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Tag: Dionne Warwick

  • Cissy Houston Recipient of Prayers at Bobbi Kristina Brown Burial

    Cissy Houston was the recipient of many prayers at granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown’s burial in New Jersey on Monday as the funeral director asked those in attendance to pray for her.

    Holding on to Pat Houston for support, 81-year-old Cissy Houston wore white as she watched the burial of her granddaughter that took place alongside her daughter Whitney Houston, and her husband John Russell Houston, who died in 2003.

    As mourners cried, Cissy Houston got up with great difficulty–and help from Pat Houston–to lay a rose on Bobbi Kristina’s casket.

    It was mostly the Houston side of the family that attended Bobbi Kristina’s burial burial. Singer Dionne Warwick was also in attendance. Bobbi Kristina’s father, Bobby Brown, was not. It is believed he stayed by wife Alicia Etheredge’s side in Atlanta. She was rushed to a local hospital following Bobbi Kristina’s funeral on Friday, after suffering from a seizure.

    Cissy Houston was spotted in the front seat of the hearse that carried Bobbi Kristina’s body to the cemetery on Monday. Her hands were folded underneath her chin. Most believe she was praying.

    Bobbi Kristina Brown was found unresponsive in her bathtub in her Roswell, Georgia townhouse back on January 31. She never regained consciousness. She died a week ago Sunday at the Peachtree Christian Hospice outside of Atlanta.

    It must seem surreal to poor Cissy Houston to have lost her granddaughter just three years after losing her daughter Whitney Houston. The funeral director was surely right when he said Cissy Houston needed everyone’s prayers. The woman has borne more grief than a person should in their lifetime.

  • Pat Houston, Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick Spotted at Bobbi Kristina Brown’s Burial

    Pat Houston, Cissy Houston, and singer Dionne Warwick were among the mourners spotted at Bobbi Kristina Brown’s burial in Westfield, New Jersey on Monday. Bobbi Kristina was laid to rest next to her mother, Whitney Houston.

    Pallbearers at Bobbi Kristina’s burial wore pink Converse sneakers and pink belts. Bobbi Kristina’s body arrived at the cemetery in a gold hearse, similar to the one that transported Whitney Houston’s body when she died back in 2012.

    Pat Houston stood by Bobbi Kristina from the time she was first hospitalized back in late January. The only daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown was discovered facedown in the bathtub of her Roswell, Georgia home on January 31st. She never regained consciousness. Pat Houston was by her side at the hospital, in the rehab facility, and at the Peachtree Christian Hospice where she passed away a week ago Sunday.

    A funeral reception was held at Pat Houston’s Atlanta home for Bobbi Kristina following Friday’s funeral, and even though Leolah Brown–Bobby Brown’s aunt–interrupted Pat Houston as she prepared to speak at the funeral, she still hosted Leolah at her home for the reception.

    Leolah Brown told the media who were camped outside of the funeral home Friday, “Whitney Houston will haunt Pat Houston from the grave.”

    It’s uncertain if Leolah Brown traveled to New Jersey with the rest of the Brown and Houston families for Bobbi Kristina’s burial or not, but it no doubt took a great deal of grace on Pat Houston’s behalf to allow her into her home on Friday.

    One would hope that the Brown and Houston families would stop feuding now that Bobbi Kristina has been laid to rest. It’s not likely that will happen right away, however. In Whitney Houston’s will, it says in the event of Bobbi Kristina Brown’s passing, her fortune is to be split between Cissy Houston and Whitney’s two brothers. Pat Houston is married to one of those brothers.

    How long do you expect it might be before true peace visits the Brown and Houston families?

  • Cissy Houston Surrounded By Bickering At Bobbi Kristina Funeral?

    Cissy Houston has lived through two nightmares that no mother should ever have to experience. Cissy had to bury her own daughter, Whitney. Today she bids farewell to her grand-daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

    The Bobbi Kristina Houston saga has played out in a very public, very tabloid-splashed fashion. The hospice center where Bobbi Kristina spent her final days was besieged with paparazzi. Cissy Houston and her family were beset on all sides by people looking for any tiny piece of information they could scoop up, twist as needed, and publish.

    Cissy Houston commented on a similar state of affairs when Whitney Houston died in 2012.

    “The media are awful. People have come from here and there, [and they] don’t know what they’re talking about,” Cissy Houston said. “People I haven’t seen in 20 years … Here they come, [they] think they know everything, but that’s not true. But God has his way of taking care of all of it, and I’m glad I know that. They really chopped on her, chopped on her … kept, kept, kept.”

    Even on the way to today’s funeral, Cissy Houston may have to deal with infighting within her own family. If reports are to be believed, Bobbi Kristina’s aunt Pat Houston has set a theme for the funeral of “Sweet 16.” But Dianne Warwick, Cissy’s niece, is rumored to have threatened to attend the funeral.

    “Dionne is planning a trip and threatening not to attend the funeral because Pat Houston is taking over, even though she should be making decisions with Bobby [Brown] and not doing it on her own,” one tabloid source said.

    Even after the funeral is over, the story may still stretch on for months. Nick Gordon, Bobbi Kristina’s former boyfriend, has insisted that he and Bobbi Kristina were married. That could complicate matters because there is a lot of money involved.

    Whitney Houston’s will left her entire fortune to Bobbi Kristina. She was to get 30 percent when she turned 25. Bobbi Kristina died at age 22. The will specified that if Bobbi died unmarried and childless then the remainder of the estate would be distributed between Cissy Houston and Whitney’s two brothers, Gary and Michael.

  • Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston’s Cousin, Remembers Bobbi Kristina Brown, Calling Her ‘a Sweetheart’

    Whitney Houston’s cousin Dionne Warwick, 74, commented on Bobbi Kristina Brown Sunday during Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, just hours after Brown’s death was announced.

    Warwick had been scheduled to be on Andy Cohen’s show, and kept her commitment to the TV appearance despite the tragic news the Bobbi Kristina Brown had succumbed to injuries sustained after being found facedown in her Georgia home in January.

    Cohen thanked Warwick for being on the show before giving the famed singer an opportunity to share her thoughts on her young cousin, who had died at the age of 22.

    “Oh my, do we have enough time? She was a sweetheart and she will be missed, that’s for sure. And she was a good girl. She was a good little girl, she really was,” Warwick said.

    Warwick said the loss of Bobbi Kristina so soon after her mother’s own death in similar circumstances was not been easy. However, she credited the family’s faith for the strength to get through both losses.

    “I think it’s because of our faith and strength in faith, knowing that Bobbi is now with a much, much bigger and more powerful person — or thing, according to who or how you believe — than we’ll ever know. She’s in much better hands now,” she said.

    The daughter of Houston and Bobby Brown died Sunday at Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia, not quite six months after she was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her home in Roswell, Georgia.

    An autopsy will be conducted to determine what led to the death of Bobbi Kristina Brown, authorities said Monday, the day after her death.

  • Angela Bassett Addresses Whitney Houston Lesbian Rumors

    For her directorial debut, actress Angle Bassett decided to make a TV movie about the life of her friend and Waiting to Exhale co-star Whitney Houston. The movie premiered on Lifetime on January 17, and the portrayal of Houston in the film added fuel to the rumors that the singer was in a relationship with her longtime friend, Robyn Crawford. In an interview with ETOnline, Bassett defended her depiction of the late singer. Bassett said, “There always has been [rumors] and they still persist and I don’t know. But, there was always the speculation, so my thing was, let it remain. But it’d be however the audience sees it. If they read into it, that’s what they read into [regarding] their life – two women who are close and love each other and support one another.”

    Yolanda Ross, who plays Crawford in the film, also weighed in on the rumors. When she was asked if she thinks that the rumors were true, the actress simply said, “Whether or not it was more than that in terms of them being a couple, we can’t say that because it was not confirmed.” However, she revealed that she used this particular aspect of Houston and Crawford’s friendship to inspire her performance. “I know that I could play the emotions — how I’d feel, if I was that close with somebody. And if then, they started seeing someone else. I think as a human, jealousy comes into mind… hurtfulness… all of these different emotions.”

    The biopic was slammed by Houston’s family in a statement released by Whitney’s sister-in-law, Pat Houston. Pat said of Bassett, “Misrepresenting the term friendship to advance an agenda is not only disrespectful and dishonest but a slap in the face to her true and loyal friends.”

    Despite Whitney’s immediate family not being pleased with the film, Bassett has the approval of Whitney’s cousin, Dionne Warwick. According to Bassett, “It turned out wonderfully. She was pleased with the story and with how we told it and that made me pleased… She clapped and said, ‘Thank you’, and, ‘This will be a good thing’.”

  • Achy Breaky Heart: Billy Ray Cyrus Revamps His Song

    Achy Breaky Heart has gotten a makeover–and it probably should have remained the hokey country song it was back in 1992. Now it has a hip hop twist to it, and it makes Billy Ray Cyrus look like a bigger fool than when he sported a mullet. If this is how Billy Ray operates, is it any wonder why daughter Miley Cyrus acts the way she does?

    Billy Ray Cyrus soared to international fame with the release of his catchy version of Achy Breaky Heart. The country song had people all over the world tapping their toes to the country tune with the fun lyrics. In the new version Cyrus brings Dionne Warwick’s son Buck22–whose real name is Damon Eliot–on board.

    Cyrus drops some lyrics about daughter Miley and her penchant for twerking in the remake of the song. Larry King, who opens the video with a bizarre prelude, tweeted about the Achy Breaky Heart remake.

    It seems Billy Ray Cyrus first met up with Dionne Warwick about a year ago when the pair recorded a duet called Hope is Just Ahead, to benefit the ‘Do The Write Thing National Campaign to Stop Violence initiative.’ The combination of these two singers in the same song sounds strange enough. She never should have introduced the country singer to her son.

    Achy Breaky Heart was very clearly written to be a country song. Writer Don Von Tress originally titled it Don’t Tell My Heart. The Marcy Brothers recorded it a year before Billy Ray Cyrus did, but they didn’t achieve the international success he did with the song.

    Probably the best anyone can hope for is to learn within the next day or so that this hip hop version of Achy Breaky Heart, replete with a mention of Miley Cyrus, is nothing but a big joke. Because it is. However Billy Ray Cyrus might not have intended for it to be perceived as such.

    What do you think?

    Image via YouTube

  • Jodie Sweetin Has Tax Issues, But Who Else?

    Jodie Sweetin Has Tax Issues, But Who Else?

    Now that “Full House” star Jodie Sweetin has paid off her debt to Uncle Sam, it makes one wonder what other celebs have been in trouble with the IRS. Whether it’s famous actors or singers, no one is immune to the wrath of the U.S. government whenever it can prove that it was short changed. So here’s a list of four entertainers who were in hot water in recent years, and while some have swam to safer grounds, others are still paddling for the shore.

    Dionne Warwick– At age 72, probably the last thing you want to be doing is going toe-to-toe with the IRS. I mean, that’s something you don’t want to do at any age, but veteran singer Dionne Warwick owed $10.7 million in 2013 and filed for bankruptcy as a result. And as of today, she’s still trying to pay everything off.

    Stephen Baldwin– Alec Baldwin’s baby bro had to fork over $350,000 in back taxes last year and setup an installment agreement to pay it all off. As of October 2013, the 47-year old paid $100,000, according to the New York Post, but he isn’t in the clear yet. Some probably wonder why Alec wasn’t able to cut him a check for the rest.

    Post by Lindsey Vonn.

    Lindsey Vonn– Back in 2012, ski racer Lindsey Vonn had to pay off over $1.7 million in back taxes, and said she wasn’t in control of her own fiances. “I am disappointed with this situation,” said Vonn in a Facebook post. “Not being in control of my finances and relying on someone else who you believed had your best interest at heart was a mistake and one I will not make twice.” And so far, she’s kept true to her word.

    Nicolas Cage– The famed actor and nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola owed a whopping $13 million in taxes a couple of years ago and so far he’s paid back a little over $6 million. Plus, Cage chose to leave Hollywood for Las Vegas in order to save money and live a simpler lifestyle, which is undoubtedly a smart move. He’s not out of the woods yet, but it’s safe to say he’s safely making his way out.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Whitney Houston: Suicide Is Not The Cause?

    Whitney Houston: Suicide Is Not The Cause?

    Whitney Houston’s brother-in-law, Billy Watson told ABCNews.com today that:

    “Oh, no, this is accidental,”

    “She wouldn’t have left her daughter like that. She wouldn’t have done that to her daughter.”

    This comes after Houston was found unconscious in the bathtub on saturday at her Beverly Hills hotel. Because alcohol and prescription drugs were involved, some speculate that Houston may have intentionally done herself in.

    Kelly Price, a recent grammy nominee, spent time with Houston on thursday and spoke about Whitney’s mood on the evening and her overall character at the time:

    “…[she] didn’t look like she was under the influence of anything. She drank some champagne and toasted Kelly Price’s three Grammy nominations Thursday night. That’s what Whitney Houston did.”

    “We laughed and we joked and we cracked up, and we danced and sang,”

    To further attest to Whitney’s mood around the time of death is her mother, Cissy Houston, who spoke with her just 30 minutes before she was found dead. Sources report that they spoke about attending the Clive Davis pre-grammy party and that her daughter seemed fine, with nothing out of the ordinary.

    Whitney’s cousin, Dionne Warwick also spoke to her on the day of the incident and claims that everything seemed normal. Though it appears that the death was an accident LA County Police are still carrying out a full investigation of the events and behaviors surrounding her death. I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.