Kyle MacLachlan and Nicolette Sheridan at a party for Glamour magazine in Los Angeles. (photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage.com)

For a Good Cosa Nostra

So much for omertà. Tony Soprano's unmentionables went on the auction block this week at Christie's and his boxers, wife beater, slippers and striped bathrobe jacked the bidding up to $21,250 — that's about 20Gs over their estimated value. The highest ticket item was the blood-stained number Tony wore when Junior shot him, which went for $43,750. James Gandolfini was on hand to see $187,750 raised to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project to help soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. Raise your paddles next for: hand-me downs from Uncle Junior, Paulie Walnuts and A.J. (photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)

[Eonline.com]

Beside Herself

In jolly old England, there's nothing a spot of tea can't fix right up. After Helen Mirren won an Oscar for her performance in 'The Queen,' the matriarch of Britain invited her to the palace. When Mirren declined — due to a bit of other stately business shooting 'National Treasure 2' — the press went wild about how she dissed the queen. So when People magazine recently revisited the issue, Mirren set things straight: "I spoke to Buckingham Palace after I was invited and told them that I was filming in South Dakota and couldn't be in two places at once," said Mirren. "There was no snub and I would love to meet the Queen. It would be a great honor." Luckily, the queen has ears everywhere, and a few hours later the actress was pinky-pointing and nibbling cucumber sandwiches with Her Majesty. (photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)

[People.com]

John Corbett with author Jasmin Rosemberg at the 'How the Other Half Hamptons' book launch party in New York. (photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage.com)

Music and Lyrics by...Leary?

Maybe his rapid-fire delivery should have tipped us off, but it still comes as a surprise that 'Recount' 's Denis Leary has a thing for show tunes. According to his 'Rescue Me' exec producing partner Peter Tolan: "I think that Denis may secretly be a musical theater queen." Sounds like Trouble with a capital T; will Broadway soon have it's first f-bomb laden ballad? "Whenever we get tired, we talk about the possibility of someday doing a musical. So he has some secret goal here," Tolan says. (photo: Jeffrey Ufberg/WireImage.com)

[TheCelebrityCafe.com]

Still Broken

Not only did Spike Lee shoot a poignant documentary in 'When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts,' the filmmaker is also breaking tradition with the typical American news cycle by revisiting the story — and not for a lofty anniversary remembrance. "I'm going to go back, not just to New Orleans but to other areas affected, because it's not over," he said. "What the press is not really talking about is the mental state — suicide, self-medication ... It's horrible." (photo: John Shearer/WireImage.com)

[Paste]

Patricia Arquette, Laura Dern and Courteney Cox arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of the short film 'The Butler in Love' in Hollywood. (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

Real People Watch 'Sex'

The gals of 'Sex and the City' proved they can open big at the box office, but who knew they could influence voters? An Us Magazine cover story was just one stop on Michelle Obama's campaign tour to boost her First Lady image, and one of the choice tidbits that has been making headlines is the news that she and her BFF went to opening night to catch Carrie and friends at the Cineplex. "We loved it!" her friend told Us (on newsstands now). "She's a very genuine person, just like you and me." (photo: Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic.com)

[Us Magazine]

House Call

Gabriel Byrne may not be sure what kind of patients will walk through his door when the second season of 'In Treatment' begins, but the actor can at least count on a shorter commute to the office. Besides adding Tony-winning playwright Warren Leight as an exec producer, the production will also move from L.A. to New York, where Byrne lives. Dianne Wiest will counsel Paul through another installment, though how his patients unravel his life this time around is anyone's guess. (photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic.com)

[Zap2It.com]

Remembering George Carlin

George Carlin, groundbreaking comedian and social satirist, died June 22 at the age of 71 in Santa Monica, California.

"Because HBO has had such a long and close relationship with George Carlin, his passing is like losing one of our own," said HBO Entertainment Senior Vice President Nancy Geller. "George had been a part of HBO almost since its beginning, performing his first concert for us in 1977, and his fourteenth special just earlier this year. No performer was more important to helping our network define itself in its early years."

His last show for HBO, 'It's Bad for Ya,' was classic Carlin, featuring darkly comic observations on the advantages of being old, "child worship" and the failure of the so-called "self-esteem" movement — or as he put it, "our abnormal preoccupation with bulls**t."

Though Carlin was a force in the comedy world for nearly four decades — he just performed at The Orleans in Las Vegas last week — he never lost his edge. His last shows were as outrageous as his work from the '60s and '70s, and he was proud that his notorious 'Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television' was found to be indecent by the U.S. Supreme Court. As Geller noted, "No performer was more committed to the ideal of freedom of speech." In addition to his HBO specials and hundreds of television appearances, he wrote a bestselling book, recorded nearly two dozen comedy albums and influenced two generations of young comedians with his biting and irreverent style. Just last week the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts announced that Carlin would receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, a lifetime achievement award. "We will miss his humor and his righteous comic anger," said Geller. "And we will simply miss him."

As word of Carlin's death spread, the entertainment community remembered his life and his one-of-a-kind perspective:

Jerry Seinfeld (NY Times): "I've heard it my whole career: 'Carlin does it,' 'Carlin already did it,' 'Carlin did it eight years ago.'"

Robin Williams (E Online): "George Carlin was the living embodiment of the First Amendment. In the traditions of Mark Twain and Jonathan Swift, he dealt with the insanity of the world with the one-two punch of humor and honesty with no apologies..."

Washington Post: Carlin found self "in a divorce from my species and culture..."

Boston Globe: "He was irascible, profane, blasphemous, and determinedly astute."

Jay Leno (USA Today): "I think he was as riled up on the day he died as he was in the '60s when I first saw him."

Ben Stiller (LA Times): "He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining."

Former partner Jack Burns (via AP): "He was a genius..."

New York Daily News: Washington Heights native was "an extraordinary standup comedian whose dark social satire won him multigenerational popularity."

Kennedy Center: Carlin "not only makes us laugh, but he makes us think."

Jamie-Lynn Sigler arrives at Stride Gum's 'The Longest Day Of The Year' party in Los Angeles. (photo: Michael Tran/FilmMagic.com)

Home & Away

Melissa George got her start in the Australian soap 'Home & Away,' but she's climbed the Hollywood ladder playing Americans. "I hate having to talk with an American accent," she told a reporter down under. Luckily her new home is forgiving of accents: The Aussie lass has put down roots in the U.S. with a place in New York with husband Claudio Dabed. George has been getting back to her homeland often, for various film projects; currently the actress is filming a thriller, 'Triangle,' with Australia doubling for the ominous waters of Bermuda. (photo: Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic.com)

[The Daily Telegraph]

Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt perform live with the E-Street Band in Amsterdam. (photo: Greetsia Tent/Hyperphoto/WireImage.com)

Sexy Like It's 1999

Mark Wahlberg may be 'Happening' now (starring in M. Night Shyamalan's new film), but will he ever be as hot as he was over a decade ago? The actor-producer discovered while watching 'Sexy People of the 90s' with his brother that he was No. 1. Now, whenever his brother calls, Wahlberg reports: "he says, 'Can I speak to the Sexiest Man Of The '90s please?' ... I thought I was the coolest guy in the world, but really I was just a jacka**! And, no, I don't fancy going back to music. I'll leave that to New Kids On The Block!" (photo: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

[ZooToday.com]

Paying Forward

Back in the early '80s, Jim Carrey's manic routines were creating a stir at the legendary Comedy Store in Hollywood. Owned by the maternal Mitzi Shore, it was the place to catch the hottest young talent. In fact, veteran funnyman Rodney Dangerfield liked Carrey's frenzied style so much he hired the kid be his warm up act.

Now as one of comedy's most bankable stars, Carrey is producing a new HBO comedy series which is sure to boost the career of Tonight Show and Howard Stern regular Lisa Lampanelli. In the yet-unnamed series, Lampanelli — or as she likes to call herself, the Queen of Mean — unexpectedly inherits a comedy club becoming the den mother to the venue's eccentrically unstable stable of up-and-coming comics. (photo: Gary Gershoff/WireImage.com)

[Variety]