By Mark Gray
8:41am PDT, Sep 20, 2019
Hospitalized
Dog the Bounty Hunter was hospitalized in the early part of the week after suffering a "heart emergency." After a few days in a Colorado hospital, it was determined that Dog (real name: Duane Chapman) did not suffer a heart attack and will not need surgery, as was originally feared. He was released from the hospital on Sept. 16. "Dog is back at home and resting comfortably," his rep told Us Weekly in a statement on Sept. 17. "He is overwhelmed by the support of fans and friends from around the world, and is deeply touched by the outpouring of prayers, love, and encouragement. While he is following doctor's orders and taking time to heal, he wants everyone to follow DOG'S ORDERS and watch 'Dog's Most Wanted' Wednesday night on WGN America." The Blast reported that the widower. who lost wife Beth Chapman in June, sees the incident as a huge "wake up call" to start living healthier and find ways to reduce stress.
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Cancer reveal
Rod Stewart was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years ago, but he's now cancer-free, he's revealed. According to reports, the 74-year-old music star learned he had prostate cancer after a routine checkup. "Two years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer," he said during a Prostate Project fundraiser on Sept. 15. "No one knows this, but I thought this was about time I told everybody. I'm in the clear, now, simply because I caught it early." Rod now plans to bring awareness to prostate cancer and early detection. "Guys, you've really got to go to the doctor," he said. "If you're positive, and you work through it and you keep a smile on your face … I've worked for two years and I've just been happy, and the good Lord looked after me."
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Hair change
New hair, who dis? On Sept. 18, Whoopi Goldberg walked onto the set of "The View" looking rather different. Gone is Whoopi's signature dark gray dreadlocks look. Those dreads have now turned milky white. The new 'do, though, isn't permanent, as it's for her role in CBS's upcoming limited series "The Stand," which is based on Stephen King's book of the same name. Whoopi will play Mother Abagail on the series. "The woman I play is over 100," Whoopi told her "The View" co-hosts. "I think she's about 108 or [109]. This is why I feel like people need to know that 100 is no longer what you think 100 used to be." She'll have the look for about four months.
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Chemotherapy
Alex Trebek — who was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in March — is headed back for another round of chemotherapy. The "Jeopardy" host announced the news on Sept. 17, saying his "numbers went south, dramatically and quickly." Alex added, "This past summer we thought I was finished with chemo. That was a bit premature and certainly overly optimistic. I began immunotherapy, but that didn't go very well at all." Alex said he expects chemotherapy to go well, as it did the first time.
Health reveal
Former "Storage Wars" star Dave Hester revealed that he suffered a stroke last year and was forced to learn how to walk again. He's been in intense physical therapy and has been slowly recovering for months. Dave told TMZ that last November, he woke up feeling sick and had breathing issues. His girlfriend then rushed him to a hospital in Southern California, where he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. While in the hospital, doctors determined he had sleep apnea, and tests revealed that his breathing stopped more than 100 times an hour while he was asleep. The oxygen deprivation along with high blood pressure is believed to have triggered the stroke.
Expecting!
Baby joy! Alec Baldwin and his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, are expecting their fifth child together. The pregnancy comes five months after the former yoga instructor suffered a miscarriage. Hilaria announced the pregnancy news on Instagram on Sept. 18 alongside audio of the baby's heartbeat."It is still very early…but we have learned that there is a little person inside of me," she wrote. "The sound of this strong heart makes me so happy — especially because of the loss we experienced in the spring. We want to share this news as we are excited and don't want to hide the pregnancy. These first few months are tough with exhaustion and nausea…and I don't want to have to pretend that I feel ok." Alec had previously said that he and Hilaria planned on having another child, so the pregnancy isn't all that surprising.
Fired
It was over before it started. On Sept. 16, newly named "Saturday Night Live" cast member Shane Gillis was officially fired from the series — before he ever appeared on the show — after a video of him making a racial slur resurfaced. "After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining 'SNL,'" a spokesperson for the long-running sketch-comedy series said in a statement. "We want 'SNL' to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition for 'SNL,'" the statement continued. "We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable." After his firing, Shane released his own statement. "I'm a comedian who was funny enough to get 'SNL.' That can't be taken away," he said. "Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at 'SNL,' but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I'm honestly grateful for the opportunity. I was always a 'mad tv' guy anyway."
'DWTS' replacement
Christie Brinkley was forced to bow out of "Dancing With the Stars" at the last minute due to a brutal injury suffered during rehearsals. Her 21-year-old model daughter, Sailor Brinkley-Cook, replaced her. "The second I landed, I felt the shards in my arm," Christie told People magazine of the injury. "Like, I literally felt it in my wrist, and I just instantly looked up and said, 'I'm so sorry, I broke my arm.'" The supermodel suffered multiple broken bones, which required surgery to insert a plate and screws to repair her shattered bones. She also dislocated her wrist. At the same time it announced the injury, ABC revealed that Sailor would step in. "I didn't want to at first, honestly," Sailor told People after making her debut — in a meta-move, she performed the foxtrot to Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" (Christie starred in the video for the song written by her ex-husband) — on Sept. 16. "I was terrified. It was a very scary thing for me. The whole idea of having to be live on stage, be on TV dancing, that's something I've never done before."
Splitsville
Kenya Moore and her husband of two years, Marc Daly, are going their separate ways. They share a 10-month-old daughter. "It is with profound sadness that I regret to inform my fans that I am divorcing my husband Marc Daly," the "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star said in a statement on Sept. 19. "Due to recent and ongoing circumstances, I can no longer continue in the marriage. My sole concern and focus is and will always be my daughter, Brooklyn, my miracle baby. She was made in love and true commitment. I ask for our privacy to be respected moving forward." Marc issued a statement as well, but his had a darker tone. "Rumors, innuendo or false accusations only serve to hurt our family and will be addressed through counsel as the law permits," he said.
Bombshell allegation
Jon Gosselin claims TLC offered him $1 million to stay married to Kate Gosselin for the sake of their successful late-2000s TV show, "Jon and Kate Plus 8." The former reality TV star-turned-DJ dropped the bombshell during a chat with DailyMail TV on Sept. 19. "I left the show so my children would never have to relive our divorce," he said. "That's it. I could have made millions of dollars if I would've just continued, took their offer and stayed married for two years and I probably wouldn't even be sitting here today. But I couldn't live with myself. I couldn't live a lie." The show was renamed "Kate Plus 8" after their split. Jon also claimed that TLC paid for the couple's marriage counseling sessions before their divorce.
