Generous DeGeneres
Former Oscars emcee and TV talker Ellen DeGeneres put the generous in her name when she hosted local firefighters to a bash at her Montecito home, Villa di Lemma, to thank them for their help during the Thomas Fire.
Ten members of Strike Team 2040A from various departments in Contra Costa County and three fire chiefs attended the bash at the former home of international interior designer John Saladino.
The emergency personnel started fighting the Creek Fire in Los Angeles and were immediately reassigned to the conflagration of the Thomas Fire, which burned more than 300,000 acres.
They spent several shifts – 34 to 36 hours each stint – in Montecito, assigned to protect homes when fire blew up and were among several personnel, including local realtor Diana MacFarlane‘s son, Dan McNamara, who protected Ellen’s expansive property.
One of the firefighters, Theresa Vouchilas – the only woman – expressed an interest in meeting the TV host after learning she’d protected the estate, which was quickly arranged by uber-realtor Suzanne Perkins.
“Ellen was kind, sensitive, and appreciative during the two-hour reception,” Diana tells me. “She asked meaningful questions and personally invited them to be guests on her 12 Days of Christmas show next December and come with their families at any other time.”
The intrepid firemen, who were provided accommodation while here by Paul and Jane Orfalea, Impact Hub, the Wayfarer Hotel, Terry Ryken, Compass Realty, and the Canary Hotel, later had lunch at Los Arroyos on Coast Village Road, hosted by owner Tony Arroyo.
President Oprah?
What better way of crowning her glittering career than for Oprah Winfrey to be resident at the White House?
While I was in New York returning from London, I caught her rousing speech at the Golden Globes at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills and couldn’t fail to be impressed by her oratory, which earned her a standing ovation after she received the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
The former TV talk-show host has, in the past, said she has no interest in political office, but longtime companion Stedman Graham, now says she’d be “game for a presidential run – if she has the public support.”
“It’s up the people,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “She would absolutely do it.”
Mega producer Steven Spielberg is pushing for her to run and a new poll says she’d beat the current incumbent of the White House if an election were held today.
Rasmussen Reports found Oprah appealed to 76 percent of Democrats, 44 percent of Independent voters, and even 22 percent of Republicans – 48 to 38 percent – with 14 percent undecided.
Watch this space.
Beat it
Montecito actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘s sons have sent her a special video to mark the end of her grueling chemotherapy.
The touching video shows 25-year-old Henry and 20-year-old Charlie dancing and lip-synching to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”.
“Ain’t they sweet?” the 56-year-old Veep actress, who revealed in December she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, tweeted.
Once she regains her strength, she will film the final season of HBO’s hit show.
