Big Picture
Kim & Kourt Take Bev Hills Plus, Daniel Radcliffe works his magic and Bruce Jenner blasts to the past. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (698)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (603)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (504)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (398)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (396)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (222)
- Blind Vice! Nevis Divine's Sad Past (214)
Top 10 Stories
- Royal Feud Shocker! Sean Penn Slams Prince William's "Unthinkable" Deployment
- Real Housewives' Michaele Salahi & Journey's Neal Schon: Tareq Salahi Is the One Tormenting Us!
- Angelina Jolie Tears Up—Watch Her Get Emotional
- Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!
- Spoiler Chat Daily: A New Girl Baby on the Way?! Plus, Scoop on Vampire Diaries, Glee and More
- Jersey Shore Sneak Peek: Pauly D Pulls a Fast (and Dirty) One on Deena
- American Idol: Did Tent Girl Get Better? Who Passed Out Onstage? And Who's Headed to Vegas?!
- Survivor: One World Insider: Chivalry Is Dead, Y'All
- Seal Takes Off His Wedding Ring
- Kim Kardashian, Movie Star? It's "Very Much Possible," Says Tyler Perry
Fashion Police
Leighton's Valentine's Look Plus, Ashlee Simpson and Cate Blanchett. Rate the highs and lows!
MORE PHOTOS +
Our Partners
TV's Frugal Gourmet Dies
TV's Frugal Gourmet has gone to that Great Kitchen in the Sky.
Jeff Smith, an ordained minister who became one of TV's most popular celebrity cooks before a sex scandal devastated his career, died in his sleep at his Seattle home last Wednesday. He was 65.
Smith's business manager, Jim Paddleford, said the onetime PBS fixture had suffered from heart disease for years and had a valve replaced in 1981.
Smith, who wore striped aprons and referred to himself in the third person as "The Frug," was the Emeril of his day. The Frugal Gourmet ran in PBS from 1983 to 1997, at one point becoming the most watched cooking show in television, seen in 6 million households weekly on 300 public television stations. His dozen tie-in cookbooks sold more than 7 million copies.
But it came crashing down in 1997, when seven men accused him of molesting them when they were teens.
The men, six of whom worked for Smith at his Chaplain's Pantry restaurant in Tacoma, Washington, and a seventh who says Smith picked him up while hitchhiking, all claimed Smith repeatedly tried to get them drunk and rape them. Smith, facing the possibility of losing millions, settled with the men just days before the case was set for trial.
Smith did not admit any guilt in the settlement. Because the statute of limitations has run out, no criminal charges were filed against the Frug.
A native of Washington state, Smith was an ordained United Methodist minister before his local food show took off. He relocated production to Chicago and got a big boost thanks to an appearance on Phil Donahue's daytime talk show.
After his career went in the tank, Smith spent his time mentoring young chefs, researching a book on foods of the Bible and traveling.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia, and two sons.
0 Comments
Now loading...