Marty Scorsese recently ducked out of a Bob Marley project and passed it along to another rock doc director, Jonathan Demme. They cited "scheduling conflicts" for the switcharoo, but what will Mr. Scorsese be working on instead? According to Frank Sinatra's youngest daughter, it might be a biopic about Ol' Blue Eyes.  read more »

Apartments with cracked walls, prehistoric floors, Eisenhower-era décor and a half-built cantilevered floor (for an extra bedroom) don’t usually go on the market for $6 million.

But in New York City, the right provenance can make up for almost anything.  read more »

Everybody needs to stop complaining about Chan Marshall. If I hear another person talk about how she has smoothed over the rough edges that made her so great and eradicated all the warts-and-all charm from her repertoire, I'm going to spit.

Just a year ago, after releasing the strongest album by far of her career, Ms. Marshall, or Cat Power as she's known, cancelled a tour due to a breakdown. Plenty reacted with smug I-coulda-called-it satisfaction given her reputation for stagefright and worse. Then, a few months later, Ms. Marshall emerged stronger, leaner, and meaner than ever, and has since been treating audiences (ever larger, ever more thrilled audiences) to some of the best performances of her life. One review of her new album actually praised her former "paranoid-but-pretty" style in contrast to the strength and poise she now exhibits. You'd think people wanted this woman dead.  read more »

Joey Bishop, the last surviving member of the Rat Pack, died at his home of multiple causes, according to his publicist.

CNN via AP:

The Rat Pack -- originally a social group surrounding Humphrey Bogart -- became a show business sensation in the early 1960s, appearing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in shows that combined music and comedy in a seemingly chaotic manner.

Reviewers often claimed that Bishop played a minor role, but Sinatra knew otherwise. He termed the comedian "the Hub of the Big Wheel," with Bishop coming up with some of the best one-liners and beginning many jokes with his favorite phrase, "Son of a gun!"

Bring cash: Gino's all-union staff won't strike, after all.

Owners and employees at legendary celeb-haunt Gino restaurant (commonly called "Gino's") signed a new employment contract yesterday, ending weeks of speculation about a possible strike and potential closure of the historic Upper East Side eatery.

Longtime Gino waiter and union liaison Marco Dell'Aguzzo told The Observer that the two sides reached a compromise Monday morning which maintains workers' health care and pension benefits while capping wages and cutting back on vacation time.

Under destruction?

• The staff of legendary Upper East Side red-saucery Gino (a favorite of Gay Talese, Frank Sinatra, Wes Anderson and Woody Allen) are threatening to walk out over a contract dispute, according to our new guy on the beat, Chris shott--and the owners say they'll shut down before giving in to their demands. Says co-owner Salvatore Doria: "For not much more can you sell a dish of pasta, you know? This is it!" Talese says it's an "unhappy occasion."
• The Slope Opera continues, with Suzy Hansen writing about Stuart and Wright, the first really expensive boutique to open up in Fort Greene. This gives Brooklyn gals more ways (Butter! Bird! Diane T! Do these names mean anything to you?) to dress in $500 outfits while paying $1500 rents on $25,000 salaries. And a way to look like a real original in Manhattan--even if that black flannel dress is its own price tag walking down Smith Street.
• Michael Calderone breaks down the breakdown of the new newsroom being built for The New York Times: "For generations, the layout of the old Times Building has served as the physical manifestation of the organizational culture: From the back-of-the-newsroom clerks to the Sulzberger on the 14th floor, Timesmen have known their place by knowing their places." No more!
• After selling their 63-acre compound in Alpine, N.J. for $58 million about eight months ago, Emily T. Frick and Dr. Henry Clay Frick II, the grandson of the legendary steel magnate, have bought a co-op at the Old Family Names Only, Please address of 3 East 77th Street for $3.9 million.
• Painter Ryan McGinness has bought himself a "sanctuary" in the noisy, dangerous and now completely outre Meatpacking District for a shade under $900,000.
• And Andrew Heiberger, founder of CitiHabitats, solved a difficult political situation with his old firm by kicking back a little work to a dejected would-be partner.
- Tom McGeveran]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35215#comments Real Estate Frank Sinatra Gay Talese Wes Anderson Woody Allen Wed, 11 Oct 2006 06:33:15 -0400 Observer Staff 35215 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/node/39408 Let’s assume for the moment that today’s “independent” music scene is an aes  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/39408#comments O2 Frank Sinatra Jeremy Greenspan Justin Timberlake Timbaland Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Jonathan Liu 39408 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/node/39413 July 26, 2006 12:32 p.m. 7 pounds, 9 ounces New York Presbyterian Hospital    read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/39413#comments Elvis Presley Frank Sinatra Juicy Couture Inc. Scott Greisberg Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Daisy Carrington 39413 at http://www.observer.com