Is it true that Jennifer Aniston is using Katie Holmes's ex bodyguard? Did he quit? Why?
—Randy F., via Twitter
Recent paparazzi shots show that Jennifer Aniston has indeed picked up a familiar-looking bodyguard, who goes by and is known as Sheldon.
According to reports, Sheldon also has worked for Robert Pattinson, Julia Roberts, Katie Holmes, daughter Suri and ex Tom Cruise. As for why these security guys apparently can't stay put, I found out.
The truth is, celebrity entourages rarely resemble the static groups you've seen surrounding Vincent Chase, or Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock.
Real entourages shuffle all the time, sometimes even day to day, depending on where a star is, how much money a star's team has, and what kind of work the star is doing that very minute.
Doesn't mean anyone got fired. Doesn't mean anyone quit.
According to security expert Elijah Shaw of Icon Services Corp., most bodyguard fees—$700 to $1,500 per guard per day—get paid by a production company or manager, and only when a star is working on a relevant project.
When the budget or project goes poof, so does the bodyguard, unless the star wants to keep shelling out. Otherwise, the protection sprints off to shield some other squishy little star. (Aniston has been shooting an untitled Elmore Leonard project in Connecticut, and that's where she's been papped with this bodyguard, so everything makes perfect sense.)
"Our services don't come cheap," Shaw explains. "And there are so many factors in play that decide where a bodyguard goes. Sometime people are assigned to someone just for one project, or one location during a world tour."
Only rarely does a bodyguard become a part of a star's extended family, and in those cases, you can bet that the bodyguard is more of a buddy than a pro...and maybe not very good.