FROM: AP

Product pitchman Mays remembered as natural seller

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. (AP) — References to television pitchman Bill Mays’ trademark image were everywhere at his funeral Friday near Pittsburgh.

Most mourners wore stickers showing a cartoon image of his distinctive bearded face. The six pallbearers eschewed suits and instead wore bright blue button-down shirts like the ones Mays wore on TV. At the conclusion of the ceremony, they gave a “thumbs up,” just as Mays did at the end of one of his commercials.

Mays, whose high-energy hawking turned products like OxiClean from infomercial curiosities into mainstream successes, was remembered as a pop culture icon who never forgot his hometown or spiritual roots.

“He sold more OxiClean than Andy Warhol sold Campbell’s Soup,” cousin Dean Panizzi said in eulogizing Mays and comparing him to the Pittsburgh-born pop artist who turned soup cans into works of art.

Panizzi’s 20-minute eulogy evoked everything from memories of their childhood together — complete with a Christmas Eve remembrance of their parents ringing sleigh bells outside — to Mays’ devout Christian faith. Panizzi recited various lines Mays made famous, including “Life’s a pitch, and then you buy” and drew a standing ovation parroting Mays’ signature introduction, “Hi, Billy Mays here.”  CLICK FOR THE REST OF THE STORY!

RIP!

It was good enough for James Brown, and it’s good enough for Michael Jackson!

ACCORDING TO TMZ: The King of Pop will be buried in a gleaming $25,000 custom-made casket - solid bronze, with a hand-polished 14-carat gold mirror plate finish and a blue velvet-lined interior.

The coffin, known as The Promethean, is extremely rare and was the same model chosen by relatives of James Brown for the Godfather of Soul’s burial.

The Promethean comes from the Indiana -based Batesville Casket Company. Jackson was an Indiana native, growing up in Gary before his family moved to California.

GUYS! ONLY THE BEST WILL DO FOR THE “KING OF POP” & THE “GOD FATHER OF SOUL”!!!

Michael Jackson funeral tickets will be available to the public. 17,500 free tickets for the funeral, to be held at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 7,  will be released today, according to a spokesman for the Jackson family. The service will begin at 10am local time. 17,500 Tickets will be available at staplescenter.com, 6,500 for viewing at the nearby Nokia Center and 11,000 for Staples Center itself. Tickets will be available for pickup on Monday morning. Registration is available for US residents only, and is open from 10am July 3 to 6pm on July 4.

Once registration closes, attendees will be chose at random from those who were able to register. Those fans will be notified via email with further information, including where to pick up their tickets and wristbands.

Details on how to get tickets were made public via a press conference at Staples Center, at 10am Pacific Time today. Jan Perry from the Los Angeles City Council is outlining the city’s role in managing public safety during the massive event that will be the Michael Jackson funeral, which will draw people from all over the world, and is urging people to watch from home.

There will be no funeral procession to Staples Center, and video feeds will be made available to news outlets for free. The LAPD is stressing that those without wristbands will not be allowed near the Staples Center area: the borders will be Flowers Street, Olympic Blvd, Pico Blvd, and Blaine St.

TO REGISTER GO TO: http://staplescenter.com

GOOD LUCK DIVA FANS!!!

SOURCE:CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday that she will step down as Alaska’s chief executive by the end of the month. She will not seek election to a second gubernatorial term in 2010.

 As the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, Palin had been considered one of the front-runners for the GOP nomination in 2012.

“People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing’s more important to me than our beloved Alaska,” Palin said at an announcement from her home in Wasilla. “Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.”

Palin was elected governor in 2006. She was tapped as Arizona Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential running mate last year. Palin said she was transferring authority to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in at the Governor’s Picnic on July 26. Video Watch Palin’s announcement »

Palin added in a statement that she was “determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path. … Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional lame duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose.”

A Republican source close to her political team told CNN’s John King that it was a “calculation” she made that “it was time to move on.” The governor’s “book deal and other issues” were “causing a lot of friction” in her home state, the source said, adding that he believes she is “mapping out a path to 2012.”

Another source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Palin “thinks she has accomplished goals she has set forward. … She sees what a positive influence she has had on people’s lives from traveling the country in the last year.”  Following Palin’s announcement, the Democratic National Committee blasted what it called her “bizarre behavior.”

“Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long shot national political ambitions or she simply can’t handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down,” DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said.

“Either way, her decision to abandon her post and the people of Alaska who elected her continues a pattern of bizarre behavior that more than anything else may explain the decision she made today.”

Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ed Rollins said, to a certain extent, Palin’s announcement makes her look “terribly inept.”

“I think everyone is shocked by this, and I think to a certain extent everyone is going to assume there’s another story. You don’t just quit with a year and a half to go. You certainly don’t do this as a stepping stone to run for president. You finish the job that you’re in, and obviously she’s not doing that,” he said.

“I think people are going to be very suspicious because of the timing. You don’t quit on the Friday of a three-day holiday. If you are going to do this, you think it through, you give a good speech,” Rollins said.

In an interview last month with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Palin said she was unsure about her re-election bid because she needed to focus on her state and her family.

“So, no decision yet on either 2010 or let alone 2012?” Blitzer asked. ”No decision that I’d want to announce today,” Palin responded. Palin catapulted on the national stage last August when McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, chose her as his running mate.

OK! AND THE REAL REASON IS???

ACCORDING TO: TMZ

We’ve learned who’s getting what in Michael Jackson’s trust. Here’s how it breaks down.

Katherine Jackson will get 40% of the assets.

Michael’s 3 kids will get another 40%.

And the remaining 20% goes to several children’s charities.

We’re told the charities have not been designated yet and are not specified in the trust.

 We’ve also learned the California Attorney General is filing legal papers right now in the probate case — the docs relate to the charitable gifts. The A.G. regulates charities in California.

A lawyer for the A.G.’s office will be in court at the next hearing.

NADA FOR DEBBIE OR PAPA JOE!!!

Eva Langoria and Tony Parker are taking a break in paris France, and spending some quality family time with the Parkers.

The “Desperate Housewives” actress and her basketball hottie enjoyed their day yesterday by taking a ride through the City of Lights.

The couple seem to be having a wonderful time and were not bothered by the paparazzi’s firing away.

Later in the evening, they were spotted at France Televisions for dinner joined by the Parkers!

LOVE THE SHOES EVA!

VIA: PAGE SIX

In her latest Emporio Armani ad, Victoria Beckham once again strips down to her unmentionables for all the world to see. While she’s lagging behind hubby David in number of Armani ads, they are running neck and neck in terms of sex appeal. So, flip through these “visual aids” to decide which Beckham is best!

PHOTOS ARE AFTER HER RECENT TALKED ABOUT BOOB REDUCTION!

SOURCE RADAR ON LINE:

Less than a week after succumbing to a long battle with cancer,  Farrah Fawcett was laid to rest on Tuesday during a ceremony held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in Los Angeles.

As the hearse bearing Fawcett’s body pulled up to the church, longtime love Ryan O’Neal (who was also spotted wearing what looked like a simple, gold wedding ring), best friend Alana Stewart, and a handful of men waited outside to receive her.

Former fellow Charlie’s Angels Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson were also spotted entering the ceremony. Eight pallbearers brought her coffin- which was covered with a huge bouquet of orange, yellow and white flowers- into the church shortly before the church bells began to ring.

Her son Redmond was also on hand and read the first reading from the Bible (Lamentations 3: 17 - 26). Ryan read the second reading (Wisdom 3: 1- 9).

The program passed out at the ceremony was an ode to the icon’s glamorous persona. On the cover of the pamplet, Fawcett- in a sequined dress- is shown giving a million-dollar smile to the camera as her trademark hair runs curly and free.

Inside the cover the words of James Joyce set the tone for the somber event. From his quoted poem At That Hour:

Play on, invisible harps, unto Love,

Whose way in heaven is aglow

At that hour when soft lights come and go,

Soft sweet music in the air above

And in the earth below.

At the end of the ceremony, Fawcett’s casket was carried out by Ryan, Redmond, and six pallbearers as bagpipes solemnly played. After standing by as they closed the doors of the hearse, Redmond helped his grandmother and grandfather get into a limo and drive away.

Ryan spoke to a few of the attendees outside the church and waved to the crowd gathered across the street before getting into his own limo.

REST IN PEACE!

VIA PEOPLE:

Tony Romo Sees Nothing Crazy About Life with Jessica!

Tony Romo may be under intense pressure as star quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, but one thing’s for sure: His relationship with Jessica Simpson “is not hard.”

“It’s a normal relationship,” Romo, smiling and relaxed, told PEOPLE during batting practice at Yankee Stadium as Starter athletic gear chaperone to Ben Brant, a 10-year-old Albany, N.Y., boy diagnosed with leukemia.

“There’s nothing exotic or crazy about it,” Romo, 29, says of Simpson. “We’re two people who care about each other, and it’s not hard to make it work when both of you want to see the other one. We make each other happy.”

As for how their relationship is faring, “It’s going good,” he says. “We have a fun being around each other. She’s a great girl. We enjoy each other’s company.”

When it comes to questions regarding his shape – earlier this month, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett suggested Romo was “bottom-heavy” – the ballplayer says: “That’s just for other people to talk about. All you can do is put your head down and go to work each day and try to achieve. It’s all about just trying to achieve a goal and working hard to do it.”

Not that he’s suggesting a break before he reports to training camp. “I’m not a big vacation guy,” says Romo. “For me, it’s fun just playing games and I get to play a sport for a living. In some ways I’m lucky because I don’t need a vacation because I get to live out what I love to do.”

SAY IT LIKE YOU FEEL IT ROMO!

VIA THE SUN:

Posh ‘n Necks paradise!

DAVID BECKHAM has his hands full when it comes to impressing missus VICTORIA on wedding anniversaries. Flowers from the garage and maybe a bit more effort between the sheets aren’t good enough.

The two tied the knot ten years ago this Saturday and Becks has come up with something spectacular — a romantic break to ultra-exclusive Necker Island.

A source said: “Becks has pulled in a few favours. He has bought Victoria a lot of other gifts to mark the occasion but the big surprise is the holiday to Necker.

“RICHARD BRANSON owns the paradise island and sorted the trip out, including all the travel arrangements. It will be something to remember.”

The Beckham wedding was one of the most lavish celebrity bashes ever. A real achievement considering GARY NEVILLE was best man. 

The thrones at Luttrellstown Castle will go down in garish wedding stat history. Hats off to them, though. They have had their ups and downs, three kids and a few Airmiles to test them. 

TOTALY DIVINE DARLINGS!