Table of contents for February 22, 2021 in Globe

WHEN Dustin “Screech” Diamond suddenly and tragically died Feb. 1 from stage 4 carcinoma, the nation felt like it lost a dear high school classmate — but few knew of the tortured secret life that drove him to the depths! The child star became a household name at 12 playing goofy sidekick Screech in a Disney sitcom that evolved into the iconic Saved by the Bell — but sources say desperation ate at him when he couldn’t graduate to success in adult roles! Relegated to the low-rent shows Celebrity Fitness and Celebrity Boxing, Dustin, who died at age 44, resorted to making an X-rated tape in 2006 — later claiming he used a “stunt double” for the sex scenes. “He thought it might jumpstart his career — but it backfired!”…

TODAY’s Carson Daly got his start as a radio DJ but eventually spun his experience into a TV career. Having hosted MTV’s Total Request Live and the latenight talk show Last Call, he joined Today in 2013. Here are ten things you don’t know about the 47-year-old morning show anchor. 1 He was a member of the golf team at Santa Monica High School. 2 He dropped out of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles to pursue a career as a pro golfer — but failed to qualify for the U.S. Open. 3 He was an intern for future Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, who was then working in radio in Palm Springs, and says Jimmy was “like the older brother I never had.” 4 Raised a Catholic, he considered…

Avid hunter fighting with hubby over killing critters COUNTRY spitfire Miranda Lambert’s hubby is spitting mad over her pro-hunting stance, sources say, and wishes she’d give up the blood sport! Pals tell GLOBE Miranda, 37, loves bragging about being a crack shot and thinks former NYPD cop Brendan McLoughlin, 28, needs to toughen up! “Brendan’s a sensitive guy who hates killing for sport and the sight of blood, despite his years as a police officer,” spills an insider. “Miranda and her ex Blake Shelton used to go hunting together, but Brendan refuses. He just doesn’t like it. He’s an animal lover and looks at the deer that roam their farm as beautiful creatures, not hunting targets.” A decade ago, the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend crooner boasted about killing a huge deer —…

For the week of February 22 – 28 ARIES March 21 - April 20 Expect harmony to rule at home, Ram, as the cosmos shifts to a mood of calm and everyone feels more optimistic! The midweek Leo moon brings a chance to reconnect with people from the past. You could join an online chat group or plan an in-person reunion! Look for good health news after Friday. GEMINI May 22 - June 21 Take it easy Monday, when overdoing things could lead to mental or physical strain! The Mars-Pluto hookup midweek spotlights a financial boost — you could see a fast cash influx. A friend has shocking news of a former co-worker — don’t be tempted to gossip. Your words could come back to bite! LEO July 23 -…

FRIENDS star Matthew Perry convinced movie beauty Julia Roberts to appear on his hit sitcom — and date him — by penning a term paper on quantum physics! Now that’s the word from insiders breaking a 25-year silence to explain Julia’s guest gig on Friends’ Jan. 28, 1996, episode The One After the Super Bowl: Part 2. Writer Alexa Junge says Julia, then 28 and just ending her two-year marriage to country crooner Lyle Lovett, had a crush on Matthew, 26. “I remember standing with her on the sidelines during filming. She kept saying, ‘Chandler [Matthew’s character] is so funny!’ And I’m like, ‘I wrote every one of those lines!’” Still, when Matthew asked her to be on the show, she played hard to get, recalls executive producer Kevin Bright,…

TINY tyrant Tom Cruise has turned working on his new Mission: Impossible flick into a nightmare — driving staffers and crew to the brink — with his obsession to finish the film, sources say. “A lot of us would love to cut our losses and leave things for a while, then pick up when we can,” says an insider. “But Tom is completely obsessed with finishing and nothing will stop him. He’s the most determined person. It’s impressive, but a nightmare.” The 58-year-old actionman’s obsession is fueled by the delays and difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Filming on the seventh M:I flick was shut down for a month when the virus first hit Italy. The production moved to Scandinavia and then England, where the five-foot-seven actor was…

LATINA spitfire Ana de Armas is furiously denying she’s a gold digger who used her sultry charms to snare Batman hunk Ben Affleck and then dumped him as she rockets to stardom, insiders claim. The 32-year-old Cubanborn beauty, who bared her charms in 2017’s Blade Runner reboot, hooked up with Ben when they filmed the soon-to-be-released steamy thriller Deep Water in November 2019, but dumped the 48-year-old lug this New Year’s. By then, she’d already filmed her A-list thriller Knives Out in 2018 and her upcoming Bond flick, No Time to Die, in spring 2019 — all before bedding Ben. “Ana was a rising star when they met and didn’t date Ben for publicity or money,” dishes an insider. “She was already the talk of the town thanks to her…

SENIOR siren Martha Stewart is splurging on a boob lift — and hoping it will help her catch a man, insiders dish! Pals tell GLOBE the 79-year-old hot-to-trot homemaker has already booked an appointment with a top-rated surgeon as a special birthday gift to ensure she’ll be “pert and perky” when she turns 80 in August! “Martha takes amazing care of herself! She eats sensibly and looks great, but the one thing she’s always been a tad insecure about is her bustline,” tattles an insider. “All her life, Martha’s been a modest 34B to go along with her sturdy height of five-footnine, and size ten shoe. She’s spent her entire adult years wearing padded bras and she’s sick of it! “She’s worked hard all her life and feels she deserves…

PUGNACIOUS rocker Rod Stewart won’t be tossed in the slammer for his stupid encounter with a hotel security guard thanks to a hush-hush plea deal negotiated with prosectors in Palm Beach County, Fla. The 76-year-old singer and son Sean, 40, were accused of getting rough with guard Jessie Dixon, 34, when he tried to keep them from forcing their way into a private event at Breakers Hotel on 2019 New Year’s Eve. Prosecutors and defense lawyers say they’ve reached an agreement with the star, resulting in battery charges being dropped. But the terms are being kept under wraps at least until next month.…

Groundbreaking acting icon CICELY TYSON left us with haunting final thoughts and lingering recollections, releasing her last and final memoir, Just As I Am, hours before leaving this world on Jan. 28 at age 96. “My mother was pushing me in a baby carriage and this woman stopped her … and turned to my mother and said, ‘Take care of this child, she has a sixth sense, she’s going to make you very proud one day,’” recalls the honorary Oscar winner in a pretaped interview. The first Black woman to win a Lead Actress Emmy, for her work in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Cicely earned several Emmy nominations for a recurring role on How to Get Away with Murder. But she maintains she was destined to play sharecropper…

DAKOTA AND CHRIS ARE PLAYING HOUSE It’s fifty shades of home sweet home for 43-year-old Coldplay rocker CHRIS MARTIN and actress DAKOTA JOHNSON, 31. The lovebirds, who’ve been canoodling for three years, are putting down roots in a splashy Malibu love nest they’ve snatched up for $12.5 million! First comes love, then comes mansion, then comes … well, you can fill in the blank! The sprawling modern Cape Cod-style place has lots of space for the teenagers Chris shares with ex-wife GWYNETH PALTROW, daughter APPLE and son MOSES. And we hear there’s also plenty of fancy footage left over for a brand-new nursery! Just saying…. CARDI B CAN’T ZAP AWAY ZITS CARDI B’s desperate for help zapping away her pesky zits! “I been breaking out lately and my face is…

PHIL COLLINS’ ex-wife has a new money-making project after she and her current husband were evicted from the rock icon’s $40 million Florida mansion — she’s unloading his most meaningful music memorabilia for a song! Orianne Cevey, 46, has placed some of the 70-year-old Genesis drummer’s gold records up for auction — for as little as $100 — along with a box of his awards, which are also going cheap! A rep says she’s downsizing and needs to toss stuff “that no longer sparked joy.”…

SCREEN hunk George Clooney’s tequila swilling macho-man image is all an act, according to sources who dish the Hollywood heavyweight’s a total henpecked hubby, bossed around by his brainy lawyer wife, Amal! The 59-year-old actor and director is now a Mr. Mom, who sews, does the laundry and cleans in the mansion he shares with Amal and their three-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander. Meanwhile, the 43-year-old legal eagle brings home the bacon with her humanitarian law biz and when she catches the Batman star lounging — she cracks the whip, says an insider. “She hates to see him lying around or watching TV for hours or shooting hoops,” blabs the insider. “There will be no lazy lie-ins at her house!” She even leaves him a to-do list. “She makes George…

BAYWATCH babe Pamela Anderson has been blasted as a homewrecker by her new hubby’s ex-girlfriend! Pam, 53, secretly tied the knot for the fifth time with bodyguard Dan Hayhurst, 40, on Christmas Eve after the two fell in love during lockdown at her Canadian home. But she broke the news late last month. “We’re really happy! I’m happier than I’ve ever been,” gushes the former Playboy pinup. “It’s like full circle — coming home and falling in love with somebody who’s pretty much exactly like me.” But Dan’s ex Carey blasted man-eater Pam’s fairy-tale version of their romance! “This is not the lockdown love story which is being portrayed. It’s all a façade,” snaps Carey. “My almost five-year relationship, with three children involved, ended because of the affair Pam and…

ANGELINA JOLIE has just given ex Brad Pitt ammo in their custody battle by admitting she’s doesn’t have what it takes to be a traditional mom. The 45-year-old Maleficent star confesses: “I’m lacking in all the skills to be a traditional stay-athome mom,” adding she’s “managing because the children are quite resilient, and they’re helping me. “But I’m not good at it at all.” Yet since clobbering Pitt, 57, with divorce papers in 2016, she’s desperately tried to keep him from their six kids — now aged from 12 to 19 years, sources say. Jolie admits, “Even though I wanted to have many children, I always imagined it kind of like Jane Goodall, traveling in the middle of the jungle somewhere.”…

BELOVED music icon Tony Bennett is being ravaged by Alzheimer’s disease and been secretly battling the mind-destroying illness for four years! The 94-year-old’s third wife, Susan Crow, 54, has revealed the I Left My Heart in San Francisco crooner was diagnosed in 2016 — but the terrible disease has damaged his memory and ability to realize he’s ill. “He would ask me, ‘What is Alzheimer’s?’” says Susan, who wed Tony in 2007. “I would explain, but he wouldn’t get it. He’d tell me, ‘Susan, I feel fine.’ “That’s all he could process, physically he felt great. So, nothing changed in his life. Anything that did change, he wasn’t aware of.” Currently, Susan and the oldest of his four kids, Danny, 67, from his first marriage to Patricia Beech, are caring…

Another celeb marriage bites the dust! Mentalist star SIMON BAKER, 51, and actress wife REBECCA RIGG, 53, are headed to divorce court after two decades of marriage. They have three adult children. TIM ROBBINS, 62, reportedly filed for divorce from his girlfriend of three years, GRATIELA BRANCUSI, surprising everyone — since no one knew they’d even tied the knot! Pop star HALSEY, 26, is pregnant with her first baby. Dad is her screenwriter beau, ALEV AYDIN, 37. More diaper duty for country star dad BRETT YOUNG, 39, and his wife, TAYLOR MILLS, 35, who are expecting baby No. 2. The pair have a one-year-old girl. DREW BARRYMORE’s third hubby, WILL KOPELMAN, 42, is engaged to fashionista ALEXANDRA MICHLER, 33. Grease legend OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, locked in a cancer battle, is nixing…

MORE PUZZLES! MORE CASH! WIN $ 15 0! Come on, folks! Here’s your chance to win big bucks and have lots of fun in America’s most exciting competition — and it’s free! PUZZLE #8 ■ $150 to the first correct entry out of the bag! HOW TO ENTER Spot 8 differences between our cartoons. Slight color differences DON’T COUNT. ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED BY March 5, 2021 Spot the Differences #8 P.O. Box 7019, New York, NY 10008 Please print clearly. SEND QUIZ ENTRY ONLY. DO NOT INCLUDE MAIL TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS. Please print clearly. “Don’t worry, Jennifer. Even if your daughter is throwing herself at my son, I’ve taught him to respect women.” Winners will be notified by mail or phone. a360 Media, LLC assumes no responsibility for late,…

GENEROUS Jerry Stiller split his nearly $5 million estate among former employees, his favorite organizations and family — including kids Ben and Amy. The Seinfeld actor, who passed away at age 92 on May 11, reportedly left most of his wealth to wife and comedy partner Anne Meara, who died at 85 in 2015 — five years after his will was dated. But insiders dish the document names Zoolander actor Ben, 55, and stand-up comic Amy, 59, as main beneficiaries in the event of Anne’s death — with his daughter inheriting The King of Queens legend’s NYC apartment. Tipsters say Jerry earmarked dough for numerous relatives, $150,000 for his personal assistant, $25,000 for his alma matter, Syracuse University, and $10,000 for The Actors Fund’s nursing and retirement homes.…

DON’T be shocked if your cholesterol levels jump as you get older. Human bodies churn out more as they age so docs suggest getting blood level checks for cholesterol — which increases risks of heart attacks and cardiac disease — every four to six years. Here are the ideal adult levels for cholesterol: • Bad cholesterol, LDL, should be below 100 mg/dl. For healthy folks, 100 to 129 mg/dl is OK while 160 to 189 is high and over 190 is way too high. • Good cholesterol, HDL, needs to be higher. Lower than 40 mg/dl is a risk for heart disease while 60 or above is good. • For total cholesterol, a healthy adult level is under 200 mg/dl while 200 to 239 is borderline high and 240 and…

NOW FORMER Cheers star Rhea Perlman has put on a new face with nip/tucks to spice up her on-again, off-again marriage to hubby Danny DeVito, say sources. The younger look has boosted the 72-year-old’s confidence and shot new oomph into her relationship with her 76-year-old husband, insiders tattle. “Rhea wanted to put a little spice back into their relationship and got a little lift from cosmetic surgery!” dishes a source. “Danny’s digging Rhea’s sexy new look and attitude. The makeover was just what they both needed.” As GLOBE previously reported, the tiny twosome — he’s four-foot-ten and she’s barely five feet — briefly called it quits in 2012 before reuniting the following year, saying they were “completely in love” and considering renewing their vows. But they separated again in 2017…

STOLEN Civil War gold was secretly dug up in a Pennsylvania forest by tight-lipped feds — who won’t divulge their discovery of the $400 million hoard, an attorney for a group of angry treasure hunters charges. Legal eagle William Cluck says gold-hunting detectives Finders Keepers LLC were barred from scavenging at Dents Run — where the pilfered gold bullion was said to be buried — shortly before the feds swooped in on the site. Cluck claims the historic stash was swiped by the FBI in a hush-hush operation — and that his clients deserve a cut! He recently submitted a request to unseal all of the court records related to the government’s 2018 excavation. According to legend, in 1863 a Union Army wagon train was lugging two tons of gold…

MARIAH CAREY’S estranged sister has slapped the diva with an explosive $1.25 million lawsuit! Alison Carey, 59, claims Mariah’s tell-all memoir caused her “immense emotional distress,” and the songbird made up stories “to promote sales of her book.” In The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the 50-year-old singer claims her sister “gave her Valium, tried to pimp her out and threw a cup of boiling hot tea on her, causing third-degree burns” when she was 12. Alison — who’s HIV-positive and has been arrested for soliciting prostitution in the past — calls Mariah’s claims “heartless, vicious, vindictive, despicable and totally unnecessary” due to her personal problems. According to legal papers, Alison describes herself as “profoundly damaged,” and says Mariah offered no “evidence to substantiate” the claims in her book.…

DON’T mess with Rambo! SYLVESTER STALLONE is an unstoppable one-man army as he plays post-traumatic-stress–addled Vietnam veteran John Rambo in 1982’s First Blood. Critics were quick to dismiss the flick, but after it detonated bombshell profits and four more franchise installments — all co-written by and starring Stallone — they cried uncle and had to admit it was an important entry in the action genre! BIZARRE BUT TRUE! A SHOCKING new study by Indiana University scientists has concluded most humans are proportionately fatter than elephants! So pack your trunk and head to a fat farm! NFL superstar Tom Brady’s 2000 Playoff Contenders rookie card — in mint condition — was auctioned off for $555,988! LAKE Tahoe was originally named after California Gov. John Bigler. But Bigler Lake was renamed when it was…