Robert De Niro has become a father again at age 68. Perhaps even more exciting, Drena De Niro has become a big sister again at age 40.
The new baby, a girl, was born by a surrogate mother to De Niro and second wife Grace Hightower. Helen Grace weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces, a representative for the couple said Friday.
Drena, an actress, is the daughter of De Niro and his first wife, actress Diahnne Abbott. De Niro adopted Drena in 1976, when she was 5. She first became a big sister that same year with the birth of brother Raphael, a former actor who is now in real estate and, arguably, has his father's nose.
Then came twin brothers Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrik in 1995. De Niro fathered the boys through in vitro fertilization and a surrogate mother with longtime partner Toukie Smith.
He and Hightower had Elliot in 1998.
Before the birth of his latest child, De Niro spoke with the Daily Mail about his brood, saying he had "five of them, ranging in age from 14 to their 30s, by three mothers." It's a sort of "fractionalized family," he said.
But the actor has been widely quoted as saying he liked the "Italian thing" about families -- togetherness.
One family "lives in different apartments in a building," he said. It's "nice stuff if you can do it."
Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) is going to court to fight back against accusations made by his ex-wife Linda that he abused her during their 24-year relationship and had a gay love affair with another wrestler.
The source of the tension is Linda Hogan's 2011 autobiography, "Wrestling the Hulk: My Life Against the Ropes." In the book, she claims the semiretired pro wrestler would physically abuse her, including dragging her by her hair and clothes and choking her.
Additionally, during her rounds of media interviews to promote the book, Linda hinted to an interviewer that Hogan may have had a sexual affair with Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake (real name Ed Leslie). In another interview, she compared herself to Nicole Brown Simpson, slain ex-wife of O.J. Simpson.
The St. Petersburg Times reports Hogan has filed a civil suit in Clearwater, Fla., claiming the book and the interviews Linda Hogan has given have "harmed the reputation of Mr. Bollea, exposed him to distrust, hatred, contempt and ridicule."
The book and interviews could be seen as Linda's revenge for Hulk Hogan's own tell-all book "My Life Outside the Ring," published in 2009, which said Linda was an "abusive alcoholic."
The Hogans had their lives taped as part of the reality series "Hogan Knows Best," which aired from 2005 until 2007. Shortly after the cancellation of the series, Linda Hogan filed for divorce after tabloid reports surfaced that Hulk had an affair with a female friend of their daughter.
This post has been updated. See the note below for details.
Macho Man Randy Savage died Friday morning in Florida after reportedly suffering a heart attack at the wheel, crossing the median and crashing his Jeep Wrangler into a tree. The former pro wrestling star was 58.
Second wife Lynn Payne was a passenger during the crash and suffered minor injuries, Florida Highway Patrol told TMZ, which first reported the news. Wrestler Lanny Poffo confirmed the death of his brother, born Randall Mario Poffo, to the website.
[Updated, 12:05 p.m.: Lanny Poffo told TMZ that Randy had suffered a heart attack; the highway patrol report says Savage "lost control for unknown reasons," according to the St. Petersberg Times, and that a heart attack could not be confirmed until an autopsy was done.]
The couple, married last May, recently celebrated their one-year anniversary. Savage died of his injuries at Largo Medical Center in Largo, Fla. Both were reportedly wearing seatbelts.
"He had so much life in his eyes & in his spirit, I just pray that he's happy and in a better place and we miss him," fellow wrestler Hulk Hogan said Friday on Twitter. "We miss him a lot. I feel horrible about the ten years of having no communication. This was a tough one."
Twitter queen Alyssa Milano was also among those offering condolences, tweeting, "Rest in peace, Macho Man Randy Savage."
"I feel so fortunate that I had a second chance to marry my first love, here where it all began," Savage said a year ago, after his Lido Beach wedding to Payne, whom he'd met there decades before.
First wife Elizabeth Hulette, pro wrestling's Miss Elizabeth, died of an overdose in 2003; they'd divorced in 1992.
He was back on the wrestling scene in a fashion with the release of a wrestling all-stars video game early this year, promoting the game in a video embedded below.
Savage, who announced the release of a Macho Man action figure -- not his first -- at Comic-Con in July 2010, was known for his catch phrase "Ooooooh yeaahhh" and his affiliation with Slim Jim snacks. See the Comic-Con announcement below.
In addition to his pro wrestling success -- including multiple reigns as WWE (then WWF) and WCW champion -- Savage appeared as Bone Saw McGraw, the wrestler Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker faces off with in "Spider-Man" (2002), among other occasional acting gigs, and released a rap album, "Be a Man" (2003).
As Randy Poffo, he played minor league baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnatti Reds systems in the early 1970s. Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was also among those expressing condolences Friday.
Top photo: Randy Savage arrives with Lynn Payne, whom he later married, at the "Bolt" premiere at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on Nov. 17, 2008. Credit: Michael Buckner / Getty Images.
Right photo: The Macho Man, who released the rap album "Be a Man" in 2003, attends the 31st Annual American Music Awards in L.A. on Nov. 16, 2003. Credit: Frank Micelotta / Getty Images.
A Hulk Hogan wedding ceremony would, of course, have a touch of the wrestling arena to it — though not by the bride and groom's design.
Hogan, 57, and Jennifer McDaniel, 37, were married at the former pro wrestler's waterfront home in Florida on Tuesday, with the vows punctuated by a brawl that reportedly started when a photographer pressed his arm against the throat of a family employee who'd asked him to leave.
The brawl began after photographer Robert Martinez reportedly shouted, "I'm packing a gun," according to TMZ, which also said his video camera was running during the altercation, providing police with interesting viewing.
Nobody was arrested, and as of Wednesday the officer responsible for the report had not written it up, People said.
McDaniel and Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) got engaged in December 2009 and, according to Hogan's attorney, have no immediate honeymoon plans. They'd intended to keep the wedding as quiet as possible after filing for a license in November, David Houston said. Meh, maybe not so much?
Even with the brawl, however, the wedding was less confrontational than the two-year divorce battle (with wife of 23 years, Linda Hogan) that preceded it.
Looks as if Hulk Hogan's 23-year marriage to Linda Bollea -- and the nasty, loud, two-year divorce battle that ended it -- didn't turn the guy sour on love. The wrestler's engagement to Jennifer McDanielwas confirmed today.
My marriage to Linda was very toxic and very negative. Jennifer is just the opposite, she doesn’t drink or get high
on drugs. If you’re in my home and watching TV, you have to watch the science
channel or the history channel or cartoons. She doesn’t watch anything
negative like the news or TMZ.
