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Singer satisfies his habit in BR

R&B legend Smokey Robinson openly admits he’s a golf addict, and on a recent pass through Baton Rouge, he succumbed to the sport’s pull. Robinson had his driver phone ahead to the Santa Maria pro shop with simple instructions: Have a bucket of range balls and a golf cart ready so Mr. Robinson could hit the driving range. A short time later the Motown legend arrived and smacked away his $7 bucket of rage balls. In 2001, he told launch.com that golf is the “heroin” of sports—a potent addiction that’s hard to shake.

Break out the guest towels

Jacques and Paula deLabretonne moved into their palatial 30,000-square-foot Highland Road estate just in time to host an exclusive party for the sponsors of the “Duel Under The Oaks” charity match last weekend between Pete Sampras and Todd Martin. Jacques, a radiologist, and Paula, an heir to the Pennington family fortune, built a home said to be beyond fabulous. Sources tell 225 it has enough amenities and touches to unseat Shaw Group CEO Jim Bernhard Jr.’s nearby mansion as Baton Rouge’s it house. So, who was the first guest? Sampras.

Celebrity knitting

Here’s one destined to become a local celebrity joke: How lame is Baton Rouge? It’s so lame that when Hilary Swank was here filming a movie, she passed the time by knitting. But in fact, the star of The Reaping was already an avid knitter. But she did find a new favorite spot to buy knitting supplies: Knits by Nana on Capital Heights Avenue. Shooting wrapped up last November, but Swank continues to order yarn from the quaint little shop, which ships supplies to her in California. “She came in one Saturday with her bodyguard and was so delightful,” said owner Missy Waguespack. “She never buys anything too extravagant, nothing too pricey, which is very refreshing considering she’s so famous.” Don’t laugh at Swank’s hobby: other glamorous knitters include Julia Roberts and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Giving it a geaux

Former Brew-Bachers co-owner Dreux Decharry is trying to turn the Southdowns location that saw Dreamland BBQ and The Grill at Southdowns fold up shop in the past year into a success with Dreux’s Grill. The family-style restaurant opened last month, serving American and Creole dishes. When 225 interviewed him on the phone, Decharry was cooking gumbo during the whole interview, so you know the dedication is there.

Vivica Fox is in the house

Actress Vivica Fox finished shooting her scenes recently in Baton Rouge for Father of Lies, a low-budget movie featuring Clifton Powell and DMX. The film is set for release in January with Fox playing the wife of a church deacon. HK Pictures is producing the film. Fox and some of her cast mates joined the film’s producers for some fun at SoGo Live.

So hot right now

Rolling Stone has named 36-year-old LSU alum and novelist Will Clarke (see “You’re Worthy, bruh” in 225’s August issue) to its 20th Annual Hot List. RS calls the author of The Worthy and Lord Vishnu’s Love Handles its “Hot Pop Prophet” and says his novels “blend the improbable with the really f---ing weird.”

Calling Bingo!

After stellar sets at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival last summer and national tours with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, experimental lounge act The New Orleans Bingo! Show finally makes its debut in the capital city Nov. 25 at the Spanish Moon. Bingo! is an eclectic group of New Orleans and Baton Rouge-based musicians led by charismatic frontman Clint Maedgen of Liquidrone fame. myspace.com/bingoshow.

Real winners

A 25-year-old Denham Springs High grad named Brandon Brooks made the papers in his new home in Canada after he formed the first youth football team in 33 years in a crime-infested area of Regina, Saskatchewan. The North Central Blues, like the Mighty Ducks before them, have yet to win a game. But they’re having a blast trying. “In Louisiana, sports bring us together,” the first-time coach says. “I wanted to give these kids, who remind me of the kids I grew up with, something constructive and fun to do.”

Survivor Baton Rouge

Props to Glamour for recognizing 2002 LSU graduate and former Reveille columnist Anita Chang as one of its five Woman of the Year nominees. While serving as an editor for the Associated Press, Chang suffered traumatic brain injury and memory loss in a severe car accident. A year later, Chang is back editing at AP and being recognized as “The Survivor” by Glamour.

Local stuntman blowing up

Keen eyes may spy stuntman T. Ryan Mooney dodging bullets and mortar shells in Clint Eastwood’s new WWII action drama Flags of Our Fathers. The Baton Rouge High grad was one of a dozen stuntmen used during the film’s beach battle scenes. Mooney now lives in Los Angeles and has also performed stunts for Zoom and HBO’s Entourage.

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