[Story.]

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Heidi Montag, Political Spin, Spencer Pratt, The Hills

Heath Ledger could be the latest star to have died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Ledger was taking anti-depressants as well as the "dangerous drug" Ambien at the time of his death, although his autopsy today was inconclusive. While most celebrity drug deaths have been the result of either suicide or the use of illegal drugs, a surprising number of stars have died by accident -- from medications you can purchase at the corner pharmacy. Here are 12 of the most famous:



1. MARILYN MONROE. Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" died from an overdose of sleeping pills -- specifically, Nembutal and chloral hydrate [pictured]. Although Monroe's death was officially listed as a suicide in 1962, many forensic experts and investigators now say the overdose was more likely to have been accidental.



2. ELVIS PRESLEY. Perhaps the most famous prescription-drug abuser of all time, Elvis died in 1977 from an overdose of medications while on the toilet in his Graceland mansion. Presley's ex-wife wrote: "Presley was taking Placidyls [pictured] to combat severe insomnia in ever increasing doses and later took Dexedrine to counter the sleeping pills' after effects." Presley's personal physician, Dr. George C. Nichopoulos, concluded: "Elvis's problem was that he didn't see the wrong in it. He felt that by getting [pills] from a doctor, he wasn't the common everyday junkie..."



3. JUDY GARLAND. The Wizard of Oz star was found dead in her London bathroom by her husband in 1969. Coroner Gavin Thursdon said the cause of death was an accidental overdose of Seconal [pictured].



4. HOWARD HUGHES. The germophobic genius and subject of Martin Scorcese's The Aviator died in 1976 in route to a Houston hospital from his Acalpulco estate. Although the official cause of death was liver failure, his autopsy showed lethal amounts of codeine and valium [pictured] in his system.



5. ANNA NICOLE SMITH. According to Wikipedia, "Ultimately her death [in 2007] was ruled an accidental drug overdose of the sedative chloral hydrate that became increasingly lethal when combined with other prescription drugs in her system, specifically 4 benzodiazepines: Klonopin (Clonazepam), Ativan (Lorazepam), Serax (Oxazepam), and Valium (Diazepam). Furthermore, she had taken Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) and Topamax (Toprimate), an anticonvulsant GABA agonist, which likely contributed to the sedative effect of chloral hydrate and the benzodiazepines."



6. DOROTHY DANDRIDGE. The first African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, Dandridge was found dead in West Hollywood in 1965 from an overdose of Imipramine [pictured], a tricyclic antidepressant. It's believed she improperly combined the medication -- which she took for her bipolar disorder -- with pain medication she received after breaking an ankle.



7. DANA PLATO. The long-troubled Diff'rent Strokes star died from an accidental overdose of Vanadom [pictured] and Vicodin at her mother-in-law's Oklahoma home in 1999.



8. KEITH MOON. The Who drummer died in 1978 from an accidental overdose of Heminevrin [pictured], a medication taken as part of a program to wean him off alcohol.



9. ROB PILATUS. The Milli Vanilli star, disgraced after the public learned the music duo did not actually sing on its hit records, died in 1998 of an accidental overdose of a medication (reportedly methadone [pictured]) designed to help him with drug withdrawal symptons.



10. ROBERT WALKER. Perhaps the most bizarre accidental prescription-drug death. The star of Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train died mysteriously in 1951 after being given an injection of the "truth serum" sodium amytal [pictured] by psychiatrists at his home.



11. NICK DRAKE. The influential singer-songwriter died at his childhood home in the U.K. in 1974 from an accidental overdose of the antidepressant amitriptyline [pictured].



12. PAIGE SUMMERS. The 1998 Penthouse Pet of the Year was found dead in her fiance's home in 2003 from a combination of the painkillers codeine and oxycodone. Her death may or may not have been an accident; some have pointed a finger at fiance Bracey Bobbitt -- who was a pharmacist.

[Reprinted with permission of eDrugSearch.com]

Labels: anna nicole smith, Celebrity Culture, Dana Plato, Elvis Presley, Heath Ledger, Howard Hughes, Marilyn Monroe, Paige Summers

Mad Money's opening weekend take was $7.7 million; at 10 bucks a head (yeah, I know that's not the scientific way to do it), that's an audience of 770,000. Meanwhile, the leaked Cruise Scientology rant has been viewed 1.8 million times on Gawker alone.

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Katie Holmes, L.Ron Hubbard, Mad Money, Scientology, Tom Cruise

Talk about cruel and unusual punishment. [Story.]

More after the jump.

Labels: attention whores, Celebrity Culture, Lindsay Lohan, nipple slips

Or at least that's the spin here in Big D.

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Dallas Cowboys, Jessica Simpson, New York Giants, NFL, Tony Romo

[Story.]

Labels: Britney Spears, Celebrity Culture, Dr. Phil

Eager to win their share of the "totally A-list" media coverage surrounding the death of Benazir Bhutto, Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag of "The Hills" briefly set aside their differences to travel to Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Pakistan, for the assassinated leader's funeral services. Fellow cast member Audrina Patridge also made the flight to Karachi.

Only after they arrived on Saturday morning were they informed that the funeral had been held on Friday. They were then beaten by rioters before barely escaping via an MTV production van to the U.S. embassy.

"I'm freaking out. I'm like, my publicist is totally fired," Conrad fumed to Patridge. The pair only cheered up after learning that Montag, who received the worst beating of the three, would have to stay in Pakistan for treatment and would not be able to accompany them on their return flight.

Labels: Audrina Patridge, Benazir Bhutto, Celebrity Culture, funeral, Heidi Montag, Lauren Conrad, Pakistan, The Hills

Labels: Britney Spears, Celebrity Culture, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton

[Story.]

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Hitler, Will Smith

Labels: Britney Spears, Celebrity Culture, Jamie Lynn Spears

OK, this has really gone too far now.

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Jennifer Love Hewitt

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Samantha Harris

A while back, Linday Lohan starred in a romantic comedy called Just My Luck. For the film's poster, rather than create a new image, the promotions department simply used an existing paparazzi pic of Lindsay.

It turned out to be the most interesting thing about the movie.

Which got us to wondering: Considering the current state of Lohan's career, could her paparazzi pics do a better job as an actress than she does?

Here, for example, is one of Lohan's paparazzi pics playing the Dustin Hoffman role in Marathon Man:



And here is another one (a mug shot, technically) in Sean Penn's role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High:



That girl should hire Media Orchard as her agent.

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Lindsay Lohan

Paul McCartney has been caught on tape calling ex Heather Mills a "one-legged bitch," according to Mills. She also claims that Paul's daughter, Stella McCartney, threatened to "kill the bitch".

Others alleged to have called Mills a bitch include U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, comic Frank Skinner, Tabloid Whore, Jonathan Roberts, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Adam at Radar Online, Ellen DeGeneres, this pirate, Queen Elizabeth, Madame Arcati, Gloria Steinem, Gabby Babble, the Vienna Boys Choir, Holy Moly, and Pope Benedict XVI.

To fight off the pervasive charges of bitchery, Mills has hired a new publicist.

Personally, we think it's time she brought out the big guns.



Oh, and here's a bittersweet pic from happier times:

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Heather Mills, Paul McCartney

Poor Paris Hilton. She gets so much grief for having a little fun just because she promised that old fart Larry King that she would devote her life to doing good. Don't people know the difference between "reputation management" and real life?

Anyhoo, Media Orchard has obtained exclusive photos demonstrating that Paris is a true philanthropist after all. For example, here she is showing Girl Scouts how to earn the newly created Paris Hilton Merit Badge:



And although she doesn't brag about it, Paris is actively involved with Habitat for Humanity as well. Here, she installs a structure in an impoverished family's master bedroom:

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Paris Hilton, strippers

Any of you old farts out there remember Dennis Cole? He was one of those John Tesh-handsome guys who cobbled together an acting career in the '70s by appearing on shows like Love Boat, Fantasy Island and Charlie's Angels. He was most famous for his brief marriage to Angel Jaclyn Smith.

Now he's back in the news for getting busted in a domestic dispute in Fort Lauderdale Thursday.

Apparently he sells real estate these days. And plays the trumpet. And sells autographed photos of himself via PayPal.

He's also had some real tragedy in his life -- in particular, the unsolved murder of his son, Joey.

See for yourself at the decidedly Web 1.0 site, DennisCole.com.

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Dennis Cole

While, in general, Media Orchard does not support the imposition of Sharia law in the United States, we would like to see it imposed on The Hills.

Labels: Audrina Patridge, Celebrity Culture, Heidi Montag, Lauren Conrad, LC

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Girls Gone Wild, Joe Francis

Media Orchard has exclusively obtained the full portfolio of photos that Halle Berry planned to share with Jay Leno on an Oct. 19 taping of the Tonight Show. After speaking with some of the Jewish people who work for them, the pair decided to cut the routine short.





[Watch the edited video here.]

Labels: anti-Semitism, Celebrity Culture, Halle Berry

Oh, no -- Mutts and Moms gave Iggy to him?



I don't know how you feel about this, but personally, I'm outraged by the lack of humanity. Now -- what address can I send my death threat to?

[Story.]

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Ellen DeGeneres, Iggy, Michael Vick, Mutts and Moms

Labels: Brangelina, Celebrity Culture

Not to be outdone by the Vatican hype machine, U.S. celebrity worshippers claim to have witnessed the fiery image of Anna Nicole Smith in a bonfire outside Billy Ray's filling station in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Monday night.

Here are the images captured by Billy Ray and his wife, Tiffany Rae -- submitted exclusively to Media Orchard (click to enlarge):

Labels: anna nicole smith, Celebrity Culture, John Paul II

Following in Angelina Jolie's successful footsteps, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton have separately announced plans to visit Africa to rehabilitate their party-girl reputations.

Media Orchard has learned exclusively that Lohan and Hilton have already made a hush-hush trip to the Dark Continent in preparation for their future, more high-profile sojourns.

Unfortunately, all did not go as planned -- as you can see after the jump (nsfw).






Reportedly, several generous African women offered to share their own undergarments with the visitors. Residents also expressed concern that the pair looked "hungry."

Publicists for Lohan and Hilton did not return phone calls.

Labels: Africa, Angelina Jolie, Celebrity Culture, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton

It was a phoner.

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Lindsay Lohan, Rehab

...after being accused of tax evasion.

Labels: Bono, Celebrity Culture

Labels: Britney Spears, Celebrity Culture

Labels: Angelina Jolie, Celebrity Culture

Are you a female high school dropout, between the ages of 16 and 25? Are you tired of doors being slammed in your face? Are you tired of lying around in bed all day with nothing to do? Well, you never need get up again, because in six short weeks, Velvet Jones can train you to be a high-paying ho.

Sound too good to be true? Just send for Velvet's new book entitled, I Wanna Be a Ho.

Table of contents:

Chapter 1: Making your amateur porn tape
Chapter 2: Releasing your amateur porn tape on the Internet
Chapter 3: Denying you released your amateur porn tape on the Internet
Chapter 4: Taking a cut of the profits from your amateur porn tape
Chapter 5: Hanging out with successful hos
Chapter 6: Cutting a deal to be on the cover of Playboy
Chapter 7: Landing your own reality show

Velvet would be proud.

Labels: Celebrity Culture, Kim Kardashian, reality TV, sex tapes

It is according to the Dirt 100, acing out longtime top duo Perez Hilton and TMZ. The Dirt 100 tracks the influence of more than 140 celebrity blogs; you can pitch in by rating the blogs yourself, or adding your own blog to the list today.

Labels: celebrity blogs, Celebrity Culture, dirt 100, perez hilton, the superficial, tmz.com

Thank God -- they have their own blog now.

Labels: Celebrity Culture, honey bee dancers, singing bee

You're being two-timed, O.J.

Labels: