entertainmentdissected

Despite getting the Dancing With the Stars ax, Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff will keep in touch- she reportedly asked him to walk her down the aisle when she weds Maxsim Chmerkovskiy. (picture courtesy of AP/Kelsey McNeal)

ABC’s take on the Pillsbury Doughboy finally got poked right out of the Dancing With the Stars competition Tuesday evening.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and partner Karina Smirnoff landed in the bottom three, and, appropriately, exited the competition. However, they were not alone- joining them in the double elimination were Playboy model/The Girl Next Door star Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin, who escaped elimination last week at the expense of Denise Richards and Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Smirnoff has not had a heckuva lot of luck competing in the dancing extravaganza  since her third season pairing with Mario Lopez (in which they finished second). Her best showing thereafter came via two fifth-place finishes (both with musical acts- season four with Billy Ray Cyrus, and season six with Mario). Last season, her pairing with chef Rocco DiSpirito resulted in a lackluster ninth place finish.

Escaping elimination was another regular bottom feeder in terms of judges scores, Steve-O. How much longer can the Jackass star stick around? In four weeks of competition, he has not seen a score higher than 17. Unless one of the other couples takes a major tumble next week, I’d think he will be the next celebrity to leave the ballroom with his head in shame. But, who knows? Maybe Lacey Schwimmer will make a stunning dancer out of him yet- after all, she accomplished impressive feats with her partner last season, turning Lance Bass into a contender, and scoring an eventual third-place finish. Not saying that will happen with Steve-O- in fact, I highly doubt that it will- but it goes to show that nothing is out of the realm of possibility in this competition.

Meanwhile, it was free reign on FOX’s American Idol. Contestants could choose any song they wanted to, as long as it was available for download on iTunes. Anoop Desai was the first one to take the stage, and he blew any progress he made the last two weeks by picking up the tempo and performing- of all songs- Usher’s “Caught Up.” Things got worse when Megan Joy (I realized that she dropped Corkrey from her name, as it is her ex-husband’s) indulgently performed a Bob Marley/Lauryn Hill track, “Turn Your Lights Down”- she did herself no favors, and it was another dismal week for the girl, with judge Kara DioGuardi declaring, “You’re in trouble, girl.”

Danny Gokey wowed the judges yet again, with a heartfelt performance of Rascal Flatts’ “What Hurts the Most.” I still don’t quite get why the judges fawn as they do over him, but at least he’s a competent vocalist. Sixteen-year-old Allison Iraheta had a mediocre outing with No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak”(not to mention a fashion mishap), though Scott MacIntyre- in the bottom three last week- provided one of the night’s highlights with his lovely, soothing take on Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are.” With only his piano-playing as musical accompaniment, the judges loved his stripped-down approach, with Simon cowell noting that it was his best showing thus far.

Cowell also took the opportunity to remind MacIntyre that he was wise not to listen to Paula Abdul and ditch the piano. Abdul countered that she did not want to see him leave the piano behind, but a rewind of the tape indeed shows that she said she’d like to see him not be with the piano sometimes. As the two lovebirds got into it, Randy Jackson almost shouted his critique over the twosome.

Fellow piano man Matt Giraud- who also landed in the bottom three last week- failed to impress the judges this time out. His rendition of The Fray’s “You Found Me” was too faithful a performance, and the judges were not fond of his veering away from the R&B that he does rather well. In fact, every time he’s done a non-R&B number, it’s left the judges cold.

What Lil Rounds was thinking, choosing an obscure Celine Dion track- only she knows. While she sang it with gusto, it just was not the style that suits her vocal chops. Abdul said she did not want to see her become an adult contemporary artist, and Cowell nailed it when he said that she’s losing that fire and spunk that made her stand out as she did in earlier performances.

Adam Lambert had another great week, putting his own spin on Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.” He again ditched his usual hairstyle and went for a more classic, quasi-slicked-back ’do. He may be a tad over the top, but he knows it and runs with it- and (usually) puts on a great show in the process. Closing out the night was Kris Allen, who like MacIntyre and Giraud, tickled the ivories for Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Like Lambert’s take on “The Track of My Tears” last week, Allen delivered a tender, magical performance that probably caused more than a few girls (and possibly guys) to swoon.

Who will land in Wednesday’s bottom three? If Giraud ended up there last week after landing unanimous praise from the judges, how could he escape it this week? Odder things have happened, it is true, but let’s assign him one of the three slots. The other two should be occupied by the two contestants who bombed out early in the evening- Desai and Joy.

If we’re looking at consistency- in a bad way- the one to go home would be Joy. But the girl sailed past the bottom three last week, despite her truly disastrous interpretation of Stevie Wonder’s “”For Once in My Life,” so, as usual, anything and everything could happen with the power in the people’s hands.

If Joy sticks around another week and does not improve markedly, she may earn the title as Season Eight’s Sanjaya. Or at least, Idol’s equivalent of Steve Wozniak.

Gilles Marini- aka Naked Guy from the Sex and the City movie- not only caught Samantha Jones’ eye, but also millions of Dancing With the Stars viewers. The Frenchman is an early favorite to win the dancing title this season. (picture courtesy of www.dancingwithdastars.com)

As if Melissa Rycroft didn’t have it bad enough when Jason Mesnick humiliated her on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose; now, her near-perfect score of 29 on this evening’s Dancing With the Stars gets overshadowed by season eight’s first 30.

And who do you think scored the perfect dance? None other than French heartthrob Gilles Marini. After settling for a three-way tie for first in last week’s competition, the actor/model and partner Cheryl Burke performed a smoldering Argentine Tango, utilizing all the necessary ingredients- anger, love, lust, hardness and, softness, to name a few- to leave the judges- and likely viewers- needing to cool themselves down.

Fanning herself, judge Carrie Ann Inaba could not even speak when first called upon. Bruno Tonioli called Marini the perfect Latin lover, and even Len Goodman- who awarded Rycroft and partner Tony Dovolani “only” a 9 for their Lindy Hop- succumbed to Marini’s charm and dazzle.

This was the first occasion in the ABC series’ history that contestants performed either the Lindy Hop or Argentine Tango, the latter which also did wonders for Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough, who finished third with a 27. Tied for fourth with a 25 were Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson and Mark (who tied for first last week), and rodeo king Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower. Judges wanted to see less of Johnson’s gymnastics flips and more technical dancing, with Inaba saying the Lindy Hop was not her dance. However, the judges continued praising Murray’s improvement, with Inaba exclaiming ever-so excitedly to Murray, “You’re a DANCER!”

Though the judges were handing out plenty of compliments, they also continued to hold nothing back in regards to the underachievers. While no couple suffered a dramatic drop this week, Jackass’Steve-O and partner Lacey Schwimmer undoubtedly were disappointed with their results. The judges applauded Steve’s making it through his routine, but handed him the exact same score from last week (15). 

Playboy model/reality star Holly Madison endured another rough week, looking about as disoriented as Anne Heche back when she wandered into someone’s home, took a shower and planned to take everybody away in her spaceship. Yeah, it was pretty bad- but not as bad as Wozniak on his best day.

And how DID Steve Wozniak fare this week? Good news is that he improved upon last week’s disastrous score of 10- the bad news is that he and partner Karina Smirnoff scored a miserable 12 for their Argentine Tango. As usual, Smirnoff radiated, but there’s only so much she can do with Wozniak, who may as well don a blindfold each time he takes the stage.

Thanks to viewer support, Wozniak escaped elimination (not to mention the bottom two) last week. Will he be so fortunate tomorrow night, when the- as host Tom Bergeron labeled it- dreaded double elimination sends two couples packing?

If Wozniak does not survive, blame it on Smirnoff neglecting to introduce the Doughboy Poke into their dance, as she promised last week. Inaba may find Wozniak adorable, but, let’s be real- he ain’t no Pillsbury Doughboy. Well, at least he’s not without the Poke.

Will she stay or will she go? As of now, no one seems to know, including Grey’s Anatomystar herself, Katherine Heigl. (picture courtesy of AP/Chris Weeks) 

Izzie Stevens may not be on her way to television heaven after all.

At a weekend party celebrating the 100th episode of ABC’s medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, Heigl said she did not know whether her cancer-stricken character would return next season or not. Most people assumed that Izzie’s gloomy health outlook (a five percent chance of survival) meant the actress would be exiting the series, but apparently, the Grey’sPowers That Be have not made a firm decision. However, if Izzie lives, Heigl insists she will stay on.

That may come as a tad surprising, given the anti-Grey’s comments Heigl made last year. After winning the Best Supporting Actress Emmy in 2007, Heigl withdrew her name from the 2008 Emmy ballot. She told the Gold Derby Web site, “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.”

Not too long after Heigl made those comments (which were met with mixed reaction), rumors ran rampant in regards to her future on the show, and a possible desire to increase her feature film workload. Before the fifth season began in September, Grey’screator Shonda Rhimes denied rumors that Izzie would die from a brain tumor. What ended up transpiring was Izzie having a malignant melanoma, that had spread to the liver and brain. Viewers knew something was not right with Izzie, as she started seeing her deceased lover, Denny, even going so far as to carry on an “affair” with him, a beyond-bizarre plotline suggesting that the show perhaps had jumped the shark.

Fortunately, that did not happen- we learned Denny had appeared to help Izzie discover her illness, and in subsequent episodes, we have seen Heigl and her Grey’s co-stars (especially Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey) handle this story with sensitivity and aplomb. This arc- balanced with other goings-on (such as Dr. Derek Shepherd’s inner struggles after accidentally killing a patient) has rejuvenated the series following a creative dry spell.

While Heigl’s future remains unclear, T.R. Knight may be done with the show. His George O’Malley has not had much of a storyline this season, and in December, Peoplemagazine reported that he asked to be released from his contract. Rhimes claims that Knight’s comment was taken out of context, but last month, Grey’sco-star James Pickens, Jr. claimed that both Knight and Heigl would exit the series, resulting in further confusion about the stars’ plans.

The Will-They-Depart water cooler gossip only adds to Grey’s Anatomy’s colorful history since debuting in 2005- just as the third season kicked off in fall 2006, former star Isaiah Washington reportedly called Knight a “faggot” during an onset argument with Patrick Dempsey. Knight then formally stepped out of the closet, and tensions ran high on the Grey’sset for the remainder of that season; at one point, GLADD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) expressed outrage, and Washington eventually sought counseling for his issues. Come June 2007, ABC decided not to renew Washington’s contract, and his character of Preston Burke disappeared, leaving Sandra Oh’s Cristina to mourn the loss of her lover for a full season. (Cristina since has taken up with Dr. Owen Hunt, who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following time in Iraq.)

Another gay-related fallout occurred last November, when ABC abruptly fired Brooke Smith, who had played Sara Rimerez’s on-screen love interest, Erica Hahn. Various media outlets speculated that ABC was trying to “de-gay” the series. Since then, Rimerez’s Callie character has had flirtations with other female characters, so there may not be much credence to the “de-gaying” reports.

What happens next at Seattle Grace- on the series and behind the scenes- I could not predict if I tried. We do know that the on-again, off-again romance of Shepherd and Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) has reached engagement status, and that a wedding between an unconfirmed couple will occur during the series’ upcoming 100th episode (per Rimes). If Shepherd and Grey do tie the knot, the series’ core romantic conflict will be resolved (well, there’s always room for more drama to come as a result of any nuptials).

Right now, I’m mostly interested in the future of Izzie Stevens. Heigl appears open to continuing with the role, and making films during Grey’s summer hiatus. Whether TPTB at ABC and Grey’s choose to let her character beat insurmountable medical odds following her recent brain surgery, time will tell.

In the meantime, we await the next Grey’s drama- real life, series plotlines, it doesn’t matter much. We’re guaranteed no shortage of entertainment, either way.

Like last week’s bottom scorer Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver will be returning home to his family now that his American Idol time has expired. He will be on the road this summer, though, with the other nine finalists. (picture courtesy of AP)

Oil rigger Michael Sarver bid adieu to American Idol this evening, following an almost-but-not-so save from the judges.

After he sang “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” one last time (and doing it better than he did the prior evening), the judges still hadn’t decided if they were going to use their one and only save for the season. Kara DioGuardi thought his performance was hot, and was good enough, but, when it looked like they were at a stalemate, Simon Cowell took matters into his own hands and told Sarver that he was going home. Hardly a shocker, as last week when Sarver was facing elimination, Cowell inadvertently said the judges would not have saved him had he been the one singing for survival.

Occupying the other two spots in the bottom three this week were Scott MacIntrye, who turned out a mediocre performance of The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” on Tuesday, and- surprisingly- Matt Giraud, who wowed the judges with his take on Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.” Why more viewers did not dial in for Giraud, who knows- but he did not deserve to be among the three lowest-scoring hopefuls. 

Missing from the bottom trio following a rather disastrous outing Tuesday night was Megan Joy Corkrey. Luckily for her, she will have another week to prove that she belongs in the competition, and, hopefully, chooses a song to showcase her unique style.

MacIntyre also will need to do dazzle the judges (and viewers) the next time he takes the stage. He remains adamant about sticking to his piano (despite Paula Abdul’s suggestion that he step away from it from time to time), so, like Corkrey, his viability in the race will come down to song selection.

Meanwhile, Motown legend Stevie Wonder delighted with a rousing medley: “My Cherie Amour,” Superstition,” “Overjoyed” and “All About the Love Again.” No exaggeration- I had chills running upand down my arm during his performance. Mr. Wonder clearly is in a league all by his lonesome; I had not been a major fan until I purchased his four-CD At the Close of a Century- upon listen, I had fallen in love with the man’s beautiful and poignant catalog of song.

Call me loony, but as strong as some of this season’s Idol contestants may be, I doubt any of them- during the remainder of season eight or post-Idol career- ever will approach Mr. Wonder’s brilliance, and cause stirring emotions with such ease. Truth be told, if they possessed that kind of remarkable gift, they would not need the American Idol machine to help jump-start a career.

Sure, a few quality acts have emerged from the Idol ranks, but as much as I enjoy watching and critiquing, it’s still Karaoke Idol to me.

The Motown sound took center stage on FOX’s American Idol tonight, with several contestants showing exactly why they’re in the top 10.

Standout performances came from Danny Giraud (”Let’s Get it On”), Kris Allen (”How Sweet It Is To Be Love By You”), Allison Iraheta (”Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”) and- redeeming himself big time after last week’s oddity- Adam Lambert (”The Track of My Tears”). In fact, Lambert transformed himself into a clean-cut throwback to the 1950s/1960’s, hair neatly combed and not a trace of eye liner in sight.

Some contestants gave middling performances, including Scott MacIntyre (who clung to his piano for “You Can’t Hurry Love”) and Lil’ Rounds (who presented an “authentic,” as Simon Cowell called it, take on “Heatwave”). Faltering were Megan Joy Corkrey (”For Once In My Life”) and Michael Sarver (”Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”), both of whom should find themselves in the bottom three tomorrow evening. Corkrey’s song choice did not fit her distinct, jazz-like vocal style, and Sarver could not give his song the large delivery it deserves, with Cowell going so far as to say (truthfully) that he has no chance of winning the competition.

Anoop Desai gave a solid- if slightly dull- rendition of “Ooh Baby Baby,” while Danny Gokey offered some high energy for “Get Ready,” though he ended up ignoring mentor Smokey Robinson’s advice by not singing the backup-singer sections as well.

Tomorrow night, one of my favorites- Stevie Wonder- will perform a Motown medley, and Smokey Robinson duets with Joss Stone.  Right now, though, the $64,000 question is, who will join Corkrey and Sarver in the bottom three? As seen many times over on past seasons of Idol, though, sometimes the unexpected happens- recall the week when Fantasia Barrino, LaToya London and Jennifer Hudson formed the bottom three? They arguably were the best vocalists of that particular season, yet mediocrity like Diana DeGramo and John Stevens survived past that week (with DeGarmo- who maybe had one great performance during the last weeks of the competition- even making it to the finals).

Even with the fact in mind that anything can happen when the power is turned over to the people, I still believe Corkrey and Sarver will make up two-thirds of the bottom three. And, frankly, either of them would be a fitting choice to leave the competition- and you can bet that the judges again will not use their one and only save to keep either of them around to torture themselves and viewers.

Even James Bond couldn’t help keep Denise Richards afloat on Dancing With the Stars- despite a stronger showing in Tuesday evening’s dance-off, the Bond Girl got the sack. (picture courtesy of ABC-TV/Kelsey McNeal) 

Chalk up another shocking exit- and survival- on Dancing With the Stars.

Actress Denise Richards and Playboy model/reality television star Holly Madison landed in this week’s bottom two, leading to their dance-off. Judges scored Madison and partner Dmitry Chaplin just one point higher than Monday, while Richards and Maksim Chmerkovskiy improved notably on their Salsa, this time earning a 20, four points higher than the prior evening.

However, after combining viewer votes and the new judges’ scores, Richards received the heave-ho from the ABC dancing competition. That marks two consecutive weeks that a female contestant has left the competition.

Meanwhile, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak- somewhat miraculously- made it past the bottom two slots, despite securing the lowest judges score since season two (a 10 out of 30). No matter that his and Karina Smirnoff’s score was a full five points lower than the second-lowest scorer (Steve-O)- viewers obviously rallied behind the unlikely contestant. While happy to last another week, Smirnoff, however, had to watch fiance Chmerkovskiy exit the competition early for a second consecutive season (last season, partner Misty May-Treanor dropped out because of an injury).

Viewers apparently find Wozniak quite likable (Carrie Ann Inaba said he was adorable the other evening), and Smirnoff even played on that appeal, announcing that their new dance move would incorporate tickling Dancing’s very own Pillsbury Doughboy. Whether Doughboy can survive any further, we shall see, as next week offers a double elimination.

Meanwhile, last season’s comical wonder Cloris Leachman, along with partner Corky Ballas, returned via a pre-recorded segment, previewing two new dances that will debut next week (the Lindy Hop and Argentine Tango). Host Tom Bergeron joked that the twosome’s guide probably was not of help to anybody (and rightly so)- though the segment reinforced how this season lacks a Crazy Cloris among the lot of hopefuls.

Will Wozniak return to the bottom two next week? Will Madison up her game and avoid a repeat showing? Will Gilles Marini continue to dazzle the judges and reclaim first place all for himself? And just how long will Steve-O’s fans keep him in the running? These questions and many more will be answered during week four of DWTS…

Based on the first few weeks of competition, Shawn Johnson, Gilles Marini and Melissa Rycroft are favorites to finish among Dancing With the Stars’ Top Three. (images courtesy of ABC-TV)

Actor Gilles Marini continued to prove that he’s no one-dance fluke.

Thanks to a sizzling Samba, the sexy Frenchman- along with partner Cheryl Burke- achieved the highest judges’ score (27) on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars for a third consecutive week. However, unlike the past two weeks, the twosome had to share their title with two other couples: Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson and partner Mark Ballas performed an effortless Foxtrot (with Johnson gliding across the stage as if she were walking on air), while The Bachelor’s Melissa Rycroft and partner Tony Dovolani scored with that same dance.

While the judges could not get enough of Marini, Johnson and Rycroft, they showed no mercy for Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, whose Samba earned him the second-lowest score in the show’s history (10). Furthermore, Wozniak (who soldiered on despite a pulled hamstring) experienced the week’s biggest decline, down seven points from last week’s Quickstep. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba commented that, while she finds Wozniak adorable and entertaining, the novelty- sooner or later- is going to wear off, while Bruno Tonioli said it probably was the worst Samba he had ever seen. All Wozniak’s partner Karina Smirnoff could do was smile wearily in the face of such harsh criticism.

Also faltering were Jackass’ Steve-O and partner Lacey Schwimmer, earning a lowly 15 for their Foxtrot. She may sing Steve-O’s praises publicly, but is there any doubt she’s longing for Lance Bass’ return? Other couples scoring lower than 20 were actress Denise Richards/Maksim Chmerkovskiy (16, down from last week’s 21) and Playboy model Holly Madison/Dmitry Chaplin (17, down just one point), both failing to bring much in the way of heat to the Samba. 

Despite the judges celebrating rodeo guru Ty Murray as the most improved contestant (he jumped from a 14 in week one to a 23 this week), actor/comedian David Alan Grier enjoyed the week’s biggest point gain- his Foxtrot with Kym Johnson scored a 24, seven points higher than last week’s Salsa.

Also taking multiple steps forward were rapper Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough (up two points to a 25), and country star Chuck Wicks and girlfriend Julianne Hough (up three to a 23).

Tomorrow night’s bottom two again should include Wozniak, but the battle for slot number two is up for grabs. Last week, despite scoring four points higher than Steve-O, Go-Go Belinda Carlisle ended up facing Wozniak in the dance-off- and getting the boot. 

Aside from elimination, one highlight on tomorrow’s results show undoubtedly will be the return of- yes- Crazy Cloris Leachman. No one on the show made mention of it, but television guides list her as appearing. None of this season’s contestants match her kookiness (sorry to the two Steve’s), so the funny lady’s unpredictable and zany behavior should provide some welcome comic relief.

Maybe 82-year-old Leachman can slip on her dancing shoes one more time, if only to show 58-year-old Wozniak REALLY how to entertain.

Madonna’s curtain call for her illustrious career with Warner Bros. will be out this fall. (picture courtesy of Associated Press/Evan Agostini)

Madonna fans can expect the Queen of Pop’s next compilation in September, according to spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg- but what remains unclear at this point is whether it will be a career-spanning collection or simply a survey of her last three studio albums.

A couple months back, I pondered what a career-spanning tracklist could look like (http://entertainmentdissected.today.com/2009/01/05/compiling-madonna-tracklisting-an-arduous-task/) If the album does cover her entire career and is handled properly, Warner Bros. could have quite an eventful release with this compilation- a smorgasbord of template-setting, era-defining, state-of-the-art tracks by one of the music’s masters, similar to albums like The Beatles’ 1 and Elvis Presley’s 30 #1 Hits.

Hopefully, WB and Madonna recognize such potential and hold nothing back in terms of content (throw in a DVD or two for a deluxe edition), marketing, packaging (exquisite booklet, please) and promotion. Granted, in this day and age of iTunes, consumers have the ability to cherry-pick their favorite songs and make their own compilations, lessening commercial prospects for hits compilations.  

However, Madonna is doing her part to goose sales. She plans on recording a couple new tracks, though according to manager Guy Oseary, it’s not certain whether the album’s new tracks will be ones that were previously unreleased or ones that Madonna is starting from scratch.

On Twitter, Oseary asked fans for tracklist suggestions, though he has not indicated whether the album will be a single or double disc. What we can only hope is that it’s not a single disc focusing on 2002-2008 material.

Now, Madonna’s has some strong material in that time- “Die Another Day,” the Confessions on a Dance Floor album, most notably- but two of her last three records (2003’s American Life and 2008’s Hard Candy) did not add much of note to her impressive catalog. Not to say they were bad albums (they weren’t), but a hits album focusing on her least creatively satisfying (and commercially challenged) era would be pretty weak- and potentially disastrous.

With that in mind, WB surely knows that a career spanner is the perfect close to its 25-year-plus relationship with Her Madgesty. For the past quarter century, the cultural and musical icon has reigned as the company’s luckiest and most bankable star- and no better way to conclude that partnership than to assemble a package befitting a Queen.

Screen and stage actress Natasha Richardson passed away earlier this week, following a severe head injury suffered while taking a ski lesson. (picture courtesy of AFP/Tiziana Fabi)

I never saw the late Natasha Richardson’s work- on either screen or stage- but the acclaim speaks for itself.

Richardson- who married actor Liam Neeson in 1994 and leaves behind two sons- enjoyed a prosperous theatrical run in the 1990’s. For the 1998 Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Cabaret, she won a Tony for Best Actress  in a Musical, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and an Outer Critics Circle Award. Earlier, for 1993’s Anna Christie, she won a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut of an Actress and was nominated for a Tony as Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.

Richardson’s most recent stage work was as Blanche DuBois in Roundabout’s 2005 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. Her film credits include 1990’s The Comfort of Strangers (for which she won an Evening Standard British film Award for Best Actress), 1992’s Nell (starring Jodie Foster), 1994’s Widows’ Peak (for which she won Best Actress at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival), 1998’s The Parent Trap (opposite a young Lindsay Lohan), 2002’s Maid in Manhattan (starring Jennifer Lopez) and 2005’s Asylum (for which she won her second Evening Standard British Film Award and was nominated for the same honor at the British Independent Film Awards). Last year’s Wild Child marked her final screen appearance.

Richardson, born into the Redgrave film/theatrical acting dynasty, was daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson. Others in the acting dynasty included grandparents Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, and aunt and uncle Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave.

Aside from her professioanl endeavors, Richardson was known for her work in the fight aginst AIDS, helping to raise millions of dollars through the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). Richardson ’s father died of AIDS-related causes in 1991, and in November 2000, amfAR presented her with its Award of Courage.

Following a March 16 ski lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec, forty-five-year-old Richardson suffered a traumatic head injury (an epidural hematoma), after reportedly refusing medical treatment on the ski hill. She died two days later at a hospital in New York City.

Stay-at-home mom Alexis Grace will be returning to her child, now that she’s been eliminated from American Idol. (picture courtesy of FOX/Ray Mickshaw) 

As if Belinda Carlisle’s premature ejection from Dancing With the Stars wasn’t enough, now the American Idol judges have gone and dismissed a girl who should have been readying herself for the top 10 tour this summer.

Twenty-one-year-old Alexis Grace- who upon first meeting, the judges told to dirty herself up (she ended up streaking some pink into her hair)- surprisingly got the boot last night. The bottom three consisted of Grace, 27-year-old Michael Sarver and 16-year-old Allison Iraheta. Of those three, I expected Sarver to be there- he’s not a bad singer, but he’s the most forgettable among the current lot.

With that in mind, when it came down to he and Grace, I thought- hoped- that he would be the one leaving the competition. But, alas, it was Grace who received the least number of votes this week- and it was up to the judges to act as her Saving Grace (pun totally intended). Following an OK rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Simon Cowell politely told her that it was good, but not good enough- and it was adios, Ms. Grace.

Before the announcement, host Ryan Seacrest asked the judges if they would consider using their one save for either Grace or Sarver, and Cowell said yes. Once we found out Grace was at the bottom, Cowell acknowledged that it was she they would consider saving. Guess we know how they feel about Sarver ’s prospects in the competition.

Grace’s exit is unwarranted- did the judges forget how she poured her heart and soul into Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man”? Or how she delivered Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana” with a cool rock aggression? Cowell may not have thought that the latter performance was was good as grace may have thought it was, but no matter- she should have been given another shot. It’s not like her take on “Jolene” was one of the worst, tide-shifting performances in Idol history.

And may I ask why Adam Lambert was not in the bottom three this week? The dude’s got talent, but he should have pulled in the reigns in over-the-topness this week by sticking more to the country format. If Lil Rounds can tuck away her R&B flavor and tackle country as best she can, then Lambert should have been able to do the same. He doesn’t like country? So, what? Suck it up and put the indulgence on vacation for a week.

The trouble with elimination this season is that there really isn’t a bum in the lot. Each of the remaining contestants (even Sarver)- and the erroneously eliminated Grace- have appeal, strengths and talent that endears them to the audience- no off-the-wall headscratchers like Sanjaya Malakar or John Stevens, nor mediocrities like Justin Guarini, Diana DeGarmo, Katharine McPhee or Taylor Hicks.

Each elimination this season is sure to carry some emotional baggage- but, there can only be one American Idol. I recommend that viewers don’t become collectively invested in the bunch. If they do, have no fear- there’s always the upcoming top 10 tour to get your fallen Idol fixes.