Jennifer Garner's Heartfelt Ben Affleck Reveal, Nicolas Cage's Transformation, Keith Richards' Family Milestone & More
Plus a knighthood, a near-emergency & a blast from the past.
Hollywood is serving up confessions, comebacks, and curveballs.
This week, Jennifer Garner reveals how her divorce from Ben Affleck stalled her career, Nicolas Cage officially ditches Coppola, and Danny Bonaduce shares a hilarious story about a girl-shy Michael Jackson. Plus, Ted Danson admits he never saw himself as a sex symbol, Idris Elba receives a knighthood, Clive Davis battles health woes, and Keith Richards becomes a great-grandfather at 82.
This is HOLLYWOOD 411 by KEEPING TABS – let’s get into it.
JENNIFER SAYS DIVORCE DERAILED HER CAREER
ACTRESS JENNIFER GARNER says she didn’t work for years after her divorce from BEN AFFLECK, the dad of her three kids, because it caused such an “upheaval” in her life. The pair worked together on 2003’s Daredevil, wed in 2005 after he dumped galpal JENNIFER LOPEZ, and split in 2015. He went on to wed J.Lo from 2022 to 2025 and Garner’s been involved with tech CEO JOHN MILLER. But Jen and Ben have remained pals raising their kids. Despite the hurt and problems, she’s admitted no regrets about Batman Ben.
“I married him. And I would go back and remake that decision,” she confessed during their divorce. “I ran down the beach to him, and I would again. You can’t have these three babies and so much of what we had. He’s the love of my life.”
Despite their divorce and romances with others, she talks about their unbreakable link. “He’s still the only person who really knows the truth about things,” she says. “And I’m still the only person that knows some of his truths.” Ben has also publicly admitted that he and Jen would be “connected” forever.
NIC CAGE IS NOW... NIC CAGE
Ghost Rider actor NICOLAS CAGE has changed his name to Nicolas Cage. Confused? Well, the Oscar winner’s real moniker was NICOLAS KIM COPPOLA — yes, that’s right, his uncle is famed Godfather director FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA. (His cousins include Francis’ filmmaker-daughter, SOFIA COPPOLA, and actor JASON SCHWARTZMAN.) Nic used
“Cage” as his stage name because he didn’t want to be seen as the “clown cousin” of his famous Tinseltown kin, but last year, he changed his legal name from “Coppola” to “Cage.” “I’m Nic Cage in life and I’m Nic Cage on camera,” says the 62-year-old National Treasure star.
“‘Tis better to be the patriarch of my own little family than the clown cousin on the margins of someone else’s, so I decided I’m going to bring it on and be Cage.”
GIRLS WEREN'T A THRILLER FOR MIKE
Partridge Family kid DANNY BONADUCE, who starred on the ‘70s musical sitcom, recalls the late MICHAEL JACKSON was girl-shy when they were youngsters attending the studio school at Columbia Pictures. “He was a pretty big star at that point. Not what he would become, but he’s a pretty big star,” recalls Danny, 66. “One day he’s walking to the office, and I was walking probably out of the office because I was in trouble for something. And he’s walking by, and I look at him, I said, ‘You know, Michael, I’ve known you forever. How come you never speak?’”
Jackson replied, “‘Because I’m in constant remembrance of God.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s cool, but what about chicks?’” Danny says after hearing the question, MJ was “boom. Gone. Just gone like a ninja.”
TED DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS SEXY
Tall and handsome TED DANSON played ladies’ man/bartender Sam Malone on the hit sitcom Cheers - but he insists he was shocked to learn gals saw him as a sex symbol.
Ted, now 78, confesses he never thought he was “a hottie,” especially during his first few seasons of the show’s 11-year run. “I was the guy who literally ... the woman would be standing opposite me naked and I’d be going ‘What?’ I’d ... be like, ‘You mean me?’” He admits that “it took me until the second year of Cheers when I decided, ‘Keep your mouth shut, Ted.’” He believed the only reason that women told him “you’re so sexy and so funny” was the show hired “very sexy-looking women to look at Sam Malone and go, ‘Wow, he’s sexy.’”
KNIGHTHOOD, HEALTH WOES ... AND MORE!
English actor IDRIS ELBA, who many believe is the front-runner to play James Bond in the next 007 flick, is now Sir Idris, after KING CHARLES knighted the 53-year-old star for his outstanding services to young people through his charity, Elba Hope Foundation. At age 18, Idris got a big boost toward his career by then Prince Charles when he received a grant from the Prince’s Trust to attend the National Youth Music Theatre.
Music mogul CLIVE DAVIS, 94, is recovering at home following a hospital stay in the Big Apple due to an upper respiratory infection. A former kingpin with Columbia Records and Sony Music Entertainment, Clive is famed for working with WHITNEY HOUSTON, JANIS JOPLIN, BARRY MANILOW and BILLY JOEL.
Better Call Saul actor RUSSELL ANDREWS, 64, is in a battle for his life with the neurological disorder ALS, but he won’t be alone. His actress-fiancée, ERICA TAZEL, promises to be by his side as his caregiver, saying: “I still want to be your wife.” Experts say most ALS patients live from three to five years following diagnosis, but some survive for decades. Good luck, Russell.
Congrats to Rolling Stones guitarist KEITH RICHARDS. He’s a great-granddad for the first time at age 82 after his granddaughter, model ELLA RICHARDS, welcomed her first child, a baby girl named LUNA.