Baby blues
After reporting in my Sunday column that Zsa Zsa Gabor is NOT commenting about husband (No. 9), Prince Frederic von Anhalt's revelations that he believes he is the father of the late Anna Nicole Smith's 6-month-old daughter Dannielynn (and that he had carried on a decade-long affair with the former model that ended last year), now she IS commenting.
Most likely, it's because 63-year-old von Anhalt has, as promised, filed a paternity challenge, as has photographer Larry Birkhead, disputing Smith's lawyer/companion Howard K. Stern being listed on the baby's birth certificate.
A closed-door hearing was held Tuesday in Los Angeles.
While in LA earlier this week, I once again spoke with the Hungarian actress' mouthpiece, Bel Air attorney Ronald Jason Palmieri, who assured me he does NOT represent von Anhalt in the paternity case, which he describes as "comic relief."
Palmieri said Gabor, who on Feb. 6 celebrated her 90th birthday, finds the entire saga "unseemly and very upsetting."
Agreeing with his client, Palmieri said he also finds von Anhalt's behavior "in bad taste," including his holding the initial press conference at the couple's Bel Air mansion, where he announced his intentions to file a lawsuit insisting on DNA testing and promising reporters, if he is the father, he will fly to the Bahamas to obtain custody of the child.
"When I talked with Zsa Zsa about all of this, she was very emotional and asked me to advise her what she should do," Palmieri said.
"My advice to her was to ignore it. This entire story involving von Anhalt is an insult to his wife, who is one of the all-time great beauties of our time."
Palmieri assured Gabor is doing well, despite her health concerns in the past, which include her long road to recovery following her 2002 car accident and a stroke suffered in 2005.
However, he added, von Anhalt's involvement in the paternity case has "only added to his client's stress and worries.
"Zsa Zsa is still in the midst of her own legal battle with her daughter over the money she took from her mother when she mortgaged her mother's home for a loan without getting consent," Palmieri said.
"So far, it has cost Zsa Zsa more than $4 million, in addition to all of the stress and heartbreak over this matter."
Francesca Hilton, who turns 60 next month and Gabor's only child, is from Gabor's second marriage to hotel magnate Conrad Hilton. (She is the only child born of the famed Gabor Sisters, which included the late Eva and Magda, and their combined 20 marriages!)
The lawsuit against Hilton, filed on behalf of her mother in June 2005, alleges a wide range of charges from elder abuse and fraud to misuse of the power-of-attorney authorization.
Palmieri said after Hilton acquired the loan, the new mortgage payments on Gabor's mansion immediately jumped to $23,000 from $15,000, with the potential to go as high as $60,000 a month, which could cause Gabor to be forced to move from her home where she's lived for more than 40 years.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.
celebBirthdays
Actress Rue McClanahan is 72. Actor Gary Lockwood is 70. Actor Peter McEnery is 67. Record company executive David Geffen is 64. Actress Tyne Daly and actors Anthony Daniels (C3P0 in "Star Wars" films) and Alan Rickman are 61. Keyboardist Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads is 58. Actor William Petersen ("C.S.I.") is 54. Actor Kelsey Grammer is 52. Singer Mary Chapin Carpenter and actor Jack Coleman and baseball star Alan Trammell (Detroit Tigers) are 49. Actor Christopher Atkins and singer Ranking Roger of General Public and of English Beat are 46. Actor William Baldwin is 44. Country singer Eric Heatherly and bassist Eric Wilson of Sublime are 37. Bassist Tad Kinchla of Blues Traveler is 34. Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt is 28. Singer Charlotte Church is 21. Actor Corbin Bleu ("High School Musical," "Jump In!") is 18.
