Hollywood gathered on a somber note last night (Sat Feb 11) at Clive Davis’ 2012 Pre-Grammy Gala, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, the same hotel where R&B legend Whitney Houston was found dead earlier in the day.

When the sad news broke, there were reports that the annual Clive Davis event would be canceled, but Davis — Houston’s longtime friend and mentor — said that the R&B/Pop icon “would have wanted the music to go on.”

“She loved music and she loved this night that celebrates music,” said Davis, adding that Houston’s family requested that the party continue.

Some of the many celebrities in attendance at the Pre-Grammy Gala and Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Richard Branson and Diana Ross included Diddy, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Quincy Jones, Kelly Rowland, Dr. Dre, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose, Jamie Foxx, Kim Kardashian, Gabrielle Union and more.

The star-studded event also featured performances from Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, Pitbull, Marsha Ambrosius, Wiz Khalifa, Jessie J and others. Monica and Brandy were slated to perform their new single “It All Belongs to Me”, but we’re told they were unable to because they were too devastated about Whitney Houston’s passing.

Diana Ross, who was being honored at the event, told a red carpet reporter, “I won’t be able to enjoy it,” when she was asked how she felt about being the night’s guest of honor.

“By now you have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney’s passing,” Clive Davis said at the start of the evening. “I don’t have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. She was so looking forward to tonight even though she wasn’t scheduled to perform.”

He continued, “Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on.”

Check out 40+ photos from the Clive Davis 2012 Pre-Grammy Gala below:

Wesley Snipes is due to begin his three-year jail sentence on tax evasion charges this week, however……the “Blade” actor says that he is optimistic about his situation and is hoping for a miracle. Snipes, who is praying that he won’t have to turn himself in to a federal Pennsylvania prison this Thursday, told Larry King last night:

“We still have prayers out there, Larry, and we believe in miracles. Don’t send me up the river, yet. Any man would be nervous if his liberty was at stake,” Snipes told King when asked about going to jail. “Right now, I’m more upset and disappointed that the system seems to not be working for me.”

In April 2008, a Florida judge sentenced Snipes to three years in prison for willfully failing to file tax returns from 1999 to 2004 on a reported $38 million income. At the advice of delinquent tax advisers, Snipes escaped paying more than $15 million in income tax returns by sending money to overseas accounts.

Unless a miracle really does happen, Wesley Snipes will officially be a prison convict as of 12pm tomorrow. Good luck, Blade!

Not so fast, Mr. King!

Larry King‘s insanely popular late-night TV show “Larry King Live” is set to end in the fall, however CNN is said to be asking King to postpone his final show and stick around until the end of this year instead.

British journalist and “America’s Got Talent” judge Piers Morgan is supposed to fill Larry’s spot but he’s apparently he’s having a little trouble obtaining a work visa, which is holding up the process, and according to sources, Larry King is totally fine with staying on TV for a few more months.

Check out the full story below:

As a British citizen, Morgan needs a special visa that will allow him to work full-time in the US — and those types of visas are increasingly difficult to get, according to lawyers who specialize in the field. In general, the process “has gotten much slower in the past year” as the federal government tightens paperwork requirements for immigrants, says one attorney. Because Morgan appears on “America’s Got Talent” only during the summer, he could get by with a limited visa that permits him to work here a specified number of days per year. The trouble has come as he tried to upgrade the visa.

When King announced last July that he was leaving, he said that he told CNN officials, “I would like to end ‘Larry King Live,’ the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted.” A CNN spokesman yesterday declined to comment about King extending his stay. Because “no date has been announced yet, there’s nothing specific at this point,” the rep said in an e-mail.

Reports that an official announcement of Morgan’s appointment taking over for King was “just days away” have been buzzing around for weeks. And it is still possible a last-minute hitch could send CNN back to the drawing board, looking for a new 9 p.m. host for its ailing primetime lineup. But that does not appear likely yet.

The sly, former newspaper editor from London was a surprise choice for the job of replacing King, a fixture of American TV for as long as most people can remember. King — who has made it clear that Morgan would not have been his first choice — is said to have jumped at the chance to extend his stay, according to sources.

Source: NY Post

Every great run must come to an end, and T.V. show host Larry King is ready to hang up the suspenders and spend more time with his family. Last night on Larry King Live, the nightly interviewer announced his retirement from the 25 year long CNN talk show series. The 76-year-old television personality said:

“Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.

“I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ for having the longest-running show with the same host in the same time slot. With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.”

We feel you Larry, the kids will be grown before you know it!

This is really sad to hear. A new police report has revealed that Larry King’s wife Shawn did try to kill herself when she overdosed last month.

After receiving a 911 call from Shawn’s dad, emergency workers found several empty bottles of prescription meds laying around the house and two handwritten notes. One of the notes written by Shawn confessed her suicide attempt and even requested Provo, UT as her final resting place.

Larry and Shawn both filed for a divorce back in April, but later decided to reconcile and work things out. Larry released a statement yesterday about the matter:

“I am extremely supportive of Shawn. Reports that we have fought are absolutely false. I love her dearly. Our marriage is still together and I am staying very close to our children, who we love immensely. We shall go through this difficult time intact as a family.”

We hope everything gets worked out!

International Pop sensation Lady Gaga dressed as “Larry Gaga” last night for an extensive, but very interesting, live interview with CNN’s Larry King. During the interview, Gaga spoke once again about her health, her fixation with death, her new album, and reveals that she was set to open for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” Tour.

Check out the video footage from the entire interview below:

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Rapper T.I. gave his first post-prison interview to Larry King Live last night (Thurs. May 13) on CNN.

T.I. (real name: Clifford Harris) was sentenced to 366 days in prison last year following his October 2007 arrest for attempting to illegally purchase a slew of firearms. In December of last year, the Atlanta rapper was released from prison and admitted to a halfway house before being fully released at the end of March 2010.

Tip got right to the point in the extremely detailed interview and explained to Larry King why he had all of those guns:

“It came from an attempt that was made on my life,” he said. “My best friend [Philant Johnson] had died in my arms. It caused a state of depression and paranoia. My judgment was jaded, and I felt my life was in danger. … At the time, when I felt the need to have these things, I never took into consideration the legalities; I only took into consideration the protection of my life and family.”

Throughout the interview, T.I. was calm and composed and answered all of King’s questions without pause — save for when the CNN vet asked if he had ever shot a gun at anyone. T.I. called out the Fifth Amendment before answering that he had shot a gun “at a range.” Regardless, anything having to do with drugs or guns was referred to as “my past.” T.I. seemed genuinely focused on his future, working with at-risk youth and mentioned his love for his six children and “special lady” Tameka. He also reiterated his personal responsibility in moving on from the events that led to his incarceration.

“The main thing I can do to protect myself in the future is to understand my position,” he said. “I can’t put myself in an environment where it will require me to have a handgun. I just stay places where I can be cool. I have security now. … I take full responsibility for everything that happened to me. I’m a full believer that your life is what you make it. Society doesn’t owe you anything.”

MTV NEWS

Check out T.I.’s interview with Larry King below…

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Just a little under a month after filing for divorce and causing a media frenzy, CNN television personality Larry King and his wife of the past 13 years Shawn Southwick have retracted their pending divorce and have reconciled. We hear that Larry has also moved back into his home and the couple are once again happy. Here’s the statement released by the Kings:

“We love our children, we love each other, we love being a family,” the May-December duo said in a statement Tuesday (May 11). “That is all that matters to us. We owe it to ourselves and our children to continue being dedicated to each other. We want to thank our friends for their loyal love and support—for being there for us.”

Looks likes Larry might have managed to escape his seventh divorce after all. We wonder what he did calm to this situation and get back his wife so fast! Larry King must have a strong pimp hand! (LOL)

Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown and her husband Stephen Belafonte were all hugged up for the paparazzi outside the Dorchester hotel Thursday night (Oct 8) in London. The couple was spotted riding around the location in bicycles prior to taking the picture.

We also have new photos of Halle Berry, Khloe & Kim Kardashian, Hill Harper and more when you continue reading!

Troubled star Chris Brown appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live Wednesday night (Sep 2) and partook in his first interview since his February 2009 altercation with his then girlfriend Rihanna. If you’re a regular celebrity gossip blog reader and enjoy keeping up with celebrities in the news and tabloids, you probably didn’t learn too much from the interview. In fact, the main topic of discussion from viewers had nothing to do with the incident at all! Most people were fascinated with Chris Brown’s blue bowtie and cared nothing about what was going on in the interview. Someone even created a website for it (ROFL!)

But anyway, continue reading for the full interview where Chris admits to still loving Rihanna and all that good stuff…

Singer Chris Brown has slammed reports alleging that he “forgot” what happened the night he beat Rihanna. The internet went crazy yesterday when a 30 second clip of his hour-long interview with CNN’s “Larry King Live” was released and posted all over blogs, social sites and other websites. In the short clip, Brown tells Larry King he doesn’t remember all of the details from that February night, but according to Chris, that 30 second clip doesn’t represent the entire interview and was totally taken out of context:

“There have been reports on the internet that I didn’t remember what happened that night with Rihanna. I want to try and set things straight. That 30 seconds of the interview they used of me was taken from a one hour interview during which that same question was asked something like 4 or 5 times — and when you look at the entire interview you will see it is not representative of what I said.

The first four times – or how ever many times it was – I gave the same answer — which was that I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to talk about what happened that night. I said it was not right for me and it really wasn’t fair to Rihanna. The fifth time – or whatever it was – I just misspoke. I was asked, “Do you remember doing it?” and I said, “No.”

Of course I remember what happened. Several times during the interview, my mother said that I came to her right afterwards and told her everything. But it was and still is a blur. And yes, I still can’t believe it happened because it is not me or who I am or is what happened like anything I have ever done before.

As I have said several times previously, I am ashamed of and sorry for what happened that night and I wish I could relive that moment and change things, but I can’t. I take full responsibility for my actions. What I have to do now is to prove to the world that this was an isolated incident and that is not who I am and I intend to do so by my behavior now and in the future.”

SOURCE: MISS INFO

Catch the full interview tomorrow at 10 PM on CNN!

Check out the first video from Chris Brown‘s exclusive new interview with Larry King Live airing this Wednesday, September 2nd at 9pm ET on CNN. Brown, along with his mother Joyce Hawkins and his lawyer Mark Geragos, will be discussing the assault on his ex girlfriend Rihanna in his first interview since his February 2009 arrest. Continue reading to watch the clip!

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest news on Michael Jackson‘s death, you will know that his sister LaToya has made it clear that she thinks Michael was murdered. CNN’s Larry King spoke to the UK’s Daily Mail correspondent Caroline Graham about the interview that she conducted in which LaToya makes her claims. You do not want to miss this interview:

LaToya may not be the brightest Jackson of the bunch, but her claims don’t seem far fetched at all. Reports have stated that Michael was in good health and many cannot understand how he suddenly passed away. Even the video of his final rehearsal shows a healthy Jackson doing what he does best. There is definitely something fishy about his death. When you are as big as the King of Pop, expect people to try and take advantage of you.

Meanwhile, LaToya has released a new single as a tribute to her late brother. The single titled “Home” will be released to iTunes on July 28th and all proceeds will go to one of Michael’s favorite charities.

Here is the final batch of photos from Michael Jackon‘s public memorial service. On Tuesday, July 7th 2009, celebrities, dignitaries, and MJ fans alike all packed into the Staples Arena in Los Angeles to celebrate the life of an icon that was taken away from us way too soon. Above, R&B singer Usher can be seen posing with a very pregnant Jennifer Hudson backstage just before the memorial commenced. Continue reading to see photos of the different celebrities (Chris Brown, Wesley Snipes, Spike Lee, Kim Kardashian and more) who attended the ceremony.

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE / GETTY IMAGES