Melissa and Tammy welcome twins
 |
| Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels |
Melissa Etheridge and her partner, Tammy Lynn Michaels, are the new parents of twins, the couple announced Oct. 20.
Michaels gave birth to a boy and girl Tuesday: son Miller Steven and daughter Johnnie Rose.
Etheridge, 45, and Michaels, 31, held a commitment ceremony in 2003. The Grammy-winning singer has two children from her relationship with former partner Julie Cypher: daughter Bailey Jean and son Beckett. Cypher had the children through artificial insemination using a sperm donation from rock legend David Crosby.
Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, but is now cancer-free. She last released a greatest hits album titled “The Road Less Traveled.”
Michaels starred on the 2005 NBC comedy “Committed” and has appeared on Showtime’s “The L Word.”
“‘Grey’s’ doctor opens the closet
“Grey’s Anatomy” star T.R. Knight says he’s gay, but hopes people don’t consider that “the most interesting part of me.”
The 33-year-old actor addressed rumors of his sexuality in a statement to People magazine on Oct. 19.
“I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I’d like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there,” Knight’s statement read. “While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I’m gay isn’t the most interesting part of me.”
Knight plays Dr. George O’Malley on the popular ABC drama. A former stage actor, his television credits also include “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
Perhaps all the media attention Knight has received for his courageous act will be good for his next project, the indie comedy “A Last Request,” written and directed by John DeBellis.
Currently searching for a distributor, the movie stars Danny Aiello as a dying paterfamilias who wants his kids to deliver unto him a grandson before he kicks the bucket. Also starring are throaty-voiced sexpot Barbara Feldon (ask your parents about “Get Smart” if her name doesn’t ring a bell) and “Saturday Night Live” casualty Joe Piscopo.
Rosie’s gets a “‘Nip/Tuck’ spinoff
Looks like the “Queen of Nice” is becoming the “Queen of All Media.”
Rosie O’Donnell, whose presence on “The View” has boosted ratings for the morning yakety-yak show, has announced that she’ll be shooting a pilot for a new nighttime series about Dawn Budge, the lottery winner she played on “Nip/Tuck.”
(In that episode, she paid hunky surgeon Julian McMahon $100,000 to service her.)
The producers of that show including creator Ryan Murphy (“Running with Scissors”) were so taken with their guest star that they immediately made a deal to give Rosie her own show.
Expectations are high for the “Dawn Budge” pilot so much so that it’s rumored Nicole Kidman wants to make her American TV debut as a guest star.
Matarazzo knows “‘The Rules’
Super-cool lesbian actress Heather Matarazzo (“The Princess Diaries,” “Saved!”) is attached to a half-hour sitcom pilot think “The L Word,” only intentionally funny called “The Rules: A Lesbian Survival Guide.”
Sheryl Lee Ralph (star of “Dreamgirls” on Broadway in the ’70s) will also appear on the show, directed by out director Lee Friedlander and based on her very funny festival-fave short film “The Ten Rules (A Lesbian Survival Guide).”
Friedlander’s feature-length lesbian romantic comedy “Girl Play” was also a festival hit, taking home three awards from the 2004 Outfest in Los Angeles.
Plus, Curve magazine voted her one of Hollywood’s “Most Powerful Women,” so look out.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, October 27, 2006.