Big Papi a big draw at Four Seasons
The crush of the crowd surrounding David Ortiz might have wilted a lesser man, but the Red Sox slugger still managed to sign copies of his book "Big Papi" and pose for pictures for a couple of hours at a Boston Common magazine party held in Ortiz's honor. The packed Four Seasons Hotel gathering Saturday night drew Red Sox brass John Henry and his wife , Peggy, Larry Lucchino and his wife , Stacey, and players Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Wily Mo Pena, Jonathan Papelbon, and Kevin Youkilis. Missing from the festivities was any member of the Yankees, who had just dropped a second game to the Sox thanks to Big Papi's on-field efforts that included a two-run homer and a two-run double. Ramirez, who arrived wearing a flouncy scarf, with wife , Juliana , in tow, made his way to the ballroom just as Varitek headed out to the lobby where he was seen later chatting with Henry, Lucchino, and Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi and his wife , Debbie. Also spotted were Boston-bred "Brotherhood" actor Brian Scannell, and movie producer Laura Bernieri. Although expected at the party, a casually clad Alex Rodriguez dined at Davio's Saturday night with sportscasters Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Shortly after the game Sox owner Tom Werner was spotted at Davio's. Other sightings from the three-game series included Buffalo Tom singer Bill Janovitz, who was at Saturday's game with renowned record exec and one-time manager Danny Goldberg and his 12-year-old son, Max. The musical trio were seated a few rows away from Senator John Kerry.
Emmy voting behind Rowell soap exit
"One of the chief catalysts" prompting actress Victoria Rowell to walk away from her long-running character , Drucilla , on the hit soap opera "The Young and the Restless" is the Daytime Emmy's voting process. In a story on TheEnvelope.com, a Los Angeles Times website dedicated to covering the various award shows and the accompanying hoopla, Tom O'Neil writes that Rowell, a former Roxbury resident, called the nomination process an "unfair" method that has turned the whole Emmy Award selection into a "popularity contest." Rowell told the website that it is now based on "who's buying coffee for the cast, who's doing the political campaign throughout the year rather than who's doing the work on the stage. " Rowell, whose memoir "The Women Who Raised Me" is due out soon, had a lead story line in the soap opera last year, but was snubbed. "Why was I left off the pre-nom list? I've won 11 NAACP Awards for acting in daytime TV, but I've never won an Emmy."
Godsmack front man Sully Erna signed copies of his memoir, "The Paths We Choose," about growing up in Lawrence in the '80s at Borders the other day.
Although they still have a few days of shooting on the schedule , the crew and the remaining cast members of "21" held a wrap party at King's Lanes on Friday night. Among the 300 or so who came to celebrate the movie about six MIT students who beat the Vegas casinos were the film's director , Robert Luketic ; actors Josh Gad, Sam Golzari, Jim Sturgess, Aaron Yoo, and Liza Lapira; and Boston- based Ben Mezrich, who wrote the book on which the movie is based. . . . The gals from the Oxygen hit TV show "Girls Behaving Badly" were in town for filming, we're told, and stopped by Todd English's Bonfire eatery at the Park Plaza Hotel & Towers on Friday night. Chelsea Handler, Melissa Howard, Kira Soltanovich, and one-name-only Shondrella attracted a bit of attention while they had their meal.
Al Young of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 