Gossip should have no friends

[December 12th, 2007]

TONYA BAGS A BIG ONE: Is notorious local skating legend and boxer Tonya Harding about to get back into the (wedding) ring? According to friends of her fiancé, Harding, 37, will marry a 30-year-old lumberjack named “Bradford” from Yacolt, Wash. (pop. 1,000). Harding, whose first marriage in 1990 to Jeff Gillooly resulted in that infamous “wedding night” video, is said to have lost weight in anticipation of her nuptials. Those near the couple-to-be say it’s the real deal, despite the fact that one of Harding’s last live-in lovers, Darren Silver, ended up with a hubcap to the head in 2000. Harding’s agent, Linda Lewis, denies knowledge of the wedding, but Harding hinted at her desire to bag herself a catch in an interview in an Arkansas newspaper: “I would really love to get like a bull elk or a really big buck,” Harding, a bow hunter, told the Baxter Bulletin prior to a November boxing event in the Ozark Mountains. “Maybe someday I’ll have a family. That would be something I would look forward to.” And, new “wedding night” footage, too.

LINE DRAWING: We know gents who draw dirty pictures, but illustrator Jason Walton beats ’em all. The PDX-based artist, who has doodled for WW (see page 12 LINK), contributed 150 drawings to Nerve.com’s new sex manual Position of the Day: Expert Edition. He got the gig, which included sketching out positions like the Evel Knievel—it involves a motorcycle and cunnilingus —after replying to a N.Y. Craigslist ad. “After Position 140, you would be amazed how boring drawing sexual positions can be,” Walton confessed to WW . Check out his PG-rated work at waltonportfolio.com.

SKIVVY DELIVERY: Portland Center Stage ’s drive to collect underwear and toiletries for the homeless , inspired by its recent production of The Underpants , has come up with 949 underthings so far—most of which are women’s—and four boxes of personal products. Want to get in on the action? Deliver your (packaged) delicates to the PCS box office (128 NW 11th Ave.) by Sunday, Dec. 23.

CORRECTIONS: In last week’s performance listings, we noted that there was a live orchestra offstage in Blue Monkey ’s production of i]Cinderella.[/i] Our ears deceived us. There was a keyboard played onstage, but no other live instruments used in the production , according to music director Jeffrey Kauffman . Kauffman says he created a prerecorded soundtrack using several sound-sampling libraries, which accounts for the real-sounding nature of the music.>>Also, in Scoop last week we announced that Bruce Blanchard will play the lead in Artists Rep’s production of Rabbit Hole . He will not be. Although Mr. Blanchard told WW, “It looks like I’m going to playing the lead in the RABBIT HOLE at Artist Rep in a couple of months,” Artists Rep has in fact cast Duffy Epstein (Nixon’s Nixon ) in the role. WW regrets the errors.