Eastchester’s very own Bobby Moynihan chats with Suburbarazzi in his first interview since landing a spot on Saturday Night Live this season.

My tag-team partner Chris Serico (whose been harder to find than Dick Cheney these days on the blog) caught up with Moynihan, and reminisced their middle school days together in Eastchester.

During the first episode this season with Michael Phelps, Moynihan had his first break-out sketch about an overzealous pizza waiter, a character he formed during his days of being a bartender at Uno’s in Yonkers.

Most importantly, Moynihan talks about rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bill Murray and Sarah Palin, and most importantly, what it was like to spank Anne Hathaway (hay chihuahua).

Moynihan gave another interview to the Journal News with Heather Salerno, which means he either really likes our paper, or our editors are really bad at coordinating coverage hahahaha.

(NBC Photo: Dana Edelson)

Last week, we reported on the hullabaloo about Mamaroneck mayor Kathy Savolt’s attempt to get a ticket thrown out of court she got after being caught for driving while talking on a cell phone.

The story ended up on media outlets all over the country and was even featured on MSNBC on Countdown with Keith Olbermann — a Tarrytown native.

With all the national attention, I asked the mayor, jokingly, if she was shopping around for a book deal.

She e-mailed me saying the coverage was “hysterical,” and added “Next stop – Vice President. I do have the glasses.”

She was joking, but who knows? Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska — a city with around 10,000 people. Savolt is mayor of a village with almost 20,000 people.

Hey, it could happen.

(Journal News file photo)

I was in Larchmont today covering a young women’s mentorship program sponsored by Judy Sheindlin, star of the court room show Judge Judy. She said she knows Jeanine Pirro, so I asked Sheindlin what she thought about Pirro’s own court show that debuted this week.

“I haven’t watched the show yet but I will get to see it,” Sheindlin said. “I’m sure she’s terrific.”

As a TV judge veteran, she also had some advice for Pirro, Westchester’s former firecracker district attorney.

“Just be yourself and have a good time,” she said. “Don’t let anyone run you — but you don’t have to tell that to Jeanine.”

Sheindlin lives in Greenwich and is no stranger to the Hudson Valley. Her son Adam Levy is Putnam County’s district attorney and her daughter Nicole Sheindlin lives in Larchmont and is the executive director of Her Honor, the mentorship program I was covering.

You can read my story about the mentorship program here.

( Photo by Frank Becerra Jr. / The Journal News )

Just before Labor Day weekend, I had the pleasure of chatting up New Rochelle native and Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer Kara DioGuardi, who on Aug. 25 Fox announced as the fourth judge on “American Idol.”

A true LoHudder, her connections to the region are seemingly endless. As a child, she attended Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Scarsdale, sang at the Larchmont Shore Club and provided the soundtrack at campaign stops throughout Westchester County for her father, former U.S. Congressman Joe DioGuardi. She later graduated from The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry. Despite graduating from Duke University with a degree in political science, she abandoned law to become a vocalist in an Ossining garage band called Gramma Trips.

After snagging multiple jobs at Billboard magazine for a five-year span, she got signed to a record deal. Although her singing career never took off, her songwriting and producing gigs did. She was partially or completely responsible for writing Gwen Stefani’s “Rich Girl,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Walk Away,” Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man” and dozens of other recent hits. No wonder she was named BMI’s 2006 Pop Songwriter of the Year.

My full story about DioGuardi is slated for the week ahead, but in the meantime, check out 10 questions and answers from my exclusive interview with “Idol’s” newest judge:

What recent song do you most wish you’d written?
“Irreplaceable” by Beyoncé.

As a singer, how far do you think you would advance on “American Idol”?
“I would hope to the top 10.”

How long have you been watching “Idol”?
“Since the beginning.”

You’d said that you thought “Idol” would have hired someone more famous to fill the fourth judge’s chair. Had you heard of any famous names who were being considered?
“They kind of kept me in the dark. I hadn’t really heard anything.”

As of Aug. 28, who was the most famous person outside of the show to congratulate you for the “Idol” hire?
“Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics).”

From the first seven seasons, who have been your three favorite “Idol” alumni?
“I’d say Kelly Clarkson, (Chris) Daughtry and, hmm, I like Katharine McPhee.”

Who’s the most underrated “Idol” contestant of all time?
“Katharine McPhee.”

What’s your favorite “Idol” performance so far?
“I thought that ‘Billie Jean’ performance that David Cook did was ridiculous.” (In the good way.)

The perception among fans is that Simon Cowell’s the bad cop, Paula Abdul’s the good cop and Randy Jackson’s somewhere in between. With which judge have you sided the most through the years?
“Probably Simon. Sometimes he can be hard, but I also think at times he’s doing people a favor.”

For your first day judging “Idol” contestants, you sat between Randy and Paula at the judges’ table. Where would you want to sit?
“You know at this point, I’m pretty much just like, ‘Where do you want me?’ I’m the new kid in school. I’m not going to cause waves right from the beginning.”

(AP Photo of Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson/Jason DeCrow; AP Photo of DioGuardi/Chris Pizzello)

I finish our extensive and exclusive Nick Di Paolo coverage with a SportsCenter-style Did You Know and a link to my full feature article about him in today’s Journal News.

Did You Know the stand-up comedian and Massachusetts native helped captain a Danvers High School football team that included former New York Giants star Mark Bavaro, then lettered two years on the University of Maine squad? Seriously!

Now a northern Westchester resident, Di Paolo said his favorite on-the-field moment was against the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), whom Maine hadn’t defeated in about two decades:

“My first starting job was as a running back against UMass on Homecoming, and we did a double-reverse. I went 65 yards, outran a kid, Grady Fuller, who ran a sub-4.4 40 (yard dash), and I outran him. … I went around this kid like he was standing still. The coaches kept rewinding it, because this kid was an All-American and (stuff). So I had the reverse for the touchdown—I had two touchdowns that day and I had 85 yards on the ground and 65 in receptions for 150. And we won 42-16 or something like that.”

Even cooler is the fact that Di Paolo said he caught the comedy bug as a high school senior when he did running commentary for a slideshow at Danvers’ football banquet:

“I killed! It was like 300, 400 people there and the pictures were killing. I remember going home really excited.”

(Photo by Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

Special edition podcast this week: In an exclusive interview with Suburbarazzi correspondent Chris Serico (a.k.a. me), stand-up comedian Nick DiPaolo recounts his experiences performing in Afghanistan, explains his move to Westchester and talks about his new radio show on Sirius.

Podcast file

Flash video

To die by the hand of an enemy must be hard enough, but to be one of eight insurgents to reportedly lose lives at the expense of a bomb signed by Baba Booey? “Embarrassing,” according to stand-up comedian and northern Westchester resident Nick Di Paolo.

While flipping through photographs of his recent USO trip to Afghanistan, Di Paolo pointed out in an exclusive interview with me last week that he and fellow regulars from the Howard Stern radio show autographed a bomb that he said was later dropped by an unmanned “Reaper” plane onto eight enemy insurgents.

Signing the 500-pound weapon at a military base were Di Paolo, fellow comedians Artie Lange, Dave Attell and Jim Florentine and Stern radio producer Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate.

Mulled Di Paolo:

Imagine getting killed by a bomb signed by Baba Booey? How embarrassing.

Listen to the whole clip here:

Download:

And if you liked that clip and live in or close to the Lower Hudson Valley, tune in to RNN’s “NewsCenter Now” tonight at 5:45 p.m., when they’ll run a full three-minute segment of my interview with Nick D!

Related Suburbarazzi exclusive: Nick Di Paolo fires a few rounds, also shoots machine gun.

(Photo by Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

Yesterday, I had the chance to interview one of my all-time favorite stand-up comedians, Nick Di Paolo.

The northern Westchester resident spent about a week with the USO touring with other regulars from Howard Stern’s radio show: comedians Artie Lange, Dave Attell and Jim Florentine and producer Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate. And just minutes after performing a set at in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the military base came under attack and they were shuttled to a bunker for protection.

More about that later. Right now, I want to share with you a clip of Nick talking about his experience firing a machine gun and nearly starting an “international incident” while flying in a Blackhawk:

Download:

Just as amusing? Attell’s e-mailed response to Di Paolo’s Rambo impersonation:

I don’t think I have ever seen him more excited and happy (than) when he got a chance to shoot machine guns out the door of a Blackhawk helicopter. Thank God he’s on our side.

More clips from my exclusive interview with Di Paolo will be posted next week. Have a great weekend, everyone!

(Photo by Carucha Meuse/The Journal News.)

The Associated Press reported that the first photos of Angelina Jolie’s newborn twins could be worth between $10-20 million!

The photographs may not have been leaked yet, but I got my hands on the first sketches of what the newborns Knox and Vivienne look like.

Now you might be saying “Aman, this photo looks like something you drew on Microsoft Paint as you were waiting for the Domino’s Pizza guy to bring you a scrumptious deep dish pizza to your apartment.” That’s one way to look at it, but I don’t see any other sketches of Angelina’s babies out there, do you?

People magazine, I shall start the bidding on my photos at $1 million. Now that’s a deal.

After covering another story at Fox Lane High School this morning, I heard a buzz in the hallway about Yankees manager Joe Girardi visiting the school.

Sure enough, at the front entrance, there was No. 27 himself sporting a red polo shirt, chatting with students and autographing their shirts. Resisting the temptation to go all Chris Farley Show on him and say, “Hey, thanks for that triple in the ‘96 World Series,” I opted for the more professional approach:

Chris Serico/Suburbarazzi: “So, what are you doing here?”
Joe Girardi: “Just came to visit the school on my off day.”
Chris Serico/Suburbarazzi: “Nice. That’s cool. What did you tell the kids?”
Joe Girardi: “Reach out. Help others.”

Epic stuff on my part, I know. But the guy was swarmed with students and on his way out the door, so I left it at that. From what I could tell, he was very kind and accommodating to the kids, long before he knew a nosy reporter was in the building.

Here’s the exclusive clip, all seven seconds of it:

Download:

Go Yanks.

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Continued coverage of George Clooney’s visit to Pelham last night. First, better photos of the event, courtesy Jay Ackerman and the Picture House:

More photos, quotes from Clooney, and my thoughts on the event after the break. Many thanks to the Picture House for inviting me to the Q&A, which was a fundraiser for their planned expansion project.

Read more of this entry »

Keep in mind: I’m attempting to do this on an iPhone. Excuse the typos and hurried language. Ok, here goes.

6:42 Just arrived. I’m guessing the audience is 80-90 percent women. No Clooney. Yet.

7:00 Packed house. Standing room only. The Picture House officials tell me the event sold out in 1 minute.

7:11 Roll tape. New Picture House documentary. Very slick.

7:15 New Picture House motto: “Life Art Popcorn”

Catchy, no?

Jennifer Christman now giving fundraising speech.

7:25 Movie just began. Woman to my right is complaining about the bright iPhone screen. Gotta stop typing. (Besides, what do you really care what I think about “Leatherheads”?) See you in a couple hours.

8:30 Quick visit to lobby to pick up Sour Patch Kids. Throngs of young kids assembled outside, behind police barricades, waiting for Clooney to show. Still no sign of the man.

9:10 Movie over.

Christian introduces Travers.

Travers calls down Clooney.

Standing o

9:15 Clooney tried out for Cincy Reds. Who knew?

9:17 Rosanne Barr memories

Time mag article

Happy belated birthday to Clooney (he turned 47 yesterday)

9:20 Clooney: “This movie bombed. Bombed badly”

9:25 Clooney on the recent Time mag cover: “the ‘Last Movie Star’ … well, it’s better than being last reality TV star”

9:28 Clooney on batman: “the nipples on the suit were for feeding little bats”

9:30 Remember, “Out of Sight” and “O Brother” bombed too

9:35 Clooney thankful for “Ladykillers”—the only Coen bros. movies considered more of a bomb than his

9:38 Stories on growing up clooney (I’ll post quotes later. Can’t type fast enough)

9:45 “Oscar campaigns are like Hillary-Barack”

More Darfur stories

9:56 Questions from audience

Clooney not psyched to mediate with pipeline terrorists

9:59 Q: boxers or briefs?
A: when acting, I like to go commando

10:02 Darfur—“It gnaws at me”

Clooney NOT running for political office

10:25 Last question

Crowd sings Clooney Happy Birthday

Clooney signs autographs for screaming Pelham teenage girls

Clooney and I hop into Chevy Suburban to go booze it up with Danny DeVito and a bottle of Limoncello

Kidding

Thanks for reading

More quotes and pics from the event tomorrow