Scene in the Tropics

Live where Liz Taylor loved (secretly) on Miami Beach

 

The whole old man/younger woman thing was alive and well in Miami Beach back in 1949 when a 17-year old starlet named Elizabeth Taylor was wooed by William Pawley, Jr., the 28-year-old son of a rich businessman with ties to Cuba and a very nice home in Miami. The relationship was very hush hush until this past week when letters written by Taylor to her "dearest Bill," whom she called "my whole life," surfaced before hitting the market. Conveniently, just as those letters are going up for sale, the home in which the two had their trysts is currently for rent at a mere $50,000 a month. The 9,146 square foot 7 bedroom, 9.5 bath house (including guest house) at 2555 Lake Ave. was completely renovated in 2009 and, says the marketing manager for the home's reps, high end realtors The Jills, will be going up for sale soon. Click here for the listing. Meanwhile, Pawley, Jr., who is now 90, told Inside Edition he was heartbroken and didn't marry for 25 years after the two split. Maybe he's in the market for a new home?

 

Exclusive! The Hangover 2 starts pre-production in Miami

The Hangover's hilarious Zach Galifianakis had dinner at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink with a group of six last night. Apparently it wasn't his first time, having been in a few days earlier, dining at the bar with his assistant. Galifianakis, who will host SNL on March 6, wasn't just lingering from the Super Bowl, either. He's in town working pre-production of The Hangover 2 for the next four to six weeks. Bradley Cooper swoon alert:production starts in October. At last, an actual comedy being filmed down here as opposed to the comedies of errors to which we've grown so accustomed.

Rihanna rocks South Beach until 4 a.m.

While her outfit may have been somewhat half-assed and according to some so were her vocals, Rihanna had a fabulous night following her gig at the free Pepsi Fan Jam concert on South Beach, partying at Mansion and SET with a gaggle of galpals until the we hours of the a.m. Wearing a more completed outfit this time--a skin tight beige dress, Ri-Ri sat front and center at her party at Mansion where she sipped on Grey Goose and grape juice and danced to songs by Jay Z and Drake as the masses of athletes clamored to catch a glimpse of her. At around 1 a.m., the Mansion team presented her with a cake in the shape of a golden Grammy to congratulate her on her two Grammy wins, out of which she took a big bite. Shortly after, she and her posse made their way to SET where they snuck in through the back entrance and set up shop at a table not far from Jermaine Dupri. Sipping on Grey Goose and Ace of Spades champagne, Grammy’s golden girl giggled with girlfriends throughout the night, dancing on top of her table to songs by The Ting Tings and Journey before calling it a night around 4 a.m. and heading back to her hotel.

Photo/Daily News/Kravitz/Film Magic

(Kim Kardashian alert!) Tara Reid ex hosts Haiti Super Bowl benefit

 
Spotted at the South Beach penthouse of business wunderkind and Tara Reid and Joanna Krupa ex   Wayne Boich last night for the Athlete's Relief Fund for Haiti benefit hosted by Alonzo and Tracy Mourning, who created the charity along with Dwyane Wade, and Jerry Powers where tables were $5,000 a pop: Chris Rock, Wilmer Valderrama, Alex Rodriguez, David Spade and Kim Kardashian, overheard gushing to pals how much she loved the Grey Goose L'Orange Big Easy cocktail which reminded her of her Saintly beau Reggie Bush. Whatever. We hear her mom Kris Jenner was also there, standing in for her daughter's busy footballer boyfriend. The event raised $100,000 for relief efforts, which is all that matters, but makes us wonder how much of that was or wasn't donated by some of the celebs in attendance. A source tells us that while the celebs didn't have to pay to get into the party, per se, they "did donate money to the charity." Hmmm.
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Exclusive Lady Gaga video: she tweets, fans Score

Video/Eugene Ramirez

Following her show Saturday at the James L. Knight Center, Lady Gaga tweeted "Hmmmm...I wonder if I'll score tonight." And while many a single and looking hot blooded male may have taken that as a hopeful invitation, what she was really saying was that she was with her bestie Perez Hilton at Score, the gay bar on Lincoln Road, where she sang a few bars of Bad Romance and worked the crowd into quite the fanatical frenzy. "The crowd is going wild when she goes to the balcony," says our eyewitness on the scene, CW morning show host Eugene Ramirez, thanks to whom we have a little snippet of it all to share with you. And while no one, not even employees, according to Ramirez, was alllowed upstairs into the VIP room, drag diva Elaine Lancaster, who introduced Gaga to the crowd, was hanging with the newly annointed pop royalty. One thing we'll say about Lady Gaga is, love or hate her, she takes care of her loyal fans and tonight, they're the ones who did the scoring.

James Davis (aka Elaine Lancaster) and Lady Gaga at Score

Lady Gaga wants Fontainebleau revelers to have pizza face

Just last month, Lady Gaga treated loyal fans who waited outside an LA Best Buy for hours to buy signed copies of her album The Fame Monster to $1,000 worth of Papa John's pizza. And now it seems that the wacky pop star has made a similar request for fans flocking to her New Year's Eve party at the Fontainebleau. Apparently, however, Gaga has no brand loyalty, requesting Domino's pizza for the partiers this time in lieu of Papa John's. No word yet on the tab, as the party planners are currently scrambling to make sure they get their orders in on time, but we smell an endorsement deal. Really, it's a no brainer, it writes itself, and we can hear it now: "I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me, Papa-Papa Johnny's." Or: "I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me, Pepper, pepperoni." Like the Lady herself, it can go either way.

And now, a heartwarming High School Musical-sponsored break from Art Basel

  

When High School Musical star Corbin Bleu boarded the Oasis of the Seas for a Make-A-Wish fundraiser Monday, he knew he was in store for some serious fan flattery. And while being chased by paparazzi and fans may not be completely foreign to Bleu, how about a high-speed chase at sea by a bigtime fan in a wheelchair? After a meet and greet with three Make-A-Wish kids and their families at the Oasis's Seafood Shack, Bleu was spotted by a little boy confined to a wheelchair. But don't feel bad for Tony from Wichita, another Make-A-Wish kid flown in specifically to meet Bleu. He clearly makes his own wishes come true. According to our seaworthy spies, little Tony "hits the button on his electric wheelchair and takes off like a bat out of hell" after Bleu. When the chair came to a screeching halt in front of the High School Musical star, instead of calling security like some tools would, Bleu got down on the kid's level and started chatting. After catching this, all the other kids followed. Bleu spent most of his free time right there and later behind closed doors with all his fans and their families. Refreshingly real. Also pretty cool, we hear, was Dancing With the Stars' Karina Smirnoff, who also spent time with fans and Make-A-Wish kids, posing with them in various ballroom dance-y poses. And in other news, we think Sylvester Stallone actually moved his face to smile at Art Basel today.