A couple of Miss USA wannabes got together Friday at "Catwalk for a Cause," a night of fun and fashion at Ed Kane's club the Estate. Organized by Miss Connecticut Monica Pietrzak and her sister Natalie , the event included a runway show featuring Pietrzak, Miss Massachusetts Alison Cronin, and Miss Vermont Brook Werner . The Vegas-bound beauties worked the ... (Page B12, 774 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 30, 2009

Legendary jazz drummer and Roxbury native Roy Haynes celebrated his 84th birthday on stage at the Berklee Performance Center Thursday night; Haynes was honored for promoting education and international good will - along with music critic Bob Young - at the 23d Annual International Folk Music Festival. Elsewhere on the Berklee campus that day, Beyoncé 's dad, Matthew Knowles chatted ... (Page B12, 1126 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 28, 2009

Eugene Mirman and John Wesley Harding - a.k.a. Wes & Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders - performed their variety show at the Brattle Theatre last night. Celebs on the playbill included musician Tanya Donelly , singer-songwriter PT Walkley , writers Tom Perrotta and Rick Moody , poet David Daniel , and comedian Larry Murphy . (Page B16, 898 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 27, 2009

Boston designer Denise Hajjar showed her spring and summer line last night at a fashion show benefiting the Massachusetts chapter of the ALS Association. Before the event kicked off, Hajjar said she planned to show 56 different looks in lots of cheerful colors: oranges, yellows, blues, and pinks. "The dress is back in a big, big way," she promised. "Women ... (Page B16, 1022 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 26, 2009

Dan Pawson - a legislative aide to state Senator Bruce Tarr - has won $250,000 in the 2009 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. And - after last night's show - everyone finally knows it. The 27-year-old Allston dad took the tourney back in January, but has kept his triumph mostly to himself. He planned to watch his win last night with ... (Page B16, 1482 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 25, 2009

Pick up a pack of Topps baseball cards and you might get an artsy surprise inside - a one-of-a-kind "sketch" card by Brian Fox . The Somerset artist, who specializes in renditions of sports stars, created 50 unique cards for the trading card company, and said other artists have done the same. The cards are slipped into the regular card ... (Page B16, 1042 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 24, 2009

You might think Dr. Robert Rey would be all about plastic surgery. But, no, the star of E!'s "Dr. 90210" has an alternative for women who don't have the income or inclination to go under the knife: Body-molding, aloe vera-soaked Shapewear. Rey was at the Square One Mall in Saugus Saturday hawking his line of lingerie, which he claims can ... (Page B12, 932 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 23, 2009

"The X-Files" executive producer R.W. Goodwin was in town yesterday, promoting his new sci-fi flick, "Alien Trespass." It turns out his Boston roots go way back. He lived here as a child while his father attended Harvard and his grandfather hawked Globe newspapers at Faneuil Hall before moving up in the circulation department. His family ended up moving west, but ... (Page B12, 713 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 21, 2009

Harlem Globetrotters star Buckets Blakes was all over Boston yesterday, but he started his tour with an unusual audience - the Aquarium's harbor seals. Blakes got a little wet as he demonstrated the classic Globetrotters' spin and passed to the seals, one of which gave him a smooch. "I had a teammate swim with the sharks," he joked. "I'd rather ... (Page B16, 851 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 20, 2009

Since departing "Knots Landing" over two decades ago, Constance McCashin has rarely looked back. She's consistently said no to reunions, even when begged by producers of the '80s primetime soap. "I just didn't want to do it. It's kind of like 'Jurassic Park 6.' Who needs it?" quips McCashin, who lives in Newton with her husband, "George of the Jungle" ... (Page B14, 1076 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 19, 2009

Cancer hasn't slowed Don Imus , or made him more softhearted. The cantankerous talk-show host gave local radio yakker Jay Severin a smackdown yesterday during his annual St. Patrick's Day "Kiss Me, I'm Imus" show, broadcast on WTKK from the Wilbur Theatre. The two have been at odds since Severin stopped appearing on Imus's show last fall, saying he felt ... (Page B16, 1285 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 18, 2009

For someone who lives in LA, and has for most of the past decade, actress Eliza Dushku sure spends a lot of time in Boston. Last night, the star of Joss Whedon 's new show "Dollhouse" celebrated her status as Boston Common's latest cover girl with a party at Alibi. The shindig, cohosted by Big Papi 's wife, Tiffany Ortiz ... (Page B18, 1017 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 17, 2009

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is very comfortable in front of the camera, as she demonstrated over the weekend when shutterbugs caught up with her and hubby Tom Brady eating soft-serve ice cream cones in Brazil. The couple, who got hitched a few weeks back, are in Brazil to visit Bundchen's family and friends. (Note that neither one is wearing a ring.) ... (Page B12, 716 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 16, 2009

Trent Everett of Marshfield is in the running for Redbook magazine's Hottest Husband, thanks to the gushing of his wife, Caroline . Fans can vote for the 32-year-old federal agent and father of two on the mag's website until March 31. If he wins, his triumph will be announced in the July issue and the couple will be whisked off ... (Page B12, 833 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 14, 2009

U2 caused a bit of a stir in Cambridge Wednesday night after their not-so-secret, five-song show at the Somerville Theatre. (Page B14, 1071 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 13, 2009

No ticket? No problem. The U2 faithful were rewarded for their perseverance in Davis Square yesterday, as Bono and The Edge leaned over the barricades outside the Somerville Theatre to sign autographs. One lucky fan even got a hug from the world's most famous frontman, while The Edge signed another's guitar. The two spent just under five minutes outside, flanked ... (Page B14, 703 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 12, 2009

She's into leather Not many designers can boast they've created for Steven Tyler, Snoop Dogg, and Mariah Carey's Jack Russell trriers. But Roseanna Ansaldi - one half of the Antonio Ansaldi hip-hop design team and a teacher at the School of Fashion Design and Bay State College - has enjoyed an incredibly diverse two-decade career. A leather specialist, Ansaldi has created upscale children's ... (Page G5, 550 words)By: Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 12, 2009

Jake Berry looked a bit bleary-eyed yesterday as he watched gear being loaded into the back of the Somerville Theatre. A Brit, Berry's the founder of Fader Higher, one of the premier event production management companies and the folks handling tonight's not-so-secret U2 show in Somerville. Having worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones and AC/DC to Shakira and the ... (Page B16, 1350 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 11, 2009

Making sense of Manny It's become fashionable in Boston to bash Manny Ramirez . His huge salary and occasional bizarre behavior are much better remembered than his Hall of Fame numbers and World Series MVP. But even his detractors would have to admit they never really understood the guy. Enter UMass-Boston professor Jean Rhodes . (Page B14, 1360 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 10, 2009

A casting call for Season 4 of NBC's "America's Got Talent" drew hundreds of hopefuls to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center over the weekend. The show's C-list celebrity judges Piers Morgan , Sharon Osbourne , and David Hasselhoff were nowhere in sight, but that didn't stop folks from waiting in long lines to audition. (Page B12, 809 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 9, 2009

It could be our accents - or maybe our gritty neighborhoods - but screenwriters just seem to like our crime best. Mark Wahlberg has signed onto another dark thriller set in Boston, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and we're hearing traces of "Gone, Baby, Gone" in the plot. "Prisoners," written by Brockton's own Aaron Guzikowski , tells the story of ... (Page B12, 820 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 7, 2009

Four Boston Ballet soloists are stepping up into principal roles, artistic director Mikko Nissinen said yesterday. Kathleen Breen Combes who just received a rave review from The New York Times, is being promoted, along with Melissa Hough , Misa Kuranaga , and James Whiteside . "It's really our home-grown talent, it's the next generation coming through," Nissinen said. "Audiences have ... (Page B14, 1317 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 6, 2009

Before they head to Gisele Bundchen 's seaside spread in Costa Rica, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Brady are spending some quality time together in LA. The paparazzi caught the couple chilling with the QB's kid, John , on a balcony in Pacific Palisades the other day, and clothing was optional. Maybe it's because he's got a bum knee, but Brady ... (Page B14, 1306 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 5, 2009

The Irish are coming! What we reported first yesterday is now official: U2 will be in Boston next week to promote its new CD "No Line on the Horizon." The special club gig is part of a three-city blitzkrieg Bono and the boys are doing beginning in Los Angeles March 9, followed the next night by a radio show in ... (Page B16, 1452 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 3, 2009

U2 is pulling out all the stops to hype its new CD, "No Line on the Horizon," which hits stores tomorrow. Bono and the boys played a surprise gig Friday on top of the BBC building in London, and tonight the lads take up residence on "The Late Show With David Letterman ," where they'll be Dave's musical guest all ... (Page B12, 889 words)By: Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone|Date: Mar 2, 2009