Famous In Hollywood Magazine

In this online magazine, you'll find classic Hollywood celebrity human interest stories directly from the stars. Word for word, you'll enjoy reading what the greatest Hollywood actors, actresses and recording artists in the world personally thought and wanted to share, as well as issues that they believed in. With these original interviews, they shared their lives in a very personal way to renowned Hollywood interviewer and journalist Jay Christian.
​There will also be new celebrity stories from famous legends to current celebrities of today!

We are thrilled to have you join our Famous In Hollywood community! 

 Issue #24 December 2023

Welcome!

Every month, you'll read stories that I've written from my interviews with Hollywood celebrities of the past and present. Each star has expressed to me in conversation, their thoughts and wisdom, that I've put together in a wonderful story to share with you, as I have always done throughout my entire career.

I hope you enjoy all these intriguing stories. 
Visit me each month to find out what the Hollywood celebrities have to say and share, right here at: 

Famous In Hollywood Magazine!
My best to you-
Jay Christian

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos- Free Stock photos by Vecteezy

DEBBIE REYNOLDS
How she preserved Hollywood history
Written by Jay Christian

With all my years in show business, Debbie Reynolds was a very special person. She treated me well and there was a certain respect that she had towards me for years. There wasn’t anything fake about her and she always maintained being a pro every minute.

One time, we set up an interview when she was playing in Las Vegas and she gave me her personal phone number at the hotel to call. The next week, when I called her at the specific hour, Debbie had gotten so wrapped up in her work, she had forgotten about the appointment.

​She played shows in the late evening until the early morning hours and then would go to bed and get up in the afternoon, to start her day.

I called her at 2pm and the phone rang and rang. She answered quietly, as I woke her from a sound sleep. I told her we had an interview and as tired and sleepy as she was, Debbie was very kind and apologized to me for overlooking our appointment. 

Throughout the years, Debbie always exuded Hollywood glamour. With her multiple show business projects, she took on a lot of responsibility, both on and off the stage, yet never complained to anyone.

We rescheduled and days later, this story was the outcome of our interview.
~~~~
At Last! Determined Debbie Reynolds’ lifelong dream has come true.

On her 63rd birthday, the 'Unsinkable' star finally threw open the doors to her spectacular Hollywood Memorabilia Museum in Las Vegas.

The unique showplace boasts what’s believed to be the world’s largest collection of movie costumes, furniture, props and other Tinseltown trinkets- valued at over $50 million!

“I’m a collector of memorabilia from silent films to the early ‘70s,” says the ever-young entertainer. “I’ve worked very hard buying and saving these things for the past 25 years.”

Debbie’s museum is a true treasure trove for movie buffs. Who can forget the notorious dress that blew up from the subway grating to reveal Marilyn Monroe’s shapely legs in The Seven Year Itch or the outfit Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz, or Mary Astor’s hand-embroidered number from Meet Me in St. Louis?

How about Charlton Heston’s Ben Hur armor plates, Claudette Colbert’s Cleopatra costume, or the jodhpurs and silk shirt that young Liz Taylor rode to victory in National Velvet?

“Saving all these things was very emotional,” says Debbie. “It was all about the stars I loved. I wanted these wonderful costumes to be preserved and admired instead of ending up as Halloween outfits. Now everyone can see the beautiful artistry for generations to come.”

As her fabulous collection grew, the veteran entertainer spent hundreds of thousands of dollars housing it in climate-controlled storage facilities.

“My passion certainly led to a short bank balance,” she admits. “But if you don’t have a perfect temperature, the costumes will age and fall apart. I saved them to preserve the history of Hollywood,” she said.

One of Debbie’s biggest bargains was Judy Garland’s last pair of ruby-encrusted Wizard of Oz slippers. While she paid a whopping $165,000 for them, they’re worth close to $1 million today!

To transform her lifelong dream into glittering reality, the leggy star bought a derelict hotel on an out-of-the-way Vegas street in 1992 for $2 million- and she’s been pouring money into it ever since.

“I didn’t want the hotel,” says Debbie, who consistently worked on her project. “I just wanted my museum and showroom. The hotel is work, work, work!”

The singer remodeled her Debbie Reynolds Hotel and Casino with the help of her son Todd Fisher. “Everything is first class and high tech,” she says.
​
“And my dream is fulfilled! When I look at my museum today, I know it was all worthwhile," Debbie said proudly. *
​

DICK CLARK
Stories you never knew
about New Year's Rockin' Eve
Written by Jay Christian 

I found Dick to be very nice, in spite of his more than hectic schedule as a businessman. He was always involved with so many productions, that I waited for almost a year to get this interview. 

​His story from the past-

Dick Clark shared some of his unexpected events at New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve, many years ago. 

Dick said in this exclusive interview, “One year, I got stuck in a crowded elevator with a bunch of party people. By the time I got out, I was two seconds away from missing my cue to go back on the air.”

Another year, Clark was almost gone with the wind. He was on the 18th floor of the building at No. 1 Times Square, where they did the show before it was moved to street level years ago. “I was on the top floor,” Clark recalls. “I wanted to improve the camera shot, so I decided to take the risk and climb a tall aluminum ladder to give viewers a better shot. Being up so high, I was nearly blown off the ladder because of the gusty winds."

Clark continued, “Once, I was ill with the flu and despite a wind-chill factor of 20 below zero, I still did the show. I was a true believer of ‘the show must go on.’ I had to go to the hospital and was confined to bed for a couple of weeks.”

The street crowd usually reaches 300,000 by the time the illuminated ball is dropped to herald the New Year. “I look out at Times Square about 11:30 p.m. and there aren’t many people at all,” he says. “Then, all of a sudden, it fills up – the entire area, stretching as far as the eye can see.”

The ball is still dropped manually with a household clothesline in time with a digital clock.

The ageless TV star loves the energy of the youthful merrymakers at the annual celebration. “I’ve seen guys without their shirts on in the freezing cold, usually with some kind of message written on their chests for the TV camera,” he says with a laugh.

Clark employed 100 people, including a dozen cameramen, to air the event- a far cry from the “good” old days. “We did our first show from the eight-story Minskoff building in Times Square,” he says. “It was on the roof and we had only one cameraman. After a few years, we moved to the 18-story building.”
​
Dick Clark also loved all the on-air surprises and enjoyed the joviality of the people every year.*

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos- Free Stock photos by Vecteezy

MONTY HALL

His Amazing Childhood Miracle

Written by Jay Christian

I knew Monty for over 35 years and we were good friends. This is one of the stories that he shared with me, that many people were never aware of. It was truly a miracle!

Monty Hall cheated death in a horrifying accident, when he was a child and only “a miracle” kept him from being disfigured for life.

“It happened when I was seven years old and was playing in the kitchen with my cousin,” revealed the “Let’s Make A Deal” host in this exclusive interview.

“We were putting a chair on top of a rocking chair near the stove and the chair knocked over a boiling pot of soup. It landed right on my head!”

“All I remember is intense pain and screaming in agony. My mother heard my scream upstairs and ran down. The burns on my face and right arm were severe- third degree. I was terrified,” he recalled.

“Doctors wrapped large bandages over my entire head, leaving just a little opening for my nose and mouth. There were no pain relievers back then and the scalding left me in agony. They also wrapped my right arm in bandages.”

“What a horrible, horrible time. It was my most frightening moment. And as I tell you about it, I still get the shakes,” Monty said.

Monty and his parents went through a great deal of anguish, because the doctors weren’t hopeful on his recovery at all.

“I was in the dark for four long weeks. My devoted mother had to feed me through a straw,” he said with distress.

“After the month passed, the doctor took off the bandage on my arm. It was all black from the third-degree burn. My parents didn’t know what to think when they were about to take the bandages off my face. My arm was like a piece of charcoal.”

He continued, “My mother and father prayed silently to themselves while the doctor was taking off the facial bandages. When he got them off, everyone screamed in delight. A miracle had happened! My face was flawless- like a newborn baby’s skin. We were amazed!!”

But Monty was not out of the woods yet, as he explained, “While they were treating my arm, I became very weak and came down with double pneumonia. There was no penicillin yet, so they put me in an oxygen tent for a week. I was terribly sick. But another miracle happened- I pulled through!!” he said triumphantly.

Reflecting on the whole traumatic experience, he said, “Today my arm has flesh-colored scars, but there’s no scarring on my face!” * 

JAY CHRISTIAN'S QUICK BAKE PIZZA 

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ cup water

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce

2 medium-size green peppers, sliced in ½ inch strips

4 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 ½ cups onions

2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

To make the pizza dough- In a medium size bowl, mix the salt and baking powder into the oil. Then gradually add the flour and the water. Mix with your hands until all the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl- you may have to add more flour or water to get the right consistency. Knead for a short while, then divide the dough in half. Roll out the dough to your desired thinness for a thin crust or simply pat down the dough onto a flat, greased baking sheet, making your pizza dough round shape or square. Pinch up the sides to hold the sauce and toppings. If you want a thick doughy crust, flatten to ½ to ¾ inch thick- it will rise. Set aside.

In a fry pan, add olive oil, green peppers and onions. Cook on medium heat until tender- about 15 minutes. Then add mushrooms and cook for 10 more minutes.

Now, add sauce on top of your dough- a little or a lot depending on your preference, but at least a cup is good- and spread the cooked vegetables on top of sauce. Then add the cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Dough rises while cooking. Serves 4 to 6.

Note- you can add whatever toppings you like best to this pizza- it’s easy to alter. Even if you use just sauce and cheese, it still tastes great!

JAY CHRISTIAN'S QUICK BAKE PIZZA

Image by KamranAydinov on Freepik

LYNDA CARTER'S  CAESAR SALAD

Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce, rinsed

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and pressed

4 anchovies, chopped

1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Croutons

Salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large wooden salad bowl, sprinkle some salt and add garlic, anchovies and grating of pepper. Work mixture to a paste. Add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard; mix well. Mixing vigorously, add oil and vinegar. Tear lettuce in 2 inch lengths into salad bowl. Add some croutons and cheese. Toss the salad well. Serve at once. Serves 4.

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos">Free Stock photos by Vecteezy

JAY LENO’S UNCLE LOUIE’S CHICKEN WINGS MARINARA

Ingredients:

2-3 dozen chicken wings

1 can Italian plum tomatoes

Olive oil

Garlic or garlic powder

Durkee® (or Frank's) Hot Sauce

Salt

Parsley

Directions:

Cook chicken wings by broiling or lightly flour them and deep fry in safflower or peanut oil. While they are cooking, prepare the sauce.

Heat 1/8-inch of olive oil in a pan, add garlic powder or crushed garlic to taste. Mash one can of whole plum tomatoes through a sieve and cook in the olive oil.  Add a few teaspoons of chopped parsley and salt to taste – then cook about 20 minutes. At the end of this cooking time, add Durkee® Hot Sauce (put a little or a lot, depending on how hot or mild your taste), but put in at least 2 tablespoons or the sauce won’t be as tasty. Add a little garlic powder and cook another 3 to 4 minutes.

In a bowl, toss the chicken wings with ½ cup of the sauce & serve with the remaining sauce on the side to dip the wings into.

Enjoy!

***

JAY LENO’S UNCLE LOUIE’S CHICKEN WINGS MARINARA

Image by vecstock on Freepik

Recipes from the book Jay Christian's Hollywood Celebrity Recipes

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Celebrities who have been or will soon be in this online magazine are:

Brad Pitt, Hailey Bieber, Nicole Kidman, Owen Wilson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barbara Eden, LaToya Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Harrison Ford, Jamie Lee Curtis, Donny Osmond, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Evans, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, Tom Cruise, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Vanna White, Katherine Heigl, Katie Holmes, Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Lenny Kravitz, Marie Osmond, etc.​