”
She also said she isn’t looking too far into the future: “I don’t really know how long it could go or will go, but Amanda will be answering the phones until she’s 90 years old! I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I think it’s a great show.”
Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester has told how her convicted drug-trafficker mother warned her not to take drugs – but also how she can’t help liking bad boys.
The 23-year-old actress, who plays Blair Waldorf in the hit TV show, was born in a Texan federal prison hospital during her mother Connie’s 10-year jail term for running a drug-trafficking ring. Her father Doug was also jailed for his role in the scheme to smuggle marijuana into the US from Jamaica.
Meester told Australia’s NW magazine: “My parents had a very interesting point of view on drugs because they witnessed a lot of people taking them. They basically said to me don’t do it. So I didn’t. And anything I’ve ever done or tried, I’ve been upfront with them about it.”
The star, who is dating co-star Sebastian Stan, also said that she likes bad boys: “Guys who are rebels and make their own rules are appealing. I want them to be dark and bad. And guys who are a little bad – and by bad I mean they’re not constantly around – I consider gold. Guys who are unavailable are a dream for me because I’m unavailable all the time. It’s great because they’re not down your throat.”
The actress and daughter of Aerosmith front man Stephen Tyler recently witnessed a woman shouting at a crying little child and it made her so angry that she almost caused an accident and wanted to call the police. Liv Tyler apparently said the following to the woman: “You can’t do that! I’m going to call the police, I’m going to call Child Services!” but it seems the woman didn’t understand English. How ironic that such a noble endeavor on Liv Tyler’s behalf would yield so little results. But then again, it is good publicity, isn’t it so maybe it wasn’t all that bad.
TV cameras have been banned from capturing superstar Rihanna’s much-anticipated testimony at ex-boyfriend Chris Brown’s assault trail.
The Barbadian singer is expected to take to the stand during a preliminary hearing at Los Angeles Superior Court.
And although reporters will be allowed inside to hear the proceedings, the doors will stay firmly closed to cameras.
Los Angeles Criminal Court Judge Patricia Schnegg decided against allowing the showdown to be broadcast to the world.
Brown, 20, faces two felony counts of assault and making criminal threats against Rihanna after a pre-Grammy party in February.
However, if he reaches a plea agreement, the hearing would be unnecessary. Brown’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, has previously indicated he hoped to resolve the case without public testimony.
If it goes ahead, Rihanna – real name Robyn Fenty – could later be called as a witness in the high-profile trial.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Bruno launched another attack on superstar singer Madonna branding her a “total sl*t”.
The 37-year-old comic was in character at the recent UK premiere of his hit flick Bruno and launched another attack on Madonna.
He said, wearing leather hot pants and a bearskin hat, about the star: “She’s a total sl*t. Her gynaecologist will only inspect her over the phone these days.”
He also shocked fans by calling Peaches, 20, and sister Pixie, 18, “D-listers” and added: “I want to be the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler.”
