A judge mediating among lawyers fighting over the now-embalmed body of Anna Nicole Smith said he hoped to "retain the beauty and dignity" of the former Playboy Playmate at the center of a legal and tabloid extravaganza.
Judge Larry Seidlin may succeed at preserving the busty blond's beauty to her grave, but dignity appears more elusive.
In the 10 days since Smith died of unexplained causes, the theater of it all has, at least occasionally, eclipsed the 2008 presidential race and the war in Iraq. CNN even did a story about why Americans feel compelled to lie to pollsters that they don't care about Smith's death when, by every measurable standard, they are riveted.
But beneath the spectacle, experts say Smith's roller-coaster life and death have raised legal questions that could reverberate for years and even alter federal bankruptcy law....more
Anna Nicole Smith spent her final hours in a suite in a hotel as flashy as the pinup herself, with a similar $1,600-a-night room featuring an orange corduroy couch, a mini-bar stocked with lubricant and glow-in-the-dark condoms, and a leopard-print ironing board.The voluptuous centerfold arrived at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Feb. 5. She died suddenly three days later.Smith stayed several times at the hotel, which is in an area dotted with pawn shops, car lots and apartment buildings yearning for a fresh coat of paint. A concierge said her rooms were often free.Room 607, where Smith was found Thursday, remains sealed and guarded by a man wearing black. A hotel spokesman said he was unsure when it might reopen...more
A defiant Anna Nicole Smith Tuesday refused to give up DNA samples for her baby's court-ordered paternity test after sending her ex-lover f-word laced instant messages saying she'll cooperate "in your dreams."
Smith's ex-boyfriend, photographer Larry Birkhead, says he is baby Dannielynn's dad...more