The fact that George Michael has a case of Beckham syndrome is not all bad. Like footballer David Beckham, George is a mega-star in Europe and elsewhere. In the United States? Not so much.
The upside is that even though George's new CD, Twenty Five, just debuted at No. 1 on the European charts, he can come to the Highland Park home he has with his Dallasite fiancé Kenny Goss and be left alone.
Just five weeks ago, George wrapped up his Twenty Five Live tour of Europe. Thursday night, George and Kenny dined at Stephan Pyles restaurant in the Arts District with Kenny's brother, Tim Goss, and his wife, Joyce, who works at Kenny's Goss Gallery.
The gallery, which specializes in photography, is sponsoring a photography contest for high school seniors. Kenny and George spent some of their Dallas time examining entries.
Adding to the George Michael-Dallas buzz was George's manager Michael Lippman. Thursday night, the music impresario arrived here with his wife, Nancy, to be George and Kenny's houseguests. Besides guiding George's career, Michael manages Matchbox Twenty and lyricist Bernie Taupin. In 1992, Michael got Bernie and his writing partner, Elton John, a whopping $39 million advance just for the licensing rights to their music. (The duo maintained ownership of the copyrights.)
When not involved in the music biz, the Lippmans run their Great Oaks Ranch & Vineyard, a stone's throw from Mr. Taupin's ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif.
Don't just walk by those EFS Valentine-card and T-shirt displays at Tom Thumb stores. The cards and shirts are designed by Dallas children and 100 percent of the proceeds go to homegrown Educational First Steps.
Started a decade ago, EFS provides an early education foundation to 3,500 economically disadvantaged children from birth to age 5 in 29 area child-care centers.
For a mere $200 per child, EFS gives toddlers the building blocks necessary to succeed once they enter school. For the children it touches, EFS can mean the difference between college and crime.
The $10-a-box Valentine cards and $10 T-shirts are also at educationalfirststeps.org.
Like a scene from a rejected Gilligan's Island script, something strange happened when the big new tiki statue was put into place Wednesday in front of the about-to-open Trader Vic's at Hotel Palomar.
"As soon as we put up the tiki, it started snowing," says Palomar and Vic's co-owner Jeff Berry. "I don't know what that means."
For you historical purists, this isn't the original Trader Vic's tiki statue that, for more than two decades, watched sphinx-like over Mockingbird Lane.
"It's not the original big one, but it's big and imposing," says Jeff. "We still have thoughts of getting original Mr. Tiki up."
Rocky IV villain Dolph Lundgren is back. The Swedish actor director was in Dallas in December scouting possible locations with Dallas Film Commission director Janis Burklund for the film Missionary Man.
Apparently he's settled on Dallas and its environs to substitute for New Mexico in the action flick featuring bikers, drugs and mysticism on an Indian reservation.
Dolph wrote the film that some are calling Billy Jack-esque. He also plans to direct and star.
He was busy in Dallas last week setting up a production office and preparing to shoot.
