Poison frontman Bret Michaels thought a burglar shot him in the back of the head when he suffered a brain hemorrhage last month that left him in intensive care for nearly two weeks.

The outspoken 47-year-old contestant on NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice” told People magazine that the subarachnoid hemorrhage “sounded like a handgun, like it literally popped.”

“It made my mind go almost blank,” he said. “My neck tensed up. I couldn’t move my head at all.”

Michaels said after he experienced the sensation, he began pacing his living room then asked his girlfriend, Kristi Gibson, to take him to the emergency room.

“I knew I was slurring my words, and I was like ‘OK, this isn’t a headache. There’s something really bad happening,’” he said.
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Poison frontman Bret Michaels has been released from a Phoenix hospital and is expected to make a full recovery after suffering a brain hemorrhage last month.

The lead doctor treating Michaels said Tuesday that he recommends Michaels wait at least four to six weeks before resuming normal activity.

Dr. Joseph Zabramski of the Barrow Neurological Institute wouldn’t say when Michaels was released or whether he was sent home or to a rehabilitation facility. Zabramski says the 47-year-old contestant on “The Celebrity Apprentice” is receiving therapy.

Two tests showed that Michaels did not suffer an aneurysm, so doctors are unsure what caused the bleeding.

Bret Michaels is recovering from his emergency appendectomy at a private care facility for diabetics.

A statement posted on the 47-year-old rocker’s Web site says Monday’s surgery went well. It says doctors are optimistic that Michaels, the former frontman for ’80s hair band Poison, will make a full recovery.

The statement says “the fact that he was exhausted due to his rigorous schedule prior to the surgery and coupled with the fact that he has diabetes, the surgery has taken its toll.”

The location of the facility specializing in the rehabilitation of diabetic patients wasn’t disclosed.

Michaels had been scheduled to perform in San Antonio on Sunday night. He had been suffering severe stomach pains all day and was urged to seek medical treatment.

More: ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ begins with a first firing

A new season of Celebrity Apprentice means it’s time for Donald Trump to break out the firing stick and get rid of someone.

For those who saw the show, this was an agonizing decision for everyone involved, even Trump, who more often than not has no problem spotting a fire-ee and pulling the trigger.

This time around, Carol Leifer got the first pink slip:

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Video: Watch Liefer get fired, see her exit interview

Writer-comedian Carol Leifer is the first person to go as NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” starts a new season.

Leifer called her fellow female teammates “dumb” on Sunday’s premiere. She was deemed the weak link in their initial project: to make more money from a startup diner than their rival team of seven men.

Rock-star wife Sharon Osbourne, singer Cyndi Lauper and actress Holly Robinson Peete are among the women. Read the full story

When I first read that comedian and writer Carol Leifer had written a memoir, I remember thinking "Yes! A book about a celebrity whose life story and body of work actually justify text longer than ‘And then I did something dumb, and then I was in a tabloid, and then I did something else dumb, and then I wrote this book.’ "

Leifer, after all, has one heck of a résumé — stand-up, writer for Seinfeld, Saturday Night Live and The Larry Sanders Show, frequent late night talk show guest and, coming soon, a stint as a would-be acolyte of The Donald on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice.

And then there’s her personal life, which, as you know, is where most stand-ups get their best stuff — divorced and having dated men for most of her life, she met and fell for a woman and renewed her commitment to Judaism with a Bat Mitzvah in her 40s, adopted a son with her partner, Lori, in her 50s, and became a vegan.

The funny/sad/moving/beautifully resonate result is When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win, which Leifer will talk about over cocktails and Greek munchies at an event Monday at Ouzo Blue in PGA Commons, sponsored by the Jewish Community Centers of the Palm Beaches.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY’-uh-vich) will be among 14 contestants on the new season of “The Celebrity Apprentice.”

NBC says others competing for their favorite charities include baseball great Darryl Strawberry, singer-actress Cyndi Lauper, TV personality Sharon Osbourne and Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson. Blagojevich is charged with scheming to auction off President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat and with other offenses.

He was removed from office but has denied any wrongdoing. Last spring, he was barred from traveling to Costa Rica to compete in another reality show. His wife, Patti, took his place.

“The Celebrity Apprentice,” hosted by Donald Trump, returns March 14 on NBC.

I’m not sure how “Monday Night Raw,” USA’s wrestling extravaganza, could get any bigger – after all, it’s about seven-foot-tall men who toss around other seven-foot-tall men wearing shorts and boots. But it’s happening – Donald Trump, who never does anything small (casinos, hair, American flags flying over Mar-A-Lago), is the new owner. And of course, he’s promising BIG.

“The Monday Night RAW franchise has been one of the top cable franchises since its launch 17 years ago,” The Donald said in a statement. “I’m going to do things on the show that have never been done or seen before.  As my first act as owner, I am doing something unprecedented.  I am giving back to the people who have been loyal all these years. For the first time in more than 838 episodes of RAW, next week’s show will be live and commercial free.”

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Comedian Joan Rivers was hired and poker champ Annie Duke was fired on the final faceoff of “Celebrity Apprentice.”

Rivers beat out Duke on Sunday’s finale by planning a better fundraising gala – and, maybe, by launching better zingers at her rival.

Rivers won $250,000 for her chosen charity (God’s Love We Deliver, which brings meals to the seriously ill who are homebound). She also won sweet revenge against her bitter adversary, with whom she swapped many less-than-charitable words as the season wore on.

NBC’s over-padded three-hour broadcast eventually led to Duke being summoned to the decisive boardroom session, aired live from Manhattan’s Museum of Natural History. There, she heard the dreaded verdict from series host Donald Trump: “You’re fired.”

But before that, as she and Rivers sat across the boardroom table from Trump, the fur continued to fly.

“You are a two-faced person,” Rivers railed at Duke. “You have said I’m a cancer. You said you hoped I would die. You never said it to my face!”

“For six boardrooms,” said Duke, holding tight to her composure, “I sat here and acted professional.”

“Professional-ly,” Rivers corrected her.

“And there’s only so much a girl can take,” Duke continued.

“You’re not a girl anymore, darling,” Rivers shot back. “You’re a woman.”

Rivers and Duke were the last of 16 celebrities who started the season vying for the title of Celebrity Apprentice.

In its eighth season, “Celebrity Apprentice” has displayed remarkable stamina as a reality-show infomercial whose mission, in the form of a contest, is to plug brand names. Last week’s challenge called for the celebrity contestants to come up with the winning jingle to promote a certain brand of tuna. Sunday’s finale was built around a photography brand piggybacked onto product placement for a popular theater production.

“Celebrity Apprentice” is also dedicated to breathing new life into the brands of the celebrity participants themselves, who, as this season began, included Olympic figure skating gold medalist Scott Hamilton, comedian Andrew Dice Clay, former “Monster Garage” host Jesse James and TV personality Khloe Kardashian.

For the final task, dueling project managers Rivers and Duke were assigned to create a pre-theater party and silent auction, sponsored by Kodak, for patrons attending Cirque du Soleil’s “Wintuk.”

Project teams were composed of previously fired contestants including former football great Herschel Walker, Playboy pinup Brande Roderick, country music performer Clint Black, former NBA basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman, comedian Tom Green and TV host Melissa Rivers, reunited with her mom, Joan.

Difficulties (and enmity between the teams) spiked when Rivers tangled with the design firm that had been hired to assist both teams. The company pulled out on Rivers’ team – and Duke’s team, too.

“This woman needs to die,” Duke seethed as she tried to fix a problem she blamed on Rivers.

But now that the game is over, can the rift between them heal? In the show’s final seconds, Rivers rose to her feet and gave Duke, still seated beside her, a hug.

Last night’s episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” was a bit boring but it ended with a double bang. The task was to make a 60 second viral video for all Small and Mighty Laundry Detergent. The teams were mixed up and the new teams were:

Kotu: Hershel Walker, Clint Black, Joan Rivers, Natalie Gulbis and Khloe Kardashian
Athena: Melissa Rivers, Jesse James, Tionne Watkins, Annie Duke and Brande Roderick

Celebrity Apprentice contestants

Melissa Rivers was selected as the project leader of Athena since she has experience producing and directing. Clint Black was project leader for Kotu since he had directed numerous music videos.

In short, Melisa Rivers kicked butt as project leader. Everyone was happy and they had a pretty funny video. They had little people (small and mighty) dress up as agents for all detergent and scrub down Jesse James.

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