Columnist Kate Maddox: Survivor Hawk truckin' to Vegas

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 259-2309 or [email protected].

"Survivior I's" favorite Wisconsin girl is looking to make a change. Susan Hawk, the loud-mouthed trucker who socked it to castmate Kelly Wiglesworth on the show's finale, is house-hunting in Las Vegas.

This weekend realtors scouting on Hawk's behalf checked out cushy pads in the $300,000-$400,000 range. Things must be going well for the 39-year-old. She recently told a Milwaukee newspaper that she'd taped a sitcom pilot in L.A. in January.

Rumor has it the "Wisconsin-themed" network show was picked up and Hawk will have a recurring role. (Geez, that's swell, 'cuz I was really starting to miss that perky Wisconsin accent, doncha know.) Hawk's also done stints on a TNN trucking show, and she nabbed an exclusive contract with TV Guide to cover the second season of "Survivor."

With all the showbiz stuff, it makes sense that Hawk would move out here. She reportedly fell in love with our friendly city a couple of weeks ago while attending the World of Concrete convention. Hawk was a "celebrity" guest at the four-day gathering of construction workers. Well, who else are they going to get to be the poster girl of the concrete industry?

The competition to be the next "Scintas" is getting fierce at the Las Vegas Hilton. Richard Langlois, vice president of marketing at the hotel, says acts are lining up to move into the coveted 325-seat Nightclub space.

The Nightclub is one of just a handful of smaller showrooms in town, perfect for either a four-wall lease deal or an intimate production. Bob Anderson moves in for three weeks, on his way to a gig in Atlantic City, and the Fab Four are scheduled for May, but other than that the Hilton is still looking. Langlois says the Hilton is hoping to sign an act to a six-month or one-year contract before June of this year.

Langlois also threw in his two cents about the Rita Rudner gossip. Rudner was reportedly in talks to say goodbye to re-upping her deal with MGM MIRAGE and hello to the Hilton's big room, but Langlois wondered if most of that was just talk to get the MGM MIRAGE's president of entertainment, Richard Sturm, to quit stalling. Apparently, Rudner wasn't all that interested in a Hilton deal to begin with, but craftily played hard to get and landed a deal at New York-New York.

Meanwhile over at the Rio ... "The Scintas" are expected to open in the Copacabana Theatre by mid-April, just a couple of weeks after closing at the Hilton. A press conference to officially announce the Rio deal and details is scheduled for next week.

V Bar is hoping to capitalize on "Ocean's 11" celebrity power for its long-awaited (read: oft-postponed) grand-opening party.

The rumor du jour has George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon cutting the ribbon in two weeks at a star-packed hipster fest. (At this point, penciling V Bar's opening fete in my date book has become a weekly ritual. I'll believe this one when I see it.)

The Vegas-themed bash will celebrate both the film's cast and the bar's success as the see-and-be-seen place to drink Cosmos in town.

Even though Mike Tyson is no longer participating, "Ocean's 11" is still planning to stage a big boxing scene at the MGM's Grand Garden Arena, according to producer Jerry Weintraub. Weintraub told syndicated gossip Cindy Adams that April 6 and 7 will be devoted to filming a phony Lennox Lewis heavyweight championship bout.

archive