Et Voila! Celeb News For 10.11.07

Branson Swan Dives

On Wednesday evening, Sir Richard Branson celebrated Virgin America’s inaugural flights to Las Vegas by free-falling 40 stories – harnessed to a safety wire of course. But during the fall, a gust of wind slapped the daredevil billionaire into the side of the Palms Casino Resort. Branson emerged alive, but not without some scrapes and bruises.

Gee, I can’t imagine any better way to promote your new airline than crashing into solid objects at breakneck speeds.

On the upside, Branson did apparently scatter free Virgin America tickets as he fell, though none have been claimed. So be on the lookout in you’re in Vegas this weekend.

As part of the ongoing Virgin America festivities this week, Branson threw quite a shindig at the Wynn Las Vegas nightclub TRYST, where celebs like newlyweds (ew!) Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon (double ew!), Carmen Elektra and The Hills star Lauren Conrad showed up to take part.

Lion Sighting

Earlier this week, news broke that hot-ay environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio (could he be contributing to global warming with his hotness? I think the answer is yes) is planning a eco-friendly Caribbean hotel in conjunction with Four Seasons Resorts.

In Deep Scheetz

All we know is, the news surrounding the death of a 24-year-old Colorado resident in the Las Vegas condo of none other than former Morgans Hotel Group CEO Ed Scheetz is ultra, ultra shady and sad. Autopsy reports showed that Michelle Hatchel died on Aug. 30th from an overdose of cocaine and oxycontin, and the death was initially pegged as a suicide. Last month, Scheetz resigned from his post as CEO “for personal reasons.” Strangely, no police report was ever filed after the death, nor any official police investigation launched into the matter. And now Hatchel’s family is crying foul over the incident and demanding answers about the last hours of Hatchel’s life. Family members claim the young woman called a friend in the middle of the night preceding her death and told them she was afraid and that Scheetz was “being mean.”

And now that Hatchel’s missing cell phone has been “recovered,” text messages she sent the night before she died are adding fuel to the fire. As the New York Post reports, Hatchel wrote, “I can’t believe how much coke he does, all the time, all day long. He keeps leaving me to talk to a girl he dated.”

First reported by ABC News (Suicide? Murder? Murky Death in Vegas) Scheetz’s call to the Las Vegas police has also been circulating around the Internet. You can find a link to it in the ABC article. Trust us, it doesn’t make the guy sound like someone you’d want your daughter dating.

Charlotte’s Web

Nicole Richie and fetus daddy Joel Madden were snapped arriving at Los Angeles International Airport and then on Thursday near the Sydney Intercontinental, where they are reportedly staying during Good Charlotte’s concerts there this weekend. While other bloggers were buzzing about Richie’s tan line, we’re more interested in the hotel.

Daddy Dearest?

Angelina Jolie and estranged, scary-looking father also known as actor Jon Voight were placed at the same hotel earlier this week, which we recently discovered is the Waldorf Astoria, according to bloggers. But while the paps are dying for the father and daughter to make amends, the incident appears to be mere coincidence and not evidence of an impending reconciliation between the two.

Minor Leagues

At this point, we delve into the tedium of celebrity sightings free of freak accidents, cocaine overdoses, family feuds, fashion faux pas and major business transactions.

We read that a pregnant Christina Aguilera exited the Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills with Jordan Bratman this week. Later, she reportedly went shopping for a stroller.

A bunch of people - including Bill Pullman and Ed Koch - were at Manhattan’s Bowery Hotel earlier this week for a Cinema Society premiere party. And apparently, they all think Eva Mendes is hot.

And Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn were spotted having a drink together at the Beverly Hills Hotel Bar Nineteen 12. They talked to David Beckham. They looked happy. Fascinating.

And with that, we bid you adieu….