Celebrity Chatter: Gibb Twin Felt Brother's Death

Bee Gees' Band Of Brothers 'Very Close'

The late Maurice Gibb's fraternal twin, Robin, apparently had a premonition of the illness that led to the death of his brother on Sunday.

The London Mirror reports that Robin said he suffered stomach cramps before he learned that his brother had been taken to the hospital with an intenstinal blockage.

"The morning that Maurice was taken ill I had stomach pains at exactly the same time as he fell ill," Robin Gibb said.

"It was a discomforting feeling that something wasn't right and I hadn't had any pains like that before," The Mirror reported.

Robin was the firstborn of the twins, and is 35 minutes older than Maurice.

Robin's manager Pete Bassett said that because the brothers had a relationship not only as siblings but as part of a musical trio, "their relationship is even closer than that of normal twins."

Maurice Gibb, 53, died Sunday at 1 a.m. at Miami's Mount Sinai Medical Center where he had been admitted four days earlier.

Barry, Maurice's wife, Yvonne and their two children, Adam, 26, and Samantha, 21, were bedside at the hospital, according to reports.

Maurice was married to British singer Lulu from 1969 to 1973. Upon hearing of his death, Lulu said, "I'm deeply shocked and upset."

Lula and her ex-husband sang together for the first time in 25 years on a British TV show last year.

Lulu, now 53, said that the two were very nervous about singing together. Lulu, whose real name is Marie MacDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, said the divorce was very bitter, but that the two had later reconciled.

Singer Michael Jackson reportedly visited Gibb in the hospital. Jackson had been working with the Bee Gees on a new album, according to reports.

Many believe that the death of Maurice Gibb will mean the end of the Bee Gees.

London DJ Paul Gambaccini said that Maurice was the high part of the three-part harmony.

" Therefore you can't take him away from the other two. I am afraid that this beautiful Bee Gee sound without him can never be produced again."

Oh, Say, Can You Sing It Right?

The Dixie Chicks will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVII Jan. 26 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, which will prompt me to get on my soapbox again about how the anthem is massacred by contemporary artists when sung in public.

With The Dixie Chicks performing their rendition of the anthem, there's sure to be an ill-fitting bluegrass solo by the Chicks' fiddle player Martie Maguire. There's one in every Chicks' song so why not insert it into the anthem?

"Anyone who tells you there's no pressure to sing the national anthem live to one of the biggest television audiences on the planet is not telling the truth," member Emily Robison said.

The pressure should be on maintaining the dignity of the song instead of making it sound like a Tennessee waltz.

Big Role Means Bigger Guy

Ray Liotta has taken off the 30 pounds he gained for his role in Joe Carnahan's latest movie, "Narc."

When I interviewed Liotta last week, I ask him a) why he decided to gain the weight since it wasn't a requirement for the role and b) what made him lose the weight so fast.

The answer to my first question was that he believed his character would carry the extra pounds because of how detective Oak is described.

"After his wife dies, Oak is living on Burger King and basically not taking care of himself. It was important that I look and feel like the character."

As far as taking the weight off so quickly, Liotta admitted that was purely due to "vanity."

Cruisin' To The Beach

Tom Cruise arrived in New Zealand this weekend to star work on his new movie "The Last Samurai," in which he plays an American military captain in the 1870s.

Cruise told an Australian newspaper that his two children will join him in New Zealand after they spend time in Sydney with Nicole Kidman.

Isabella, 9, and Connor, 7, were in Fiji for Christmas with their mother, according to the newspaper.

Cruise will live in a beachfront mansion during his four-month shoot there and looks forward to "climbing, hiking, and maybe a little surfing."

"When I'm with my children, I hope people will respect my privacy," he told the newspaper.

Mommy, Dearest

Jennifer Aniston is mending ways with her mother, Hello magazine reports.

The relationship became estranged after a television show aired some comments her mother had made about her. She hasn't spoken to her 62-year-old mother in seven years, the magazine reported.

But now that she's thinking of starting a family with husband Brad Pitt, the time has come to reconcile.

"It's just a matter of time," she said.

Aniston's father, John Aniston, stars on the soap opera "Days Of Our Lives." The couple divorced when Aniston was a child. Her godfather is the late Telly Savalas.

Celebrity Q&A

Q.: I heard Natalie Imbruglia got married. Say it isn't so. I'm just in love with her and was hoping it was going to be me!
--Scott G., San Diego

A.: Imbruglia isn't married yet, but is expected to marry rock band Silverchair's lead singer Daniel Johns.

Johns, 23, proposed to the singer-model just before Christmas, according to reports. She's 27.

They haven't yet set a wedding date, however.

Michelle Solomon's gossip column, Celebrity Chatter, appears each Monday. Got a question about a celebrity? E-mail us (please include your first name, city and state) and we'll find you the answer. Michelle Solomon@Celebrity Chatter. Personal replies cannot be sent.

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