LFO Lead Singer Dead at 35

Rich Cronin, the lead singer of '90s boy band LFO, died Wednesday after a long battle with leukemia, TMZ reports. Cronin suffered a stroke and died in the hospital this afternoon, his brother said. He was 35 years old.

Cronin and his band, LFO, were most known for their 1999 hit song 'Summer Girls,' which Cronin wrote. They also had another top 10 Billboard hit, 'Girl on TV,' which Cronin wrote about Jennifer Love Hewitt--whom he would go on to date for a short time.

Cronin had been fighting acute myelogenous leukemia since 2005 and has been in remission several times, according toZap2it.com. He started the Rich Cronin Hope Foundation to raise awareness about leukemia and to encourage people to become bone marrow donors.

Several former boy band members have expressed their sadness over Cronin's passing on Twitter. Chris Kirpatrick of *NSYNC fame Tweeted, ""Rip to a great friend rich c." Lance Bass, also of *NSYNC, shared, "Sad sad day that Rich Cronin died- was a amazing guy."

Spencer Pratt to Heidi Montag: I'm Sorry for My Infantile Behavior

PopEater

It seems 'The Hills' star Spencer Pratt is feeling guilty and ashamed. On Wednesday, he released a personal apology letter to his estranged wife Heidi Montag, PEOPLE reports.

"Divorce can be a trying, draining, and emotionally devastating experience for all involved," Pratt writes in his apology. "Despite these hardships, most individuals manage to conduct themselves with dignity and maturity. I did not – I failed spectacularly."

'The Hills' star goes on to apologize for his recent actions. "I horribly embarrassed the one person that meant the world to me. For my outrageous and infantile behavior, I offer Heidi my most sincere apologies," he said. It's assumed he's referring to the sex tape he's been trying to sell that allegedly stars Heidi and a porn star.

Though the couple is in the middle of divorce proceedings, Pratt praises Montag in his letter. "Over the years, her love, support, and friendship were always given, but never properly cherished. I let her down. She never deserved the pain and anguish I put her through, and although I don't expect it, I hope in time she'll be able to forgive me," the reality star said.

"Even though our relationship has changed, I will always count her among my best friends," he concludes.

Pratt and Montag filed for divorce in late August and it should be final around February 14, 2011.

'Time of My Life' Songwriter Talks Patrick Swayze, Sells Demos for Cancer Fund

Musician Franke Previte was pushing 40 when he submitted a little ditty for a 1987 Patrick Swayze vehicle called 'Dirty Dancing.' The song, called '(I've Had) The Time of My Life,' it was the 150th tune considered for a dance sequence that would become iconic.

It was the last song taken into consideration. "They were getting ready to film to a Lionel Richie track which wasn't a bad song, it just wasn't their song," Previte tells PopEater on a call from his New Jersey home -- a home he says 'Time of My Life' essentially purchased. "So when I met Patrick Swayze at the Academy Awards, he said to me, 'We were bummed -- there was no camaraderie, there was a feeling the movie was gonna suck. Then we heard the song and we all freaked out.' "

Read on for Previte's memories of Swayze a year after his passing, and how the original 'Time of My Life' demos are set to rack up dollars for Patrick Swayze's Cancer Research Fund.

At this point, Previte's cell phone rings to the tune of '(I've Had) The Time of My Life.' Seriously. ("Had to do it," he says of the ringtone.)

"So anyway, Patrick was telling me how bummed they were and after they filmed they realized, 'Wow, what a tremendous ending with this song. This could actually be a pretty cool movie now.' "

The success of the film and the song were symbiotic, Previte contends, and Swayze held a special place in his heart for the original 'Time of My Life' and 'Hungry Eyes' demos, featuring Previte's own vocals -- they were, in fact, the demos Swayze and costar Jennifer Grey danced to while filming.

Now Previte is releasing the demos for digital purchase, with proceeds benefiting the Patrick Swayze Cancer Research Fund. "After Patrick's passing, I kept thinking to myself, There's such a connection between this demo and this movie," Previte says. "What can I do to kind of -- I don't want to sound corny here -- but give back a little bit?"

Sample the demo as sung by Franke Previte and Rachele Cappelli:


The song saw Previte, who had taken his band Franke and the Knockouts on tour with acts like Deep Purple and Fleetwood Mac, win an Oscar. "The impact had already shocked me; it was already beyond whatever I was dreaming about for my success. I was 40. I thought one day I'd get nominated maybe for a Grammy. To get an Academy Award and a Golden Globe was well beyond what I was thinking for myself."

'Time of My Life' changed Previte's life, he says, and affects him daily. "I was down to about a hundred bucks in my bank account. It gave me a chance not to worry about where my next project would come from. People say, 'Who manages you?' And I say, 'Oscar. Oscar opens a lot of doors for me.' "

Previte recalls Swayze's death, one year ago next week, as "very upsetting." The actor was just 57 when pancreatic cancer claimed his life.

"I had a chance to do some charity things with him, got to know him a little bit as a person, and just realized what a down to earth kind of guy he was," Previte says. "We could hang and shoot the breeze. Just a good guy. I had other Hollywood friends who knew him and said the same things. It struck me as, 'Why? Why does a guy like this, in the prime of his life, have to suffer like this and go through this?' It was just something I couldn't answer for myself and it's something that I thought about for a long time. That's what caused me to bring out these demos, because I know how much they meant to Patrick."

Swayze's costar Jennifer Grey will make the move this fall from 'Dirty Dancing' to 'Dancing With the Stars.' Does Previte think she has a decent shot? "She's got a dancer's chance," he says, laughing. "She picked it up pretty quickly with 'Dirty Dancing.' At the end of it, she was gettin' down."

Previte recently wrote a song for a stage version of 'Dirty Dancing,' titled 'Someone Like You,' available in the demo package released today. Also included are the original '(I've Had) The Time of My Life' and 'Hungry Eyes' demos and a Michael Lloyd remix of 'Time of My Life.' The demos are available here.

Mike Tyson Regrets Not Smoking Pot With Tupac

Back in the day, Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur were good friends, but there was one thing they never did together that Tyson regrets to this day -- they never got stoned.

"He always wanted me to smoke weed with him, and I never did it, and I wish I did," Tyson toldAP in a phone interview. "That's my biggest regret."

Tyson opened up about his relationship with Tupac as a build-up to ESPN's documentary called 'One Night in Vegas: Tyson & Tupac,' detailing the man behind the legend and apparently his smoking habits as well.

Tyson explained that he always declined because he was afraid of the extra media attention if word got out.

Tupac was shot the night of Tyson's fight on Sept. 7, 1996 in Las Vegas, and died six days later. He was only 25.

"He didn't last long, but the time he did last, every minute, every tenth of a moment was explosive," Tyson added in the interview.

The documentary airs Tuesday on ESPN (8 p.m. EDT).

Kirsten Dunst's Purse Thief Sentenced to Four Years in Jail

The man accused of breaking into Kirsten Dunst's hotel room and stealing an expensive handbag was sentenced to four years in jail on Tuesday, UsMagazine.com reports. Mechanic James Jimenez was convicted of burglary and trespassing after he stole a $2,000 Balenciaga handbag from the actress's New York City hotel room in 2007.

Dunst was in NYC to film the movie 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People' co-starring Megan Fox and Simon Pegg. Jimenez was also found guilty of stealing a cell phone from Pegg among other things from the hotel.

During his trial, Jimenez pleaded innocent, saying repeatedly, he didn't "understand why I'm being charged." He claimed his co-defendant Jarrod Beinerman (who pled guilty in 2008) was the one who stole the items when he was invited to Dunst's room to sell drugs. Dunst denied the drug claims.

"She certainly didn't have to come to this trial and lie," Jimenez's attorney Robert Parker told the NY Daily News, and cited an interview where the actress supported the legalization of marijuana. "I will certainly build a case against Ms. Dunst. I don't think there's a person on this planet who would believe... she doesn't smoke marijuana," he said.

Jessica Simpson Commemorates Her Dog via Twitter

UsMagazine

Nearly one year after Jessica Simpson's beloved puppy was snatched up by coyotes, the 30-year-old singer took to her Twitter account to express her grief.

"This day last year my life changed because I lost my baby Daisy Mae -- the best pup of all time," Simpson tweeted Monday. "Give your dog some extra love today!"

The Maltipoo -- who was named after Simpson's character in 2003's Dukes of Hazzard -- was given to her by ex-husband Nick Lachey for her 24th birthday.

When Simpson first tweeted of her dog's disappearance in September 2009, the Price of Beauty star held out hope that her beloved pooch was simply lost.

"My heart is broken because a coyote took my precious Daisy right in front of our eyes. HORROR! We are searching. Hoping. Please help!" she tweeted September 14.

Two days later, Simpson let fans know that she wasn't going to give up her search for the missing pooch.

"Still holding out hope despite the a--holes that say it is a dumb thing to do. Daisy is my baby... Why would I stop searching? I'm a mom," she tweeted. "I'm receiving every building block of faith I can get. Thank you."

Simpson finally accepted the news on September 18, 2009, after tracking dogs weren't able to pick up Daisy's scent.

"There just weren't any leads except one person who saw a pit bull with similar coloring," Colleen D. Busch of FindToto.com told UsMagazine.com at the time. "She felt like she had exhausted all her efforts and she wanted to come to peace with it."

Luc Carl: The Man Who Stole Lady Gaga's Heart

PopEater

Lady Gaga told Vanity Fair that when she sleeps with someone, she fears they're going to take her creativity from her through her vagina.

She's also professed that she's quite content with celibacy, and she can mentally give herself an orgasm.

Her 'Monster Ball' tour has grossed nearly $200 million worldwide. She's the reigning queen of Twitter, having more followers than fellow pop star Britney Spears. And she's currently nominated for thirteen MTV VMAs. Needless to say, Gaga is an epic success. She's not some needy chick who compulsively has to be in a relationship.

So, what mortal man could ever capture the heart of the most bad-ass "free b***h" of all?

Luc Carl, of course, the handsome rocker spotted cozying up to Gaga at a recent KISS concert in New York.

Luc is a 29-year-old, Nebraska-born, fitness fanatic and rock and roll fan. His Twitter bio lists him as an "author, night club manager, long distance runner, promoter, musician, DJ, bartender, certified personal trainer, and semi-pro bowler in New York City." He's best known to the rest of us as Lady Gaga's boyfriend.

Luc definitely has that androgynous, grunge look Gaga tends to love. His long hair is similar to Russell Brand's, mussed up and intentionally dirty-looking. He clearly has a flair for eccentric fashion, donning purple pants, leather vests, distressed denim and chains.

Gaga once said, "Pop stars don't eat," but Luc takes an adamantly healthier approach to attaining his impeccable physique. He chronicles his fitness, dieting and various life observations on his blog, The Drunk Diet, at drunkdiet.com. He's even coming out with a 'Drunk Diet' book in 2011.

Luc's website explains he's not spewing out advice so much as recounting his personal experience of "losing forty pounds in a year, while drunk." As a bartender and someone who's no stranger to the party scene, Luc, like Gaga, admits that alcohol will inevitably always have a role in his lifestyle.

Luc's irreverent, overly-honest posts are entertaining to say the least. "If you fear vegetables you will never s**t," he tweeted. And on another occasion, Luc cockily pronounced, "When straight men look at me they question their sexuality." Before a Slayer concert, he "smoked a big fat joint, had a couple shots of whiskey and a beer, and got [his] face shredded off."

But like Gaga, Luc has a no-nonsense, no-excuses attitude toward getting what you want. He says your body is a full-time job, and when you make excuses for slacking on your workout, you're screwing yourself over. "You can't sit around watching SpongeBob while waiting for Richard Simmons to show up at your front door with a box full of Abs," he writes. He's extremely disciplined, saying workouts and meals need to be planned days in advance. According to Luc, if you plan to go to the gym at 7:30 and at 7:31 you're lacing up your shoes, "you should feel guilty. You're cheating yourself ... your mind, your body, and your spirit."

In one particular blog post, Luc shares another very Gaga-esque outlook with his readers. He wants them all to stop using the word "eventually." "Eventually is an excuse," Luc writes. "It's the dirtiest of all excuses ... I hate to break it to you, but unless you MAKE it happen, it never WILL happen."

Luc still bartends at St. Jerome's in the East Village, continues to brand and promote himself, and gets readers excited for his upcoming, no-nonsense diet and fitness book. He's tight-lipped about his relationship with Lady Gaga, clearly not intending to use her fame to catapult his own career.

He sealed the deal for me with a tweet on July 17. When members of Westboro Baptist Church, a riotous group of religious zealots, protested outside Gaga's 'Monster Ball' in St. Louis, Missouri. Gaga herself even feared for her "Little Monsters'" (the nickname she's given her devoted fans) safety. These protesters held signs saying, "God hates Gaga," and shouted homophobic slurs, trying to provoke Gaga's fans. In defense of Gaga, Luc tweeted, "Your hatred is ignorance." He even started the trending topic, "#GodLovesGaga."

So, as one of Gaga's biggest fans, I give Luc Carl my seal of approval. I have to say he's unique, opinionated and sexy, and if anyone's worthy of our beloved Mother Monster, it's Luc.