Paul Rudd

The randomness of life, in one picture.

Circa 2007: Late Show staffer Sarah Eyde discards her gum on a window ledge.  2010: I notice the gum and begin taking photos.  CelebriGum is born.

November 14, 2012: During a performance of the Broadway play "Grace" starring Paul Rudd, an audience member in the balcony vomits onto people in the orchestra seats below.    

November 19, 2012: Mr. Rudd visits the Late Show to present the "Top Ten Thoughts That Went Through Paul Rudd's Mind When An Audience Member Vomited During His Broadway Show."  

November 19, 2012: I photograph Mr. Rudd with the piece of gum.

Only CelebriGum brings you the interconnected magic of celebrities, theater, comedy, old gum, and vomit!

(Note to self: website dedicated to photos of people vomiting near celebrities?)

Happy Thanksgiving from CelebriGum

Good luck asking for white meat or dark meat.

It's all gray meat.

For extra flavor, I recommend the soot-flecked skin.  Mmm, spicy!

To everyone who's played along with my foolishness, my thanks.

Alec Baldwin

In 2010 I would have been content with this perfectly fine, perfectly ordinary picture of Alec Baldwin arriving at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

But at this point, more than two years and 400 entries in, I strive for more.  So I went back to the window to catch Alec leaving, hoping for some odd, transcendent moment.

 Alec's about to step into his car…

 … and as he sits down, a man appears carrying a child size gift-wrapped rocking chair.

Celebrity, miniature rocking chair, old gum.  Taking evocative yet meaningless juxtapositions to new heights: that's today's CelebriGum.  

Simon Helberg

Behold the modern nighttime CelebriGum photo! Still mediocre, yet a vast improvement over previous years' fall and winter efforts!

Two pieces of equipment make this possible: a cheap little clip-on LED light which illuminates the ledge, and the Sony DSC-RX100, an impressive pocket-size camera with full manual control, an f1.8 Carl Zeiss lens, and a huge 1 inch 20.2 megapixel sensor that allows for excellent low-light shots at high ISO settings, even with fast shutter speeds for freezing motion.

Your eyes may glaze over at camera specs, but Simon Helberg's engineering nerd character Howard Wolowitz on "The Big Bang Theory" would find them enthralling.

And no, I didn't buy a fancy new camera just for CelebriGum. It's also my "real" camera for non-gum situations:

 Sandy Hook, New Jersey

 Times Square at night

Daughter Hannah on the top of the observation tower, Mt. Tom, Connecticut

Thank you for your indulgence.

Anderson Cooper

This is troubling on a couple of levels.

I've been informed by the FBI that these hitherto-unpublished CelebriGum photos of Anderson Cooper were discovered on Paula Broadwell's computer. While not "classified" in a military sense, they're confidential and highly sensitive. It's a serious security breach for CelebriGum.

Also, while Anderson is certainly worthy of a biography, and is clearly a dynamic, charismatic, attractive man… all I can say is, good luck with that one, Paula.

Julianna Margulies

CelebriGum welcomes a special guest commentator: Karl Rove, a Republican Party strategist with some time on his hands.

 "Very nice. I like the dramatic flash and the shadow. It would be terrific if Ms. Margulies were to turn around so we can see her face. I predict that will happen in the next photo."

"Another nice flash and shadow shot, and the cab adds gritty New York flavor. Okay, she didn't turn around yet, but it's way too early to say she won't do it."

"Let's not panic about her failure to turn around.  There's one more photo in this entry.  I'm confident she'll turn to face the camera.  I'm hearing good things from my people."

"Crap."

Wow, it's really not Karl's month. 

Anyway, Karl, thanks for helping out!

Mary-Louise Parker

Had to save this one for Veterans Day, or at least the federal holiday associated with Veterans Day.

Thanks, veterans, for keeping us free so we can waste time on things like photos of celebrities with an old piece of gum. 

(They did explain that was the deal when you signed up, right?)

Tom Hanks

Another stressful week: a nerve-wracking election and ongoing post-hurricane troubles.  

You know what would make everyone feel better?  

Gum photos of universally liked and respected A-lister Tom Hanks!

Tom lets the paparazzi get a few shots while the fans across the street clamor for autographs.

On other visits, when he's not in a hurry, Tom has graciously signed items and posed for fan photos.  But this time…

 … he has somewhere else to be.

The supplicants send up a collective groan laced with an occasional "Boo!"

So much for making everyone feel better.

Donald Trump

CelebriGum tries to be respectful and polite to all Late Show celebrity guests.  Therefore, taking to heart the old adage "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" --

 (no comment)

(no comment)

Election 2012

Oh, great.

That's blatant election fraud.

This whole thing could end up invalidated.  Thanks a lot, gum, and whatever idiots let the gum vote.

Rachel Maddow

Here's a fun game!  Or at least, here's a game!

It's "Guess Rachel Maddow's Shoe Color!"

In the next photo, Ms. Maddow will have emerged from behind the window ledge, revealing her brightly colored shoes.  Take a moment now to jot down your guess.

Hint: it's the color Ms. Maddow would like to see states turn on electoral maps on Tuesday night.

Additional hint: Ms. Maddow is known to be politically left-leaning.

Additional hint: the Democratic party is the major U.S. political party generally associated with the "left."

Yet another hint: political maps traditionally assign the color red to states won by the Republican presidential candidate, and blue to states won by the Democratic presidential candidate.  

Did you make your guess yet?  (You're not one of those undecided voters, are you?)

Ready?

How much longer can I delay the reveal?

Hint: a little longer.

Additional hint: a "hint" is an indirect clue or suggestion.

That wasn't really a hint, was it?  Sorry.  Here are Rachel Maddow's shoes.

It'll be very interesting to see how things play out Tuesday night: Rachel Maddow's sneakers vs. two little girls' coats.

Good luck to all maps, states, and colors on Tuesday, and thanks to everyone who played or pretended to play!

Rick Santorum

With the 2012 campaign not even finished yet, politicians are already looking ahead to 2016 and jockeying for position.  Former Pennsylvania Senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum recently visited the Late Show, and issued this statement for publication on CelebriGum:

"All across this great land, small businesses like CelebriGum represent the bright promise of the 21st century.  Photographs of celebrities with old gum create jobs, promote energy independence, increase our prestige abroad, protect our environment, keep kids in school and out of gangs, and lower health care costs.  I'm pro-celebrity, pro-gum, and pro-mediocre photography.  Thank you, and may God bless America."

Wow.  I'm flattered that he thinks the CelebriGum community is worth sucking up to.