Dating like it's 1989
'Just friends,' they say, but old flames Paula and Arsenio sure seem affectionate on their nights out
You just know there will be jokes made about ''has beens'' and ''been there, done that,'' but it looks like Paula Abdul and funnyman Arsenio Hall may be rekindling a romance that first ignited 20 years ago!
A friend of Abdul said Sunday the ex-''American Idol'' judge got a call from Hall when the news broke she was leaving ''Idol'' -- ''mainly just to tell her he was sorry about all the stuff going on with her splashed across the papers,'' said the Abdul ally.
(AP/NBC)
That led to a dinner date, then another and now various outlets, including the National Enquirer, have the ex-couple back together.
Spokesfolks for both Abdul and Hall hasten to say it's just a case of old friends reconnecting non-romantically, and nothing more -- but the duo's sightings have had a strongly lovey-dovey look to them.
'Who knows where this is going?'' said the Abdul source. ''But for now, they appear to be having a nice old time.''
BAND BREAKUP? We've head it all before, but this time there appears to be some credence to stories Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler is going solo for good.
The whispers started after the band's recent gig in Abu Dhabi, fueled by a comment about Tyler quitting, made by bassist Tom Hamilton to the Boston Herald. Now Aerosmith's Joe Perry tells the Las Vegas Sun, ''Steven quit, as far as I can tell.''
Tyler isn't talking, but recently he strongly hinted he was ready to move on. In an interview with Classic Rock magazine, Tyler said, ''I don't know what I'm doing yet, but it's definitely going to be something Steven Tyler, working on the brand of myself -- Brand Tyler.''
As the band approaches its 40th anniversary next year, Perry says Aerosmith will go on, even without Tyler, and claims, if he indeed has quit for good, the band will hire a replacement singer.
SEEN ON THE SCENE: Rocker Gavin Rossdale -- in town for the ''Dare 2 Dream'' fund-raiser at the House of Blues -- was also spied at the Underground and at Crimson Lounge in Hotel Sax. So was ''Entourage'' Emmy winner Jeremy Piven, who also popped into Sunda and Cuvee (with his co-star Kevin Dillon, himself spied chowing down on Pizano's pizza at W Lakeshore). ... Fans of ''Friday Night Lights'' star and Evanston native Zach Gilford reported seeing him shooting pool at Rockit Bar & Grill. ... Jana Kramer (''One Tree Hill,'' ''Entourage'') led her own entourage of galpals to Cuvee.
BELUSHI BIT: If you hang around the Palmer House Hilton today, you just might run into Jim Belushi, in town for an appearance at the American Association of Home and Services for the Aging at McCormick Place. Reportedly the last time Belushi was at the Palmer House was a long time ago -- shooting a scene in the hotel's Empire Room for John Hughes' film ''Curly Sue.''
FASHION FLASH: Talk about a nice salute! While at a special tea benefiting the Democratic National Committe at the Elysian Hotel the other day, Vogue magazine's fashion guru Andre Leon Talley pointed out a handful of women in the room he felt were fashionable -- all wearing stylings from Chicago's vintage queen Laurie Davis, owner of LuLu's at the Belle Kaye!
MAKIN' MUSIC: Since ''Young Frankestein'' is dark tonight, some of the cast members will join Denise McGowan and Beckie Menzie for their open-mike cabaret showcase at Petterino's beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the North Dearborn eatery.