Classic Gawker Stalker: Chelsea's Bed, Bath, and Beyond: Because Celebs Need Dust Ruffles, Too
Sightings are sent in by readers and then posted to Gawker Stalker Maps. This is our occasional, old-school compilation of some of our favorites. Send your sightings to tips@gawker.com. This week, stalking has been brought to you by Vh1's So NoTORIous, starring Tori Spelling.
In this edition of Gawker Stalker: Scarlett Johansson and Lucy Liu hit up the Triple B; Chris Robinson and Kate Hudson lead a Lord of the Rings progression on Houston, Madonna and Vivek Sharma at the Four Seasons, Joaquin Phoenix with Christopher Walken and Mark Walhberg in Clinton Hill, Diddy, Usher, Catherine Zeta Jones, Hugh Grant, Martha Stewart, Keanu Reeves, Sharon Stone, Liv Tyler, Ed Norton, Gwyneth Paltrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, David Cross, Christ Kattan, Parker Posey, Naomi and Liev, Ben Kingsley, Chris Rock, Various SNLers with the Beastie Boys, Joan Jett, Phoebe Cates, Bette Midler, Giselle, David Schwimmer, Bobby Flay, Rosie O'Donnell, Queen Latifah, Tatum O'Neal, Diane Von Furstenberg, Dan Abrams, Sigourney Weaver, John Waters, LL Cool J, Sam Waterston, Mike Meyers, Christopher McDonald, Conan O'Brien, Richard Dreyfus, Tim Daly, Atoosa Rubenstein, Robin Quivers, Brandon Davis, and Corky from Life Goes On.
On Tuesday, 3/28 at 6:30pm, saw Scarlett Johansson at the Bed, Bath and Beyond in Chelsea. She was shopping for full-length mirrors, dressed like a student and wearing no makeup. Her two girlfriends/cart-pushers, however, had enough makeup on for a week. One of them gave me a very prolonged, cocky smirk as I was trying to figure out if it was ScarJo, which was kind of a dead giveaway that it was. That, and the enormous black Escalade conspicuously waiting outside, complete with tinted windshield.
Saw Lucy Liu last night in Bed, Bath, and Beyond on 6th Ave around 6pm. She looked hot, just a little pale.
I (and probably a lot of other people) saw Chris Robinson and Kate Hudson walking west on Houston Street near Mercer on Sunday morning. Oddly enough I was on my way to brunch at a restaurant in Carroll Gardens where friends of mine have spotted them before. Anyway, I was hung over and possibly still drunk but they both seemed really tall and that, plus the flowing hippy clothes, plus the fact that they were (for no clear reason) at the head of some sort of accidental parade of short people (pushing strollers) . . . also Mr. Robinson's beard . . . gave them this weird Gandalf-y effect. No sense.
03/29/06 2:15pm—Four Seasons Restaurant. 54th St. Mrs. Ritchie aka MADONNA, just walked in with my favorite, whom I keep on reporting and you keep on dissing, Vivek Sharma. Perhaps, she is interviewing him for Interview magazine (heard rumors) or he is directing her next video. She is in a sheer pink chiffon shirt and black bell bottoms that still show off her amazing bejeweled shoes. Heavy on eye make-up. Vivek is in a fashionably tight pinstripe blackish suit and hooked to his Blackberry. Her bodyguards are in the hotel lobby with his sulking girlfriend, Fifi. From where I'm sitting, the huge plant and the piano hinder the view, but still all is very, very clear. Two people had already stopped by the table to say hi.
They are filming the movie "We own the Night" on my block in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. I saw Joaquin Phoenix, Christopher Walken and Mark Walhberg last night. Joaquin is hot and very intense looking, really nice though, he bummed a cig off me. Christopher is even freakier looking in person, very tall. Marky-Mark is looking HOT and was very approachable. They'll be filming on Quincy and Gates Sts b/w Bedford & Franklin avenues through Friday. It's the most exciting thing to happen to Clinton hill/Bed Stuy, since 24 hr delis.
Saw Puffy at Cain last night...supposedly Usher was there, too. As I was leaving, there was a huge commotion and they suddenly shut down the club and then I realized there was blood all over the sidewalk in front of Cain—apparently a stabbing. Classy! Heard ambulances as I walked down 27th past the fleet of big black SUVs.
I saw Usher coming out of 635 Madison Ave. I work next door and he looked good, not sure what he was doing there, I didn't have my cell phone to text at the moment but I'm doing so now. He looks the same. He was with his mother, body guard and some handlers. He got in a black SUV and left. This was about 4:30 PM. He seems nice.
Saw Catherine Zeta Jones today filming her new movie on Hudson/Charlton, they were filming all day inside and outside and are still filming now.
3/28 7:30PM: Saw Hugh Grant at Central Park South and 6th (park side). Shorter than I expected, hair a deliberate mess, understated casual outfit of jeans and jacket. Locked eyes for a quick sec and then the classic celebrity look away (please don't come up to me).
Saw Martha Stewart today at about 5pm going into a hotel near the time warner center. I was shocked to see her and nearly said hi and then i saw the stone cold look on her face that basically said "Talk to me and I'll knife you" so we just kept walking on by.
Last night I saw Keanu Reeves talking to a man outside of Soho House (29 9th Avenue) at 6:45 p.m. He was looking Keanu-riffic, though I never realized how small and beady his eyes are. He's very tall.
Didn't realize I stumbled onto the NYC premiere of Basic Instinct 2 until I was shoulder-to-shoulder with Sharon Stone on the escalator. Tall and striking, but the image of her atrocious red dress (complete with gauzy bat wings) and two-seasons-old gold sandals will be seared into my corneas forever (ironically, that theatre is right next to a huge Gap store.)
I saw Liv Tyler at the children's boutique, Estella, on 6th Avenue between 12th and 13th streets. She was wearing jeans and sunglasses and was on her cell phone, perusing the clothing, I'm assuming, for her new baby.
I saw Ed Norton at Lincoln Center around 2 PM. Dude is a short, short man.
Gwyneth spotted last night (3/28) on her way out of Cube 63 on Clinton. 2 things: 1) I thought pregnant women are not allowed to eat sushi; and 2) am I the only one who remembers the interview she did with Jules Asner from the roof of her West Village apartment and she practically spit on the East Village?
This afternoon (3/29/06) I saw Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard on Worth Street talking to some blonde lady in front of (of all places) New York Law School. They then went their separate ways, Peter walking off with the blonde. He is totally hot.
Tuesday night at Pianos (Ludlow & Stanton), David Cross (the real one) upstairs with girlfriend. At one point they looked like they could have been praying, but the girlfriend seemed to be upset. Cross was comforting her. They kept to themselves most of the night, but seemed to be enjoying the music. Chris Kattan & Parkey Posey (separately) were downstairs at Pianos too, same night. Big entourages.
I just saw Chris Rock leave the Tower Records at 66th & Broadway, buy a Mr. Softee cone, with rainbow sprinkles, and hop into a black Suburban.
I was in NYC for a week from LA, and saw three celebs within one hour. Geez, we definitely don't see celebs walking in LA but anyway....saw Naomi Watts and Liev walking down Broadway to the corner of Spring on Tuesday 3/21 around 11am, hand in hand...looking very tired. And then same corner, at the light waiting for the crosswalk...Sir Ben Kingsley with female companion, crossing Broadway towards Mercer. He is so tiny, but has a grand aura.
Just came home from the Beastie Boys' "Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That" screening. It was riddled with SNL celebs: Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon (is he always fawned over? It was nauseating), Amy Poehler (+ husband Will Arnett). Also in attendance: Joan Jett, Phoebe Cates and ALL three Beastie Boys. It was a good night, I must say. Great movie.
Spotted Bette Midler like an hour ago at the Marc Jacobs shop on Bleecker Street going nuts buying up shoes like it was going out of style; she looked fantastic...super slim.
Just came from 12th St and Washington and saw Gisele walking in front of Industria Studio. Me being a gay male, she was still very beautiful.
Saw David Schwimmer outside the Mac store on 66th and Columbus at 2:15 talking on his cell and looking scraggly.
Bobby Flay, chef's white top, hospital scrub bottoms, walking with a brunette down 23rd and 6th around 2:30 PM
Just saw Rosie O'Donnell outside the new play "Faces" at 220 West 48th St. Cordial, posing for pix. Must have been after the matinee.
Queen Latifah at Whole Foods (Columbus Circle). 2:30 today (Wednesday 3/29). She looked fantastic—amazing skin (way to make those Cover Girl sponsors proud!), stylish trench coat over a dress, high heels. She was in good spirits and was very polite to the gawkers. She bought sushi and soup. I'm not sure if she waited in the ridiculous line.
Was having dinner with some friends at Bar Pitti (Bleecker and Sixth Ave.) on Friday night (3/24/06) and half-way through the meal Tatum O'Neil sat down at the table next to ours. She's very attractive and is pretty much a saint for putting up with the attitude that her son (John McEnroe's offspring) gave her throughout their meal.
On Saturday, while walking down Bleecker, near Grove, Diane Von Furstenberg and a male companion, (Barry himself perhaps?) nearly shoved me into oncoming traffic. It was more the fault of her friend who came up from behind and shoved me off the sidewalk. Upset at this treatment, I became vocal with the queen bee of fashion, shouting, "I don't care if you designed the dress for the queen of Sheba, you're still a bitch!" Although it was a lame insult, it did have its appropriate effect as Diane and Co. scurried off towards Sixth Avenue.
Assuming this is where I send these...I saw Dan Abrams at the news stand at Sheridan Square on 7th and Grove at about 9:30 picking up one of every paper. He must have a deal with the guy at the newsstand because he definitely didn't have to pay for them.
Last night (3/29) around 9 saw Sigourney Weaver at Peasant. She was wearing a too bright green shirt and left with a man who sported a graying mustache, slightly shorter than she is (according to my imdb sleuthing, it was Jim Simpson, whose directorial magnum opus is "Spice World"). She looked pretty damn good. My mom went to high school with her and says she was just plain old Susan Weaver back then.
Bar 6 - 6th and 13th:I was enjoying my artichoke when I saw a table full of people enthralled by a man in a red turtleneck/blazer combo sporting a pencil-thin moustache, daintily tossing back a Martini. It was John Waters enjoying a late dinner (11ish) with an older-dykey couple, a 40ish dude with flowing, blonde locks and a tardy middle-aged guy. He looked exactly like he always does.
My co-worker and I just watched LL Cool J eat a late lunch at 75 Rockefeller Plaza. We bought food items we didn't want and sat at the nearest table trying not to giggle like morons. He hasn't aged since 1987, but his wardrobe has improved dramatically since then. Both pantlegs were rolled down, thankfully. Completely gorgeous and still built like a truck. Wow.
I saw Sam Waterston on 32nd between 6th & 7th today around 9:45am. Nobody seemed to notice him since it was during commute time.
Sat 3/25, saw Mike Myers at the not so secret Back Room bar with the not so secret unmarked entrance. He came in the front door with an entourage and had dorky hair.
Yesterday (3/27) i spotted Christopher McDonald at 5 pm outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral taking pictures like a tourist. I couldn't for the life of me remember his name or think of anything he'd been in, and it was driving me crazy, til I saw that someone else had spotted him yesterday in Manhattan.
Walking down 6th Ave., between 50th and 51st, last night at 6:30 (Monday March 27th) I walked past a gaunt, tired looking Conan O'Brien. I stared at him and he looked pissed. Several people walked by him and turned to stare.
6 pm at the Soho Apple store' Genius bar, Richard Dreyfus (looks like somebody's grandpa) and Tim Daly (recently returned to the Sopranos).
I spotted Atoosa Rubenstein at a new low-budget sushi place on 57th and 8th around 2:00pm today, eating with a grey-haired older man and acting very concerned. When her phone rang it played "Golddigger" by Kanye and Jamie Foxx.
I saw Robin Quivers- Howard Stern's sidekick, walking on 47th bet 7th and 8th. Looked like she was going to the Viacom building. Either that or The Nokia Center to see Rob Zombie.
3/27 @ 630PM—saw Brandon Davis outside the Hilfiger store in Soho smoking a cigarette. Black velvet blazer, tee and jeans. He was speaking with a guy friend. He's hot.
Maybe I'm the only one excited about this, but I just saw Corky from Life Goes On exiting a building on Broadway. He was wearing a nice red and white striped shirt. He looked pretty much exactly the same as he did on the show.