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TLC »     by Andy Dehnart / December 20, 2011, 11:12 AM A cast member on TLC’s Next Great Baker killed himself in October, but the show, hosted by Cake Boss Buddy Valastro, only revealed Wesley Durden, a 29-year-old father of two, was dead after his elimination on last night’s episode. It was dedicated to his memory. The Jacksonville [North Carolina] Daily News reported in October that he “died after being found with a single gunshot wound in Fayetteville on [Oct. 25],” and police confirmed that it was “a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” He was identified in his TLC bio as an “active serviceman” in the Army 82nd Airborne Division; he had a 7-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. A newspaper interview with fellow contestant Carmelo Oquendo said he “was saddened by the apparent suicide of Army veteran Wesley,” but otherwise there was no mention of his death prior to last night. The network posted this to Facebook: “TLC extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and coll...

American Idol 10 semi-finalist Tim Halperin will lock himself in a fake jail cell for the final 28 hours of the restriction placed on him by the show’s contract that prevented him from releasing music. A press release hilariously declares that Tim “has been sentenced to prison — American Idol prison” because “of the contract restrictions placed on Halperin from his time as a top 24 semi-finalist on Season 10 of American Idol,” although it notes the actual imprisonment is a “voluntary prison sentence.” (Of course, so is the show’s contract.) The stunt will take place in Dallas Monday and Tuesday and stream live online; Tim’s blog has details about the location, and on it, he wrote, “The reality of this contract is that it has felt like being in prison because I haven’t been able to do what I love most: share my music with others. I’ve been sitting on this album for several months. So I’m finally going to be set free from American Idol jail at the end of this month, which happens to c...

Home > Drama > Bill Nighy never watches himself on screen, and doesn’t read his reviews August 29th, 2011 by Sarah. No comments Star of stage, TV and movies, Bill Nighy, has revealed that he can’t bring himself to watch his own performances, and he never reads his reviews. Bill, who’s starred in blockbuster movies such as Harry Potter, The Boat That Rocked and Love Actually, told the PA, “I can’t take it. Frankly, I can’t pay the price so I don’t do it any more. “I never used to be able to resist reading them, got burned a couple of times and thought, ‘I can’t take it!’ “Similarly, if I’m doing theatre and I’m told I peak in the second act during a particular passage, that’s not good for me either, because I’ll become too wonderful.” Bill also went on to reveal that he’s always hated having to audition for parts. He said, “I can’t exaggerate how horrible a life of auditioning is… “Imagine if you had to go 50 times a year to some place to meet strangers who for the most part we...

A star of Discovery’s Storm Chasers killed himself in May, but Matt Hughes’ death was made public on last night’s episode of the show. He served as a meteorologist and forecaster for Sean Casey’s team. On its web site, Discovery says that Matt, “a featured meteorologist on Storm Chasers passed away on May 26th, 2010 in Wichita, Kansas due to an injury unrelated to his chasing activities. Sean, Reed, Tim and everyone involved in Storm Chasers mourn the loss of their friend and colleague.” Last night’s episode featured “Matt’s incredible last chase, and is dedicated to his memory,” the network said. TMZ reports that last May 14, police “responded to a suicide call at Hughes’ home. According to the police report, officers concluded Matt, who was still breathing, was drinking before the suicide attempt,” and while he was hospitalized, he died “13 days later. The Medical Examiner’s report lists ‘Hanging’ as the cause of death.” A June blog post on KAKE’s web site (via Popeater) memorializ...