Realtor to the rich and famous

By Carol Beggy & Mark Shanahan  |  June 22, 2007

Inevitably, when big shots want to buy real estate in Hawaii, they dial up Charles Laquidara . After leaving Boston, the former WBCN jock bought a lot of land on the island paradise, which he's been slowly selling off to celebs. Two years ago Laquidara sold a spread to Oprah Winfrey. Now, Laquidara's struck a deal with Richard Alpert, a Newton native better known to all you Bohemians as spiritual teacher Baba Ram Dass , author of "Be Here Now." "The fact that the brokers wouldn't let us meet each other took the fun out of it for me," said Laquidara, who bought the oasis for $1.75 million and unloaded it for $2.3 million. (Check it out at itsmaui.com/haiku/ .) The five-bed, five-bath compound includes a state-of-the-art home theater system, but that'll likely be of little interest to Ram Dass. "He tells people to throw away their TVs," said Laquidara, who watched Patriots games on the huge screen. The former DJ is moving to Santa Barbara with his wife, but will still spend winters in Hawaii.

Dane Cook (inset) is coming home with a movie project that pairs him up on screen with lovely leading lady Kate Hudson. "Bachelor No. 2," which will be produced by the Arlington native's production company, Superfinger Entertainment, could begin filming in the Boston area as soon as August. Howard Deutch, known for "Pretty in Pink" and "The Whole Ten Yards," will direct from a script by first-time screenwriter Jordan Cahan. Cook will star as Tank, a man who is paid to take girls out on horrible dates in an effort to convince them to return to their ex-boyfriends. Hudson plays Cook's love interest.

Proving that no distance is too great when it comes to a trusted hairstylist, NESN "SportsDesk" anchor Hazel Mae was at Entre Nous salon in Southborough the other day, where her stylist Brianna Mitchell now works. The salon is owned by Mei-ling Hester, formerly of Diego Salon on Newbury Street.

We've not yet recovered from chef Pino Maffeo changing the name of Restaurant L, inside clothier Louis Boston, to Boston Public Meat. Now word comes that when chef-restaurateur Jamie Mammano's restaurant The Federalist at luxe XV Beacon hotel is renovated next month it will be named Mooo -- yes, with three O's. Mammano, the kitchen genius behind Mistral, Sorellina, and Troquet, will restyle the menu to feature steakhouse fare.

In his third trip to Washington, D.C., with the Southwest Airlines ASSISTS community service contest, Boston Celtics guard Tony Allen has managed to run into Senator John Kerry each time. Allen and fellow guard Delonte West took 30 students from the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Allston on a tour of the nation's capital with our other senator, Ted Kennedy.

Carell helps cause
For a great cause, Steve Carell returned to Boston last night. At the Regal Fenway Cinemas (above), the Acton native and star of "The Office" screened his new movie "Evan Almighty" to raise much-needed money for the Zachary Carson Brain Tumor Fund at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Carson, 19 and from Newton, was diagnosed with a malignant, inoperable tumor in '05. The idea for last night's benefit was hatched when Zach and his mom Roberta Carson paid a Make-A-Wish visit to "The Office" set. Carell, joined by his wife, Cohasset's own Nancy Walls, said he was happy to help young Zach. "It was an honor," said the actor who plays everyone's favorite stiff Michael Scott. "Zach's such a great guy. His mum asked for some help, and I decided we had to do something here." Nothing if not in demand, Carell told us he leaves today for Moscow, where he'll be shooting "Get Smart."

Pierce and Mini-Me in name game
Hoop star Paul Pierce happened upon Verne Troyer the other night in LA, and the odd couple's encounter was captured by TMZ.com. Though not exactly a face-to-face meeting -- the Celts captain stands 6-foot-6, while the actor who played Mini-Me in the "Austin Powers" movies is 2-foot-8 -- it was certainly amusing. The transcript:

Pierce: "What's up, doggy, what's going on? It's P. Pierce with my boy, Mini-Me."

Troyer: "No, Paul . . . Hey, Paul, I know your name . . . What's my name?"

Pierce: "It's Mini-Me, dog."

Troyer: "I knew your name was Paul, OK? I could have come up and just said, 'Yo, you play for the Celtics, what up?' But no, your name is Paul . . . My name is Verne."

Pierce: "Right, I saw you on MTV."

Troyer: "Please, next time . . . Now you know."

(The two shake hands.)

Pierce: Awright. That's my boy right here."

Troyer: "And I got P.P. right here."

Police scene in LA
With a Wednesday night show at the Staples Center, the Police (led by bassist and lead singer Sting) was back performing in Los Angeles. The Police, in the middle of a reunion tour, hadn't played in LA since Sept. 6, 1983, at Hollywood Park. Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, Alanis Morissette, Jeremy Piven, and Jamie Lee Curtis were some of the big names taking in Wednesday's show.

Jimmy Kimmel (inset), host of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," was in good shape after having an emergency appendectomy Wednesday night in Los Angeles. "The surgery was a success," Kimmel's publicist, Lewis Kay, said in an e-mail yesterday. "The rest of this week's tapings of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' have been canceled until he is back on his feet. He is resting comfortably and is looking forward to getting back to work." (AP)

Horror film director Wes Craven sued his neighbor Pauly Shore, alleging that water from the comedian's home seeped down a slope and damaged the director's property. Craven claimed that a landslide occurred on his property in December after Shore upgraded his home with a pool, spa, landscaping, and other improvements, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. (AP)

Isaiah Washington, fired this month from "Grey's Anatomy" following the firestorm he started with a gay slur, hit back at the network yesterday. "They fired the wrong guy," the 43-year-old actor said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. He blames former cast mate T.R. Knight for stoking the scandal that led him to lose his role on the ABC hit. Knight is the one who should have been let go, he told the newspaper. "I have to clear my name," said Washington. He also said he is considering a lawsuit and accused Knight of exploiting the controversy to get a pay increase and to enhance his role. (AP)

Ricky Martin, Brooks & Dunn 's Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn , Tim Robbins, Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, Howie Mandel, and the late George Harrison are among the celebrities who will be honored next year with Hollywood Walk of Fame stars. Hollywood's honorary mayor Johnny Grant announced the list of 2008 inductees, noting recipients were chosen from hundreds of nominations received by the Walk of Fame Committee. (AP)

Pete Doherty plans to marry Kate Moss this summer -- providing he stays off drugs, his diary says. The troubled singer gives insight into his tempestuous relationship with the supermodel in "The Books of Albion: The Collected Writings of Peter Doherty." He writes that he hopes to marry her this summer, provided he is "smack and needle-free. . . . I become (sic) 10 times happier than any given smackhead. Huzzah!"

Mick Jagger used the Catalan language to apologize to fans for last year's cancellation of several shows in Barcelona and three other Spanish cities. In a TV broadcast yesterday as the Rolling Stones prepared a new tour of Spain, Jagger told fans, "We are very sorry we canceled our concert last year, but now we are ready." The apology lasted a few seconds and was prolonged by laughter and clowning from drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Keith Richards. Canal 3, the television station that broadcast the apology, described Jagger's Catalan diction as "better than average."

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