HOLLYWOOD, 2:41 PM, TUE MAY 13 | 30 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@defamer.com | SUBMIT A TIP | RSS
AU
« next »

Breaking: Anna Nicole Smith Dead

anna-nicole-florida.jpgAccess Hollywood is reporting (among about a hundred other sources at the moment) that Anna Nicole Smith has been rushed from the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida to the emergency room after collapsing at the hotel.

...And in the time it took us to type that sentence , Entertainment Tonight is reporting that she's dead.

More details as they become available, which at the current pace probably means there will be an update in minutes.

UPDATE: CNN is also reporting the death, noting with considerable understatement that news from the scene is traveling quickly. We've been watching for at least two minutes and haven't yet heard the word "overdose" used.

UPDATE 2: CNN's Wolf Blitzer, probably finding himself a little out of his element in covering Anna Nicole, has turned to the guy from Showbiz Tonight to fill him in on her backstory while he awaits meaningful updates.

[NOTE: All other updates—they're still coming fast and furious—are after the jump as this post is getting unwieldy.]

UPDATE 3: While they wait for an announced press conference, CNN continues its Parade Of Anna Nicole Experts. Dr. Sanjay Gupta briefly speculates about the deleterious effects of "too much medication" (we're paraphrasing here) on the human heart, immediately followed by Larry King's fond recollections of Smith. The word "classy" has been used. By King. We imagine Gupta didn't have much personal contact with her.

UPDATE 4: Dr. Gupta is finally getting closer to the hard question, noting that she died of heart failure—but what could have caused the heart failure? Sensing the o-word might be coming, Blitzer throws it back to the Showbiz Tonight guy, who diffuses the tension by reminding us of her happier Playmate days.

UPDATE 5: Back to Dr. Gupta, who patiently explains to Blitzer how people who collapse in hotel-casinos are transported to hospitals. Ambulances and stretchers are involved, apparently.

UPDATE 6: Right about now we really need to see something cute to interrupt all this overwhelming tragedy. Take five seconds to enjoy these baby ducks before looking for an update.

UPDATE 7: Blitzer breaks the news that there will be TWO press conferences, one at the hospital and one at the Hard Rock. This could tax CNN's news-gathering resources to the breaking point as they scramble to get personnel familiar with Anna Nicole's work to both locations.

UPDATE 8: The hotel press conference ends almost as quickly as it begins: The police rep says the cause of death won't be known until the medical examiner's investigation. She was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:49 EST, but there seems to be some question about whether she died while she was still at the hotel.

Thank God Dr. Gupta is back to make sense of this for us. He's confused as to why it might have been seven minutes between a private nurse's 911 call and the time her bodyguard started CPR. Our heads are spinning.

We're heading back over to the baby ducks for a minute.

UPDATE 9: It looks as if the hospital press conference has been canceled by request of the family. Which family? Husband-like legal services provider and possible impregnator Howard K. Stern?

Also: Hugh Hefner has released a statement about Smith's passing, but it frustratingly contains no new clues about the "mystery" (that's the word everyone keeps using) of her death. We'd been counting on Hef for some answers.

UPDATE 10: Larry King is back, and he's confident that the legal system will eventually figure out who's the father of her newborn daughter Dannielynn. He almost sounds cocky about it, leading us to suspect he's trying to hint the baby is his, just to prove his incredible virility at an advanced age.

King once again falls into reverie, recalling the time she appeared on his show so drunk and incomprehensible that SNL reran the interview without altering it. She's compared to Marilyn Monroe (for a variety of reasons), called "not the smartest woman in the world," but also "fun." King is clearly working through his feelings on-air.

UPDATE 11: King on Howard K. Stern (not the radio Howard Stern, everyone keeps reminding us): "Not exactly the belle of the ball," but an interesting guy. Hints of jealousy?

Nancy Grace compares Stern (lawyer, not radio) and Smith's shady Bahamian marriage to one as valid as a sidewalk ceremony performed by a NYC street vendor. You can always count on Nancy Grace for such penetrating insights.

UPDATE 12: As the stern face of Lou Dobbs replacing that of bearded softie Blitzer, CNN's newly assigned master of celebrity-death ceremonies, signals that the network is ready to move on from its nonstop Anna Nicole Smith coverage, we're finally forced to abandon our live updates. Goodbye, Dr. Gupta, Larry, and Crazy Nancy. We're sure we'll be seeing you later tonight.


2:05 PM on Thu Feb 8 2007
By Mark
22,766 views
98 comments

Comments