Entertainment

Among tens of thousands of displaced Angelenos, celebrities face the same devastating losses

Published

1 year ago

January 9, 2025

Among tens of thousands of displaced Angelenos, celebrities face the same devastating losses

The historic wildfires blazing across Los Angeles County this week have wiped out more than 2,000 structures, killed at least five people and left countless residents reeling in heartbreak. Given the fabric of the communities in and around L.A., celebrities are among those facing loss.

In one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in recent memory, at least 130,000 Angelenos have fled for safety as fires — stoked by worse-than-usual “life-threatening and destructive” winds — rampaged in the Pacific Palisades, Hollywood Hills and Altadena.

“We are absolutely not out of the danger yet,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said Wednesday.

From Mandy Moore to Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, stars have have been speaking out about their evacuation efforts, loss of property and efforts to help fire victims. While they, like so many Angelenos, remain displaced, firefighters continue to battle the blazes that have erupted since Tuesday.

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton said she watched her Malibu home burn on television.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

“Heartbroken beyond words. … Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience,” the deejay, reality TV star and heiress wrote Wednesday on Instagram as the 0% contained Palisades fire continued to burn. “This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London.

“While the loss is overwhelming, I’m holding onto gratitude that my family and pets are safe. My heart and prayers are going out to every family affected by these fires. To all the people who have lost their homes, their memories, and their beloved pets. My heartaches for those still in harm’s way or mourning greater losses. The devastation is unimaginable. To know so many are waking up today without the place they called home is truly heartbreaking. … Please, everyone, stay safe and follow evacuation orders. Let’s protect one another and hold onto hope that these fires will soon be contained.🙏 Sending so much love and strength to all of you. We’re in this together, LA. … Hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight. You never know when everything could change.”

Mandy Moore

“I love you, Altadena,” the “This Is Us” star wrote Wednesday on Instagram as she drove through her community, which was struck by the Eaton fire. “Grateful for my family and pets getting out last night before it was too late (and endless gratitude to friends for taking us in and bringing us clothes and blankets). Honestly, I’m in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family. My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too. Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together. Sending love to all affected and on the front lines trying to get this under control.”

Billy Crystal

“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice, said in a joint statement to the Associated Press about their Pacific Palisades home. “We ache for our friends and neighbors who have also lost their homes and businesses in this tragedy. Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this.”

Steve Guttenberg

In what might be the most viral celebrity interview of the fire news cycle, the “Police Academy” star told a KTLA reporter on Tuesday that he had been working to clear abandoned cars on Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive in his neighborhood to make a path for fire trucks and emergency vehicles. He did not indicate the condition of his home, but said later on the “Today” show that he would go back soon to see what was left.

“What’s happening is people take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars,” the longtime Pacific Palisades resident said. “If you leave your car behind, leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car so that these fire trucks can get up there.”

Cameron Mathison

“General Hospital” star Mathison shared footage from his street showing the destruction that overtook his block in the Pacific Palisades, noting on Instagram stories that “the last property is where our house was.” Mathison said he and his family are safe but showed footage of “what’s left of our beautiful home.”

In an appearance on “Cuomo,” the soap star said his family is safe but the losses have been devastating.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it. It just doesn’t feel real and I know I’m not alone. I know there’s hundreds, if not thousands of people out there and getting affected by these fires, and it’s very cool to see you kind of touching base with a lot of them to share their stories too,” Mathison said, adding, “That video was taken early in the morning … we’d been up, we’d been watching the news, and then I got up around 5, and they were reporting from our block, and I could see houses going down, and it looked insane, but I couldn’t see if our house was OK, and I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I got my car, and I just kind of drove in through the streets. … I kind of made my way up almost in the dark, and the cloud, like, it was, it was an insane scene. And as I came around the corner, you know what used to be, my house, our house was, was no longer and it is, it doesn’t, doesn’t seem real.”

Diane Warren

“This is the last pic I took of Leah’s rock from my beach house,” the Grammy-winning songwriter wrote Wednesday on Instagram, sharing a photo from a Malibu beach amid the Palisades fire. “I’ve had this house for almost 30 years. It looks like it was lost in the fire last nite. There’s a rainbow shining on it which I’m taking as a sign of hope for all creatures who have been affected by this tragedy. The animals and the rescue ranch are OK tho which is the most important thing. Stay safe everyone.”

Melissa Rivers

Rivers, a TV personality and the daughter of famed comic Joan Rivers, told CNN that she fled her Palisades-area home on Wednesday and took whatever she could, including her mother’s Daytime Emmy Award for “The Joan Rivers Show.”

“Luckily, my office which is in — was in — my home… [I grabbed] whatever was there,” Melissa Rivers said. “In my personal situation, that’s it, that’s the end of everything that belonged to my family and the history of it. To be 100% honest, I grabbed my mom’s Emmy, a photo of my dad, and a drawing that my mother had done of me and my son … It’s amazing what you grab, it’s amazing what you take. I went for a drawing of my mother’s rather than a photo because I know I can find the photos. [But a drawing of hers] I can’t replace.”

Cary Elwes

“Update from the fire. Firstly, myself and my family are all safe, thank God,” “The Princess Bride” star wrote Wednesday on Instagram after the Palisades fire broke out. “Sadly we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire. Our hearts go out to all the families impacted by this tragic event and we also wish to extend our gratitude to all the firefighters, first responders and law enforcement who worked so tirelessly through the night and are still at it. We want to thank everyone for the incredible outpouring of support. It really means a great deal to us.”

Ricki Lake

“It’s all gone. I can’t believe I am typing these words,” the former talk-show host wrote Wednesday on Instagram, sharing the loss of her “dream home.” “After a valiant and brave effort by our friend and hero @kirbykotler_ Ross and I lost our dream home. This description ‘dream home’ doesn’t suffice. It was our heaven on earth. The place where we planned to grow old together. We never took our heavenly spot on the bluff overlooking our beloved malibu for granted, not even for one second. I shared our sunset views almost daily with all of you.

“This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married 3 years ago. I grieve along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event. Praying for all of my neighbors, my friends, my community, the animals, the firefighters and first responders. More to share soon of how we escaped with Dolly and not much else. For now I grieve.”

James Woods

The Emmy-winning actor fought back tears on air with CNN while discussing his newly renovated Pacific Palisades home and its evacuation during the Palisades fire. He said he and his wife, Sara Miller-Woods, had returned to the home last month after fixing up the property,

“I took this from the deck of our beautiful and much beloved home in the Palisades last night,” Woods wrote Wednesday on Instagram. “Now all the fire and smoke alarms are going off on our iPhones. It’s truly heartbreaking.”

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody

Leighton Meester, left, and Adam Brody reportedly lost their Pacific Palisades home.

The “Gossip Girl” alumna, who is married to the “Nobody Wants This” actor, reportedly lost the Pacific Palisades home that they purchased in 2019, according to TMZ and the Daily Mail. The couple has not yet commented publicly on the fires.

Anthony Hopkins

Hopkins lost his $6-million Pacific Palisades home, the Daily Mail reported. The Oscar winner bought the home in 2001, and photos showed the four-bedroom, five-bath property reduced to rubble.

Evacuations

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend left smile and pose in cocktail attire

“This is surreal. I’m very scared now. packing,” Teigen wrote on Instagram stories as the Sunset fire erupted late Wednesday in the Hollywood Hills. “4 dogs. 4 kids and a bearded dragon walk into a hotel,” she added.

Mark Hamill

“Star Wars” star Mark Hamill said on social media that his area was being evacuated.

(Rich Fury / Getty Images)

“Personal Fire Update: 7pm-Evacuated Malibu so last-minute there small fires on both sides of the road as we approached PCH. 8:15 pm- Marilou, Trixie & I arrive at Chelsea’s house in Hollywood Most horrific fire since ‘93 … STAY SAFE! … ” the “Star Wars” star wrote Tuesday on Bluesky, later clarifying that “there ‘were’ small fires (gimme a break- we were fleeing for our lives).”

Movie Reviews

Primate

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4 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Every horror fan deserves the occasional (decent) fix, andin the midst of one of the bleakest movie months of the year, Primatedelivers. There’s nothing terribly original about Johannes Roberts’ rabidchimpanzee tale, but that’s kind of the …

Entertainment

Tom Cherones, director and producer of ‘Seinfeld,’ dies at 86

Published

6 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Tom Cherones, director and producer of ‘Seinfeld,’ dies at 86

Television director and producer Tom Cherones, best known for his work on the first five seasons of the Emmy-winning series “Seinfeld,” has died. He was 86.

He died Jan. 5 at his home in Florence, Ore., according to a statement from his family.

He directed some of the most iconic episodes of “Seinfeld,” including “The Chinese Restaurant,” “The Parking Garage” and “The Contest.” The first episode he directed was the show’s second-ever episode, “The Stake Out.” The director ultimately helmed over 80 episodes of the show.

“I think they liked the way I ran the set,” Cherones said of why he was chosen to direct so many “Seinfeld” episodes in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation. “I shot the show a little different … I just shot it in a way that I thought made it look better than the average show.”

Cherones left the show at the behest of its star Jerry Seinfeld.

“Jerry asked me to [leave], he was tired of the same thing I guess,” he told the Television Academy Foundation. “We changed writers almost every season and finally he just wanted somebody else, another presence to try to keep it fresh. He always said from the beginning that when this thing isn’t working anymore we’re going to stop.”

Cherones received six Emmy nominations for his work on “Seinfeld,” winning his sole Emmy for his production work in 1993.

“Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander mourned Cherones death in an Instagram post on Friday.

“Tom directed nearly half the ‘Seinfeld’ episodes. He created the visual style and tone and how to capture the magical interplay of our cast,” Alexander wrote.

“His generosity also enabled me to become a member of the Directors Guild and he was a wonderful mentor. He was a good guy and a wonderful director and teacher. Generations of our fans have and will continue to enjoy his work. Thanks for everything, Tom. Rest well. My love to your family and friends.”

After leaving “Seinfeld,” Cherones would go on to direct 23 episodes of the second season of the Ellen DeGeneres sitcom “Ellen.” He also directed several episodes of the ‘90s NBC sitcoms “Caroline in the City” and “NewsRadio” and stand-alone episodes of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Boston Common” and “Desperate Housewives.”

Cherones was born Sept. 11, 1939, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of New Mexico in 1961. After a four-year stint in the U.S. Navy, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1967.

He worked at a PBS affiliate station in Pittsburgh, including aiding in the production of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Cherones moved to L.A. in 1975 and found production work on such series as “General Hospital” and “Welcome Back, Kotter,” and with several of the major Hollywood production studios.

Later in life, Cherones returned to the University of Alabama to teach production classes from 2002 to 2014.

Cherones is survived by his wife Carol E. Richards, his daughter Susan Cherones Lee, son Scott Cherones and two grandchildren, Jessa and Thomas Cherones.

Movie Reviews

1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy

Published

16 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy

by Sean P. Aune | January 10, 2026

Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.

We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.

Yes, we’re insane, but 1986 was that great of a year for film.

The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1986 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.

This time around, it’s Jan. 10, 1986, and we’re off to see Black Moon Rising.

Black Moon Rising

What was the obsession in the 1980s with super vehicles?

Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired to steal a computer tape with evidence against a company on it. While being pursued, he tucks it in the parachute of a prototype vehicle called the Black Moon. While trying to retrieve it, the car is stolen by Nina (Linda Hamilton), a car thief working for a car theft ring. Both of them want out of their lives, and it looks like the Black Moon could be their ticket out.

Blue Thunder in the movies, Airwolf and Knight Rider on TV, the 1980s loved an impractical ‘super’ vehicle. In this case, the car plays a very minor role up until the final action set piece, and the story is far more about the characters and their motivations.

The movie is silly as you would expect it to be, but it is never a bad watch. It’s just not anything particularly memorable.

1986 Movie Reviews will continue on Jan. 17, 2026, with The Adventures of the American Rabbit, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Iron Eagle, The Longshot, and Troll.