Celebrities' Families Affected; Pitch In For KATRINA Relief

(From The Hartford Courant -- By Pat Seremet)

Musician FATS DOMINO, who had been among the missing in the NEW ORLEANS hurricane as of Thursday afternoon, was rescued that night. And IRMA THOMAS, the queen of NEW ORLEANS SOUL, has reported in from BATON ROUGE, where she escaped to the home of her aunt.

Rescuers took 77-year-old Domino from his home in a flooded neighborhood and delivered him to safety, said his daughter KAREN DOMINO WHITE, who lives in NEW JERSEY. According to CNN, she identified her father in a photograph of the rescue that ran in THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES PICAYUNE.

Blues legend B.B. KING, a native of MISSISSIPPI, said he had loved ones in the area.

"I have some friends and family down in NEW ORLEANS and also on THE GULF COAST OF MISSISSIPPI," King said. "I've tried to call them several times, but I can't get through to them, so I don't know where they are."

MASTER P, also a NEW ORLEANS native, said his uncle, father-in-law and sister-in-law, among others, were unaccounted for. His father was missing until recently. "We just got caravans of family members evacuated," Master P said Thursday. "It's just devastating."

The rapper-producer, who also said his houses and those of family members were under water, said he had created a foundation called TEAM RESCUE and had helicopters searching for his missing family members.

Rapper JUVENILE, who left NEW ORLEANS before the hurricane hit, lost his home but counted himself lucky.

"Thank GOD that I was able to get my family out to safety while many families were not so fortunate," Juvenile said in a statement. "I have lost some friends, and to their families I send my deepest condolences."

PATRICIA CLARKSON said her mother, NEW ORLEANS Councilwoman JACKIE CLARKSON, had stayed at the side of MAYOR RAY NAGIN while KATRINA ravaged the city.

"She's all right; otherwise I wouldn't be here," actress Clarkson said at THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL.

SOUL ASYLUM front man DAVE PIRNER and THE SIMPSONS star HARRY SHEARER said they were anxiously watching news reports, hoping to see if their homes in NEW ORLEANS had escaped destruction.

Actor JOHN GOODMAN, a NEW ORLEANS resident, sat out the hurricane in ST. LOUIS, listening to music in a club coincidentally named BLUEBERRY HILL, the name of FATS DOMINO's biggest hit.

THE BOSTON GLOBE reported that there had been some concern about the whereabouts of former RED SOX lefty MEL PARNELL, who hails from NEW ORLEANS, but according to RED SOX Vice President DICK BRESCIANI, Parnell fled to ATLANTA and is all right.

Other celebrities are pitching in for disaster relief. CELINE DION and the partners of her LAS VEGAS SHOW pledged a $1 MILLION DONATION to THE RED CROSS DISASTER RELIEF FUND.

And OSCAR-WINNER NICOLAS CAGE, who has a home in NEW ORLEANS, DONATED $1 MILLION Thursday to THE AMERICAN RED CROSS, a spokeswoman said.

HILARY DUFF has pledged to donate $250,000. Duff, 17, will give $200,000 to THE AMERICAN RED CROSS and $50,000 to USA HARVEST, which is supplying food to shelters, according to a statement released Thursday. Duff encouraged fans to bring canned-food donations to her concerts and to give money to charities.

TIM FARRIS of INXS announced on Wednesday night's ROCK STAR: INXS that the band had made a donation to THE RED CROSS, but he did not specify how much.

MORGAN FREEMAN, whose MISSISSIPPI DELTA home sustained only rain and high winds, helped organize an online auction for THE AMERICAN RED CROSS DISASTER RELIEF FUND.

Among items up for auction on CharityFolks.com are, coincidentally, backstage passes to meet B.B. KING.

Other items include VIP tickets to THE JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW, a visit to the set of THAT '70s SHOW and a chance to attend the premiere of AN UNFINISHED LIFE, in which Freeman stars.

Rap moguls SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS and JAY-Z have pledged A COMBINED $1 MILLION to THE AMERICAN RED CROSS.

"This is our community," said SHAWN "JAY-Z" CARTER, who is also president and CEO of THE DEF JAM RECORD LABEL. "When I turn on CNN, I see a lot of black people on the streets. I know it's other people, too, but those projects have been hit hard."

Combs agrees. "We are all descendants from each other's families. When you hear black people say BROTHERS and SISTERS, it's really true. These are all people that I know I'm related to somehow, some way -- THE HUMAN RACE FAMILY."

BLACK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK (BET) is putting on its own telethon.
A two-part, four-hour BET broadcast on September 9th from 6 to 10 pm will feature RUSSELL SIMMONS, OMARION, COMMON, STEVIE WONDER, DAVID BANNER, CHRIS ROCK, NEW ORLEANS native WYNTON MARSALIS and MASTER P and JUVENILE.

Saturday eveing at 8 pm, CNN will air HOW YOU CAN HELP, a three-hour special hosted by LARRY KING. King will talk to hurricane survivors as well as organizations and celebrities who are helping with relief efforts. Confirmed guests thus far include: ERIC CLAPTON, DION, NEW ORLEANS native HARRY CONNICK JR., LeANN RIMES, MARIA SHRIVER, GOODMAN, CLAY AIKEN, SELA WARD, TERRI HATCHER and BILL COSBY.

THE GRAND OLE OPRY also announced plans for COUNTRY REACHES OUT: AN OPRY BENEFIT FOR THE AMERICAN RED CROSS. The September 27th event will feature ALAN JACKSON, ALISON KRAUSS, CRAIG MORGAN and BILLY CURRINGTON, among others.

THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO announced it will have celebrity guests autograph A HARLYE-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE to auction off on eBay later this month to raise relief funds. The signatures will start being collected this week and potentially include SAMUEL L. JACKSON, DENIS LEARY, JENNIFER GARNER, DOLLY PARTON and JON BON JOVI.

THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND will perform a September 12th concert at RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE near DENVER, with all profits, including parking and concessions, to go to charities supporting victims of HURRICAN KATRINA.

Also lending a hand are GREEN BAY PACKERS Quarterback BRETT FAVRE and TENNESSEE TITANS Quarterback STEVE McNAIR, who have homes in HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI. Favre's hometown -- KILN, MISSISSIPPI -- was destroyed.

The football stars Wednesday filled a tractor-trailer with relief supplies bound for MISSISSIPPI. THE PACKERS pitched in by using the team plane to fly generators and supplies down south.

McNair is offering autographed photos for each donation of $100 or more to his foundation.

In other news related to the entertainment industry and KATRINA, the hurricane seems to have considerably slowed the burgeoning practice of shooting films in LOUISIANA.

The cast and crew of the film THE REAPING, including HILARY SWANK, were evacuated by plane from BATON ROUGE before the storm made landfall. The film is set to resume production early next week, the studio said.

The future of two films set to start shooting in NEW ORLANS is less certain.

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS is still hopeful that the JERRY BRUCKHEIMER film DEJA VU and THE GUARDIAN, starring KEVIN COSTNER, can shoot in the city. DEJA VU was scheduled to start filming in November. THE GUARDIAN, scheduled to start production next month, has been delayed.

KATRINA has indefinitely delayed filming for a new FX cable-TV series, THIEF, a one-hour drama set in NEW ORLEANS and starring ANDRE BRAUGHER, that was to start airing next spring.