Happy Wednesday! It’s time for another edition of Only in Jersey!
If it’s filming in Jersey, takes place in Jersey, or is about celebs from Jersey, you will find it here.
Whitney Houston: We will always love you JUST LIKE THIS.
Another day, more Whitney Houston drama. In addition to the pop star’s Westfield cemetery plot being indefinitely closed to the public, tabloid rag The National Enquirer has made the tacky, tasteless decision to publish – on its front page, no less – an unauthorized photo of the Newark/East Orange native in her casket. The photo was apparently taken by someone who attended the visitation at Newark’s Whigham Funeral Home last week, and the natural assumption is that that same someone made beau coup bucks by selling it to the Enquirer. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to remember Whitney alive – and obviously her family wants us to, as well, otherwise they would’ve opened the casket during the televised funeral on Saturday. The sight of her lifeless body (even if the funeral home’s restorative artist did a beautiful job) is the lastthing I want to see as I’m checking out at the grocery store.
If it’s filming in Jersey, takes place in Jersey, or is about celebs from Jersey, you will find it here.
Bobby Cannavale: I'm not sure that handgun existed in the 1920's.
While “Boardwalk Empire” is technically filmed in New York, the Atlantic City-based series is Jersey, through and through.
This terrific HBO series is so dedicated to the Garden State that it’s replacing one Jersey actor with another! The departure of West Orange-born Michael Pitt, whose much beloved character Jimmy Darmody bit the bullet at the end of the second season, is tempered by the announcement that Union City’s Bobby Cannavale is joining the third-season cast. Entertainment Weekly reports Bobby will be a major stick in Nucky Thompson’s (Steve Buscemi) craw as far as the bootlegging business is concerned. Bobby also starred in the 2003 film “The Station Agent” alongside fellow New Jerseyan Peter Dinklage (star of fellow HBO series “Game of Thrones”) and was filmed in Newfoundland and surrounding N.J. areas.
If it’s filming in Jersey, takes place in Jersey, or is about celebs from Jersey, you will find it here.
Expedia pitchman Michael Ian Black has found the humor in house hunting. The Hillsborough native has live-tweeted twice (most recently Tuesday night) during seemingly random reruns of the HGTV reality show “House Hunters International.” Joining him in exchanging witticisms is fellow funnyman (and “Daily Show with Jon Stewart” contributor) John Hodgman. Among Michael’s observations: “John, I prefer house #1. Second choice is #3. This means they will pick #2” and “Thank you, John. Once again, we have shown people that living overseas is always a tragic mistake.” If you’re interested in reading more of Michael’s “House Hunters International”-related tweets, check him out on Twitter. He is also the author of several books, including the upcoming “You’re Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations.”
If it’s filming in Jersey, takes place in Jersey, or is about celebs from Jersey, you will find it here.
Teresa and Joe Giudice
Montville’s Giuseppe aka “Juicy Joe” Giudice of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” pleaded not guilty Monday to using his brother’s documentation to obtain a driver’s license. His attorney, Miles Feinstein, told The Record that the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office offer to cap any prison sentence at 5 years in exchange for a guilty plea was “totally unfair.” “I believe that because of Joe’s celebrity he is being treated differently,” Feinstein added. Joe is the entrepreneur husband of Teresa Giudice, who will appear on the upcoming season of NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice” beginning Sunday, Feb. 19.
I’m so glad Sundance Channel started showing reruns of “My So-Called Life” this spring.
Oh, Jordan Catalano.../All photos by ABC
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it – over 15 years in the case of some episodes – but I quickly fell in love with it all over again.
That was especially true of last week’s episode, “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities,” which was particularly bittersweet, amazing, and devastating – because it was the final episode E-V-E-R. How on earth could we just be left hanging like that, never knowing for certain whether Angela Chase finally got over her Jordan Catalano-centric obsession (however understandable it was), realized that her childhood bud Brian Krakow has loved her and worshiped her for, like, forever, and actually acted upon it?
Ava Gacser is a freelance writer in Central New Jersey. She is a former television columnist and features writer for several Gannett-owned daily newspapers in New Jersey.
Ava is an avid couch potato with a special affinity for reality TV, and she can't believe how many shows feature New Jersey residents!
She was a member of the Television Critics Association from 2005 to 2010.
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