sick bay (301 posts)

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Nicole Richie still isn't 100 percent, but at least she's out of the sick ward.

The starlet is still on bed rest as she recovers from pneumonia, but is out of the hospital. She checked herself into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center a week ago to better combat her illness.

"I'd like to thank you all for the kind words and well wishes over the past few weeks," Richie wrote on her Celebuzz blog. She also apologized for missing out on the Nov. 11 launch for her House of Harlow 1960 fashion line at Bebe, as well as the Holt-Renfrew Calgary opening.

"Right now it's important for me to stay in bed and recover," she continued. "Reading all of your messages on Twitter and my website has really brightened my spirits and I am so grateful for the support. I look forward to seeing you all very soon and wish you a happy Thanksgiving."

At least Richie's home for the holidays.

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Nicole Richie shows off her son Sparrow right here.

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It may not be swine flu, but, whatever other nastiness is going around, Nicole Richie has it bad.

The starlet checked herself into the hospital with a major case of the sickies.

"Nicole has checked herself into Cedars-Sinai where she is being treated for pneumonia," her rep tells E! News in a statement. "She is doing well."

The 28-year-old mom of Sparrow and Harlow hasn't been at her best for quite some time now. Last week, she was too ill to attend her own bash feting the launch of her House of Harlow jewelry line at Bebe. By Sunday, she was clearly over spending time in bed.

"OK cold, it's been 6 days. Lets part ways graciously & keep it moving," she Twittered.

On Monday, her lawyer announced she wasn't feeling well right before she coughed her way through testimony against a pair of photographers.

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Keep track of celebrity ailments right here.

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Classic television never dies.

Apparently, in the case of Cheers and Frasier, neither will one of its biggest stars. At least, not for another 86 years.

Kelsey Grammer, who suffered a near-deadly stroke and heart attack in May 2008, told the New York Post that his longevity has been determined by a higher power.

"One day I asked: How old am I going to be when I die," he tells the newspaper. "And I had the Bible in front of me so I just closed my eyes, opened it up to a page in the Book of Job and I pointed. There was a reading that said when I die I am going to be 140 years old. And I like that."

The Hank star admits "faith in God" has helped him through his failed marriages, failed shows and other difficulties, but says he's not really the church type.

"I don't go to church," he says. I read the Bible a lot. I'm fine with the Book of Matthew because there's a lot in there about workout out your own salvation."

The 54-year-old Emmy winner also says he talked to "my angels" throughout his health crisis more than a year ago.

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Jennifer Garner pushes her little angels on a swing in the Big Picture gallery!

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Everyone knows Golden Girls' Blanche Devereaux wasn't one to miss a party. So it's no wonder star Rue McClanahan is "devastated" after heart trouble forced her to cancel next week's gala celebration of her Golden days.

The actress had successful bypass surgery Wednesday in a New York, her rep says.

"My darlings, I'm just devastated that I'm going to have to miss my own tribute," the 75-year-old Emmy winner said in a statement. "Unfortunately, my doctor has laid down the law and I'm currently having some maintenance on the old ticker. Trust me, I'd much rather be in San Francisco having fun and being adored by all of you."

Worry not, Rue! We all can thank you for being a friend—and wish you a speedy recovery—from afar.

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Look back at the life of Golden Girls costar Bea Arthur.

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Ticket holders for Elton John's Red Piano Tour will have to have to wait a little longer to see the Grammy winner tickle his famed ivories. 

The 62-year-old "Rocket Man" crooner was forced to cancel several concerts in the U.K. and Ireland and postpone three stateside gigs after he was doubly hit with an E-coli bacterial infection and the flu (the normal, not swine, variety) last week. 

John's doctor advised him to postpone dates in Seattle and Portland scheduled for early November to allow for more recovery time, according to a statement on the singer's official website. 

"Promoter Live Nation, The KeyArena and The Rose Garden were informed by management that Elton has been advised by his doctor to postpone these performances due to a serious case of E-coli bacterial infection and influenza," the statement said.

Sir Elton is being treated at King Edward VII hospital in Marylebone London, according to the Daily Mail. The veteran performer was taken there Friday after his condition worsened and he was forced to cancel another performance in Dublin. 

John's spokesman said Friday the singer was "bitterly disappointed not to [play] Dublin. He had picked Dublin to close the Red Piano worldwide, because of the great warmth of the people and the great concerts he had in the city over many years. He is hoping to reschedule the dates in the very near future." 

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Going through candy withdrawals? Check out the sweet pics in our Famous Festive Fiends gallery.

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This easy rider has a tough ride ahead.

Dennis Hopper is battling prostate cancer, according to the actor's manager, and will be cancelling all upcoming travel plans to focus on treatment.

"We're hoping for the best," manager Sam Maydew said, adding that Hopper is in treatment under a special program at the University of Southern California.

The 73-year-old star of the cult-classic Blue Velvet was hospitalized on Sept. 30 with flulike symptoms and stomach trouble, but was out a day later and said to be feeling "much better."

Hopper recently finished shooting the second season of the Starz drama Crash, based on the 2006 Oscar-winning film, but was not able to make an appearance at "Dennis Hopper and the New Hollywood," an exhibition of his photography taking place at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne.

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Check out other actors with creative alternacareers in our Celeb Fashion Lines gallery.

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People, it was really nothing.

After breathing problems forced Morrissey to cancel two shows, the former Smiths frontman resumed his U.K. tour Tuesday night at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Morrissey, 50, fell to his knees Saturday after finishing the first song of his set in the city of Swindon and had to be carried offstage by two of his band members.

The Maladjusted crooner was hospitalized overnight for observation. On the advice of his doctors, he scrapped a gig Monday in Bournemouth so he could get some rest.

But back on his feet last night, Morrissey made light of his ailment, pretending to faint at one point before jumping back up and shouting, "Thank you, Swindon!" per the BBC.

"The doctor said I shouldn't smile. I told him, 'I don't,' " cracked the usually somber hitmaker.

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Ironically, one little tweet could've nipped this whole thing in the bud a long time ago.

Instead, Miley Cyrus has left rumor control in the hands (and rather loose lips) of her costars and publicists—neither of whom, apparently, bothered to consult each other or get their stories straight before talking to the press.

What they do agree on is that earlier this month, Cyrus fell sick. And while rumors swirled at the time that America's sweetheart had come down with a bad case of the Miss Piggys, her rep denied then that the starlet had contracted swine flu, blaming her concert cancellations instead on the much more press release-friendly strep throat.

Theoretically, the rumor should have ended there. Problem was, Cyrus' Hannah Montana costars didn't get the memo. Enter Cody Linley and the start of Flugate...

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Aaron Carter scored a comparison to the biggest heartthrob of the 24/7 gossip era, but he wasn't the only contestant who raised his game tonight.

Each of the remaining 10 celebs on Dancing With the Stars scored a 21 or higher on Monday's episode—and that's just one week after Michael Irvin floundered at 13 and hoofer after hoofer couldn't muster a twenty-anything.

What accounted for this sudden uptick in a week riddled with flu and other maladies, besides hard work, focus and perseverance?

Well, obviously it was the ol' nickel-up-the-ass trick that did it for Irvin...

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Add Melissa Rycroft to the celebrity swine flu watch.

A rep for the former Bachelor babe and Dancing With the Stars finalist has confirmed to E! News that Rycroft is recovering from a bout with the swiftly spreading virus.

"Like most people who become infected I thought I had a mild case of the common flu but when my symptoms exacerbated I immediately went to the hospital where I was diagnosed with H1N1 and given the proper medications to cure the infection," the 26-year-old reality star said, calling the flu by its official name.

Talk about your jitterbugs.

Rycroft added that she was prompted to seek medical attention after consulting the mother of her fiancé, Ty Strickland, who's a nurse.

"I want to stress to people how easy it is to battle this flu when you take the proper steps such as seeking the care of a doctor," she said.

The ex-Dallas Cowboys cheerleader joins a group of such high-profile H1N1 patients as Harry Potter's Rupert Grint, shock rocker Marilyn Manson, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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America's Got Talent judge David Hasselhoff clearly has a talent...for bad publicity, if nothing else. According to reports, the Baywatch bruiser and popular-in-Germany crooner had too much to drink and slugged the doctor at his London hotel after returning from Simon Cowell's birthday bash.

The semi-reliable New York Post and the oft-dubious U.K. Sun report that Hasselhoff was actually trying to slug his assistant for calling the doctor. According to a source close to the actor: "David was furious and lashed out at him—but he mistakenly hit the doctor."

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