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Editor's note: Thank you for subscribing to Don Aly's Celebrity Scene. I'm delighted to be able to share with you some of the most memorable behind the scenes stories and antidotes about some of the most interesting and bizarre show biz personalities I have met in over 25 years of covering the entertainment industry's Celebrity Scene. From time to time, you'll read about things you might find hard to believe. Maybe you'll shake your head and say, 'Wow, I didn't know that,' but, trust me, you'll never be bored.
I'll give you the inside scoop, (and maybe even some gossip), on such legendary celebrities as the late John Wayne, Paul McCartney of the Beatles, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, the late Elvis Presley, the 'love child' of Marilyn Monroe and JFK, Hugh Hefner, Cher, Dick Clark, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Douglas, Ron Howard, the late Frank Sinatra and his son, Frank Sinatra, Jr., the late Dean Martin, the late Lee Marvin, the late Anthony Quinn, Charles Bronson, the late Wolfman Jack, Morgan Fairchild, Elvira and Charo, to name a few.
Plus, you can look for up to date info on such contemporary celebrities as Madonna, Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Mariah Carrey and Jennifer Lopez.
In my introductory selection, I thought a general behind the scenes story on Celebrity Star Treatment might be in order. Enjoy and let me hear from you at www.donnyfun.com.
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CELEBRITY STAR TREATMENT
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It takes more than fame and fortune today to keep celebrities happy. Because it's a high priority, especially to the insecure and eccentric entertainers today, those corporate power guys in dark suits often make ridiculous arrangements for elaborate contracts, specifically stipulating what their star requires in the way of special amenities.
 Food and beverages are among the items that are most demanded by the stars. Madonna requires bubble gum and Hot Tamales candies; Steven Seagal organic food and Claudia Schiffer mineral water and Skittles candies - with all the purple ones removed. (Rock star Van Halen insists on the removal of brown M&Ms from their candy dishes).
Pampered singers insist on all sorts of wacky perks backstage. Frank Sinatra loved his booze and insisted on a bottle each of Absolut or Stoli vodka, Jack Daniels, Chivas Regal, Courvoisier, Beefeater gin and premium white and red wines. Ol' Blue Eyes also wanted 24 chilled jumbo shrimp, Novia Scotia salmon and 12 rolls of cherry Lifesavers.
Country cutie Shania Twain requests diet soda, Gatorade, Hawaiian Punch, Perrier and lots of fruits and vegetables, including 10 pounds of carrots. Pop singer Christina Aguilera insists on 10 bottles of room-temperature water, health foods and a small bottle of Flintstones vitamins with extra vitamin C and a small bottle of chewable vitamin C tablets.
Country group Alabama asks that water come in screw-top bottles only and makes one other rather bizarre demand - that no animals be allowed backstage at any time during the day. 'If there is,' they write in bold type, 'Alabama will not perform.'
Celebrity food caterers have to constantly be on their toes while serving the stars, and, they'll do just about anything to avoid their wrath and the cancellation of their fat contracts.
 On the set of 'Silverado,' actor Scott Glenn gave the movie's food-service personnel hell for serving concentrated orange juice instead of the 'superior' freshly-squeezed variety. Whereupon, the food sleuths mixed some pulp into the concentrate, sprayed some of their mixture on the counter, so it would look like they had been preparing fresh fruit, and then presented the concoction to Glenn.
The actor, reportedly, swallowed every drop, quickly and gratefully, while gesturing with a toast often reserved for champagne parties.
(Glenn was later told by the food preparation staff, about their little ruse, and frequently acknowledges his bitterness, I'm told, to film authorities as only an irate actor can).
Pity the staffs at posh hotels where the stars stay today while on tour or for overnight engagements. Stars have all sorts of demands they inflict rather ungraciously upon their hosts, whom they are, by the way, paying rather handsomely to cater to their every whim. Barbra Streisand, for instance, requires peach-colored toilet paper and towels and Prince demands his rooms be draped with flowing fabrics and filled with the scent of his favorite incense. Ditto for Eddie Murphy, who requires peach potpourri.
Stars, too, have certain quirks that are sometimes associated with paranoia or habitual superstition. Joan Crawford would never walk into a room unless toasted French bread and seven packages of cigarettes (three opened) were waiting for her. The actress also demanded to be told exactly how many steps there were from her room to the hotel's elevator.
 When Jack Nicholson was filming 'Hoffa,' he insisted the hotel put up a satellite dish so he wouldn't miss any of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA games. Robert Duvall once demanded a dance floor be installed in his hotel, so he could practice the tango for two hours a day.
Shortly after Playboy ran their nude spread of Rita Jenrette, she stipulated in her contracts that the kitchen in her hotel suite be stocked with three cases of sugar-free Dr Pepper, daily, and that the TV be equipped with a VCR, so she could watch her yoga-exercise program. (You don't have to be a bonafide star to be eccentric. Ogliavanna Lloyd Wright, wife of the late architect Frank Lloyd Wright, once refused to stay in a hotel during a speaking engagement tour unless the hotel's staff removed the TV from her room. (She was offended by the commercial advertising on the tube for cosmetics, feminine hygiene products booze and coffee).
Celebrities have had all sort of phobias about flying commercially - way before the World Trade Center disaster in New York. Arnold Schwarzenegger simply won't do it. He insists on private planes, as does Madonna, (who also keeps a fleet of limos on standby at all times). And, some stars demand private plane service for the strangest reasons.
When William Hurt was filming 'Until the End of the World' in the outback of Australia, he insisted upon, and was provided with, a private jet because he said he 'needed to be near a church.' Actress Suzanne Somers may not have been the reason why Braniff Airlines introduced their famed multi-colored aircraft, but, it's a well known fact she will only fly on green jets. Clark Gable would only fly in airplanes with more than two engines, and he wouldn't even do that unless he was made aware, in advance, of the manufacturer of the plane.
Some celebrities are as hung up on automobiles as they are about aircraft. When Eddie Murphy was filming 'Coming to America,' sources say his limo bills on the set ran in the neighborhood of five grand a week. (The star also demanded - and got - a $5,000 a week 'living allowance'). Bill Cosby won't ride in any automobile for his personal use except a white Jaguar.
 Elvis, of course, was notorious for his collection of cars. He especially liked Cadillacs. (I remember when he was just starting out in the business and didn't even own a car. Elvis said he suspected I had one, because newspaper guys had to have transportation to return to their paper before their deadline. Presley told me also that he was hungry and wanted to know if I'd take him some place after his show where he could get a hamburger and a chocolate shake. I was embarrassed about him riding in my old beat-up Chevy, especially since the radio didn't work and neither did the air conditioning). We eventually went to a late-night drive-in dive on the interstate highway, but opted to eat the hamburgers and drink the chocolate milk shakes sitting on the curb behind the car, hidden from the eyes of would-be autograph hounds. (More about this in a later column).
It's not unusual today for many top celebrities to travel with a large entourage, which often includes their own personal trainers. Some stars, who do not have trainers, require hotels or studio personnel to provide physical therapists for daily rubdown and exercise rituals. For instance, Roseanne, who has a toe fetish, makes sure her contracts include clauses for foot massages. Farrah Fawcett demands there be a personal sauna within a hundred yards of her dressing room or trailer.
Naturally, professional hair stylists are important members of any star's entourage and they are rewarded rather handsomely for their talent. And not only for the women. Publicity reports indicated that the personal hairdresser for James Woods was paid $6,000 a week during the filming of 'The Hard Way.'
 When you're a celebrity, you can demand and get attention for all your special needs, which sometimes seem understandable, but, often become ridiculous. Michael J. Fox requested an assistant to do nothing but insert his contact lenses every day. On the other hand, Jayne Seymour, reportedly, required assistants to run around with a square of red carpet for her to stand on when she was filming her TV series, 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.' (Not to mention the actress' outrageous demand for her daily supply of London rainwater - at a cost of $1,200 a shipment - so she could wash her hair regularly).
When Carrol Channing performed at the Fairmont Hotel, she required management to install fans on the balcony of her suite and to turn off the hotel's air conditioning because she was allergic to Freon. Singer Ella Fitzgerald's contract stipulated that she not be bothered at certain hours of the day so she could watch her daily soap operas on TV. Zsa Zsa Gabor insisted the Fairmont Hotel provide her with a handsome male escort - preferably, a rich Texas oilman - each evening during her stay at their establishment.
 When Lily Tomlin performed at the Fairmont Hotel's Venetian Room, she refused to stay in the suite provided for her, and stayed, instead, in 'a more luxurious location' that complimented her 'style and professional demeanor.' (Ms Tomlin may have refused to sleep in the hotel's regular suite, but she took advantage of the 'comp' facility to party with friends each night after her engagement, before scooting across town to her 'more luxurious quarters.' Hotel management placed a small brass plaque on the door of the suite. It read, simply: 'The room Lily Tomlin refused to occupy').
When Marlene Dietrich performed at the Fairmont Hotel's Venetian Room, she demanded the hotel install a 'fabric tunel' complete with a red carpet, running from the elevator, down the hall and through the kitchen (so no one would see her before she made her grand entrance), in the hotel's showroom. Peggy Lee insisted electric fans be installed on the stage, including one located strategically under the piano.
Bobby Short had a clause in his contract stipulating that, during his engagement at the Fairmont Hotel, a supply of Texas-style chili be packaged and sent to his New York address. Jerry Lewis would not go on stage unless his favorite candy bars were delivered to his room. Joan Crawford wrote hotel officials prior to her arrival, requesting an extra supply of towels be placed in her bathroom, and insisted on cleaning the room herself.
Some celebrities require special meal preparation, because of certain culinary preferences or for diet reasons. Lisa Minnelli refused to eat dinner at the Fairmont Hotel's four-star restaurant, opting, instead to cook all of her meals for her guests in the kitchen of her suite. When Dionne Warwick ordered from the hotel's room service, she always selected Jell-o for desert and demanded it be purchased at a nearby Seven Eleven convenience store.
Stars sometimes shock hotel managers with their strange behavior. Pia Zadora was almost evicted once from the Fairmont Hotel because of her regular 'midnight munchie' treks to the hotel's kitchen, where she paraded around half-naked and chomped on carrot sticks and celery. Gloria Loring shocked patrons at the Fairmont Hotel by openly breast-feeding her baby, in full view of other patrons, in the hotel's plush lobby.
Yul Brynner demanded a large mirror be erected on the ceiling over his bed. One popular star (who asked to remain nameless) reserved a whole floor at the ritzy hotel, so she could jog nightly in the corridors without being hassled.
Then, there was the time a celebrity impersonator signed in with Larry Gatlin's name at the Fairmont. It was several days later that the hotel staff discovered that their guest was NOT the recording artist and had run up a large tab exceeding several thousand dollars.
Hotel officials often do not ask celebrities for identification before they are escorted to their rooms. (Some, of course, are not there when the business arrangements are made).
 Several years ago, the Beatles and their troupe stayed at a popular hotel, during their American tour, and occupied a whole floor. During a routine check, hotel officials were surprised to find the suites trashed and vacated. They later decided to retaliate their losses by auctioning off small pieces of the group's bed linens to the highest bidders. (A few years later, the once-plush hotel became a prison security facility. Imagine an inmate writing a letter to his girlfriend, telling her he was staying in a room once occupied by Paul McCartney or John Lennon).
Celebrity rock stars today are not welcome at some popular hotel establishments because of their frequent drug and alcohol use and abuse. In some cases, the hotels simply refuse to cater to their zany demands, no matter how famous they are. When the Rolling Stones played in Dallas on a Texas-Oklahoma football weekend, all the local area hotels were booked months in advance. Mick Jagger and his music mates ended up renting a local recording studio for the night, jamming and jiving until the wee hours and falling asleep on blankets tossed casually around on the studio's floor.
Then, there are those celebrities who are simply paranoid about being recognized and check in at hotels around the world in costumes and disguises, using fictitious names for registration in an effort to hide their identity and insure their privacy.
 Hollywood actor-comedian Jim Carrey usually signs in at resort hotels as 'Phillip Lambert.' Television talk show hostess Rosie O'Donnell masquerades as 'Mr. Fred Beasley.' Actor Brad Pitt and actress Jennifer Aniston go incognito as 'Mr. and Mrs. Ross Vegas.' 'Friends' star David Schwimmer uses the name of a famous movie character: 'Rupert Pupkin.' Lauren Holly usually signs in as 'Andy Pandy.'
Some stars don't even bother to sign in at all. (Even when they use their real names). Word got around Hollywood that certain entrepreneurial staff members were confiscating hotel ledgers and selling pages with celebrity autographs to the highest bidder. And that started another whole celebrity craze - stars signing in at hotels with the names of other famous celebrities. One even took the liberty to use an old Noel Coward quote: 'Keir Dullea and gone tomorrow.'
Oh, well, that's show biz, baby.
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