HOLLYWOOD

Prince Frederic Von Anhalt

By Tony Rizzo
HOLLYWOOD — I walked down the hill from my home to find a swarm of press. Prince Frederic Von Anhalt, husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, the star of such classic films as John Huston’s “Moulin Rouge” (’52), “Lili” (’53) and the camp classic sci-fi film “The Queen of Outer Space” (’58), invited the press to see his anniversary gift for Zsa Zsa. Prince Frederic was best friends with Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt’s only son, who was killed in a car crash. She was so grief stricken that she asked Frederic if she could adopt him, and she gave him the name Prince Frederic von Anhalt, Duke of Saxony. Zsa Zsa married Prince Frederic 25 years ago. It was her ninth marriage (though one was annulled).

“Silver is traditional for the 25th,” Prince explained, “but my wife already has everything she wants. I decided to give her the biggest greeting card in the world, right on the Sunset Strip, in Hollywood.”

Diamonds are forever, but this billboard will appear for only one month. The Prince added, “I knew that Zsa Zsa [who had a leg amputated recently] would enjoy being in the spotlight again. When she saw the billboard on the evening news, it brought a huge smile to her face, and that’s why I did it!” The Prince will be seen in Ben Affleck’s new film “Argo,” which, coincidentally, is shooting in the Von Anhalt/Gabor house. He’s also planned a big star-studded gala on Aug. 14 to celebrate their anniversary. The Prince added, “The billboard cost only $68,000, my life with Zsa Zsa is priceless!”
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Robert Redford is not slowing down anytime soon. His next movie, “The Company You Keep,” starts filming in Vancouver next month, and he’ll not only star but direct as well. Redford plays a former militant, living under an assumed identity for 30 years, whose cover is blown by a young reporter, played by Shai LaBeouf. Nick Nolte has just signed on as well. Among Redford’s future films are “A Walk In the Woods,” originally intended to reteam him with the late Paul Newman, and an untitled biopic of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.
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First “Spider-Man” moved on without Tobey Maguire (now 36 years old), with the younger, newer, less-expensive Andrew Garfield (28 on Aug. 20) by making the film a prequel. Now we’ll have the next film in “The Bourne” saga without Matt Damon. In fact, Jason Bourne will be replaced by another assassin who trained in the same program, being played by Jeremy Renner. Trying to keep the “Bourne” flavor going, they’ve cast both Joan Allen and Albert Finney, who were in previous “Bourne” films. Maybe it’s just me, but doing a “Bourne” film without Matt Damon is like making an omelet without eggs!

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