New & Noteworthy: Nice day for a white wedding

Following in the footsteps of such celebrated knot-tiers as Pierce Brosnan, David Beckham and Paul McCartney, singer Marilyn Manson married his long-time girlfriend, Dita Von Teese, in Kilsheelan, Co. Tipperary, last weekend. According to the Associated Press, the ceremony took place at the picturesque Castle Gurteen, owned by one of Manson’s artist pals, in front of 60 friends and family members.
Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, ditched his customary fishnets and high heels for a more conservative black tuxedo by designer John Galliano. The bride, whose real name is Heather Sweet, exchanged vows in a purple taffeta number by Vivienne Westwood. According to news reports, the guests skipped traditional wedding activities like the Chicken Dance and debating whether the bride was in the family way, in favor of more wholesome pursuits like skeet shooting, falconry and archery. The extensive menu featured duck, lobster, Dublin Bay prawns and – to add the requisite wild note – a whole pig roasted on a spit.
But lest you think the day was all sweetness and light and orange blossoms, Marilyn had a few tricks tucked into his corset. A few months ago, he told MTV.com that he planned
to have a best man – and a worst man, too.
“I had two friends, and I had a hard time deciding,” he said. In addition, Manson’s catering plans called for “children in makeup, dressed in wonderful 19th century outfits, serving absinthe frappe.” Hmmmm . . . would that fall under top shelf hootch in the bar bill?

Briefings
First the good news: toothsome singer Jimmy Osmond – you’ll remember him as Donny and Marie’s annoying little brother — is all grown up now, and still makes a living in show business. The so-so news: making that living entails eating bugs on the British reality TV show, “I’m a [C-List] Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” The bad news: poor Jimmy got the bum’s rush this week, which means he’s out of the running for the top prize of a new identity and all the cheese one person can eat. Sigh. It seems like only yesterday he held a nation in the palm of his hand as he chirpily crooned “Long-Haired Lover from Liverpool.” Face it – they don’t make records like THAT anymore.

Just call her Baby Bennifer.
Celebrity couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have welcomed their first child, a bouncing baby girl, into their family unit. No details, like name, weight, or preferred pattern for the silver spoon, have been released, but the couple’s publicist, Ken Sunshine, assures the world that “Mother, father and baby are doing great.”

TomKat rumor update: The couple (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, for those of you who’ve been living on Planet Huh? for the past few months) is reportedly expecting a baby boy, reportedly registered at Neiman Marcus (gift cards welcome, according to a spy at Gawker.com), and reportedly getting hitched on Oct. 21, 2006. (Yeah, like they’d tell everyone.) Oh, and he told the TV show “Extra!” that “It’s exciting, changing diapers, being there and having the whole experience. I can’t wait.” Of course, that should last for a day or two – until, as Bill Cosby famously pointed out, God puts the smell back in the poo-poo. At which point it’s a safe bet that the nanny will wind up having all the fun.

BBC broadcaster Terry Wogan’s honorary knighthood has been converted to a full-status one, now that the Limerick-born star holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Which means that he can officially use the title “Sir,” which seems like an odd thing for an Irish person to want, but jolly good, tally ho, each to his own, and all that rot. (Somewhere, Frank and Malachy McCourt are weeping . . .)
For another perspective on the knighthood thing, let’s turn to British actor Bob Hoskins, who has gone on record saying he’d turn the honor down if it were ever offered to him.
“Sir Bob Hoskins,” he huffed to ContactMusic.com. “[Bad word] that. Everyone I’ve ever met who’s made my life a misery was called Sir. And the ones who insisted I call them Sir were the worst of all.” (Nothing personal, Sir Wogan.)

Kiwi triple threat (phone flinger, actor and singer) Russell Crowe is laughing off speculation that he has found religion in the wake of his latest brush with the law.
The “Cinderella Man” star insists that he chose to call his new band The Ordinary Fear of God so that the initials would match the ones of his former group, Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts. The decision was based on expediency – and simple economics.
“I needed a name with the same initials, so I didn’t have to buy new t-shirts for the road crew and new luggage labels,” he told ContactMusic.com. “There is no deep spiritual meaning to it — just the chance to save a few bucks.” (Now there’s a great t-shirt slogan.)

The New York Daily News reports that U2 front man Bono has teamed up with R&B star Alicia Keyes for a charity single to benefit the global AIDS organization Keep a Child Alive. The pair recorded a new version of the Peter Gabriel – Kate Bush record “So,” and renamed it “Don’t Give Up (Africa).” The single is available exclusively through iTunes, and all proceeds will go to the charity.

To quote an old saying, the only flies on Louis Walsh are the ones paying rent. The Irish pop impresario, always on the lookout for the next big trend that will separate lovesick teenagers from their allowance money, has decided that the time is right to mount a Boyzone reunion tour.
In an appearance on the show Orange Playlist, Louis noted that the reconstituted Take That lineup has been able to sell out a string of concert dates, even without the participation of its most famous alumnae, Robbie Williams. Louis figures that if he could bring together the members of – with all due respect to U2, who have laid claim to the title — Ireland’s original boy band, it would be the same as printing money in the basement.
The only real hurdle would be in getting the guys – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Steven Gately, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch – back together. In particular, the Ronan thing might be a bit dicey, as he and Louis had a major falling out a couple of years ago, when Ro decided to switch managers. But Louis says it’s all water under the bridge now.
Ireland Online reports that Walsh told the O.P. hosts, “Ronan is a nice guy and I said some unkind things about him,” and that he’s “sorry.”
Of course, if Ronan does decide to forego the reunion and concentrate on his solo career, perhaps Louis could convince someone else to take his place. Someone who auditioned for Boyzone so many years ago, almost no one remembers. Someone who didn’t make the cut. You might recognize the name: a young Dub named Colin Farrell.

George Clooney is the kind of guy who puts his money where his mouth is. The star of “Good Night and Good Luck” and “Syriana” has earmarked a quarter of the profits from his new Las Vegas casino, The Ramblas, for charity.
The actor, an outspoken supporter of many liberal causes, including the One Campaign, told entertainment web site ContactMusic.com that he has trouble reconciling his great wealth with the knowledge that “there’s a bunch of kids starving to death.”
“I’m donating it to help make poverty history,” he said.

Pop diva Mariah Carey exited her London hotel last Saturday — wearing even less clothing than usual.
Britain’s Sunday Mirror reports that Mariah, in town to promote her latest CD, “The Emancipation of Mimi,” was forced to jump out of the bath and flee in her bathrobe when fire alarms rang through the 5-star Claridges Hotel. An astonished onlooker told the paper, “It was incredible – seeing one of the world’s most beautiful women just running around in a dressing gown.”
In more Mariah news, the multi-octave singer told the Mirror that she’s looking to buy her own hotel in the Big Smoke. But she’s not interested in anything large – small and intimate are the keywords in her search. Which begs the question of why she doesn’t just buy a house, but then, where’s the fun in that?
“There’s a place in Chelsea with only 10 rooms that sounds fabulous,” she said. “I could have a Mimi Suite, which would be really girly.”

Quotable
As an artist, I think it’s our job to stay out of politics. If we start having dinner at the White House or at Downing Street, then they have us . . . The next thing is that we can’t sing because our mouths are full of – something we can’t print.”
– Sinead O’Connor explaining her views on pop star activism in an interview in this week’s Time Out New York.