SPOTLIGHT
Larry Birkhead
LIFE AFTER ANNA NICOLE
AND FOR THE
LOVE OF DANNIELYNN
by bill biss
photography by Larry Birkhead
It’s been over three years since celebrity model, television reality star and blonde bombshell Anna Nicole Smith tragically died of a drug over-
dose at 39 years old. Some would say she died of a broken heart after the passing of her only son Daniel. The tumultuous press that followed and the work of those in the medical field determined that friend and lover Larry Birkhead was the father of her second child Dannielynn—born shortly before Anna’s death. Losing a loved one for anybody is one of the most difficult things to experience. Larry Birkhead knows this first hand but is now ready to let a bit of his physical attachment to Anna go. On June 26, Birkhead, along with Julien’s Auctions, is allowing Anna’s countless fans across the globe a chance to own a keepsake or possession of her’s at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Speak- ing with Larry Birkhead during his press junket in New York, The Rage Monthly found him strong in remembering the important things—and also reveling in the joy of being a father to Dannielynn.
The Rage Monthly: I read your quote, “I realize you don’t have to have something in your hands for it to be a memory.” This is a self-realization on your part that saving money for Dannielynn’s future is really what counts—while at the same time helping underprivileged children through Anna and Daniel’s foundation. I think that’s really super.
Larry Birkhead: Thank you. A lot of people don’t get it right. They think it’s just a fire
sale of Anna Nicole memories. It’s not really that. That’s not what it is. It’s basically a long, thought-out process and a year in the planning. I went to an auction at Julien’s and I ended up buying some things of Anna’s for Dannielynn that were up for sale that I will keep—which is ironic because we’re getting rid of some things but we don’t have to keep everything. I’ll continue to collect Anna Nicole’s stuff for Dannielynn. I’ll go on eBay sometimes and I’ll buy little things. She was the spokesperson for Con-Air…the box with the curlers in it where she’s on the box, little things like that that tell some kind of story, I will keep. Some things…you don’t know if they are going to last that long or if [Dannielynn] is
going to be the same size as her mom. Like a 1993 Mercedes in the year 2022 or when- ever she’s able to drive, you don’t know how well that’s gonna run or if we’ll be driving spaceships (laughter)! We had ten storage bins to go through. Just trying to simplify
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RAGE monthly | JUNE 2010
things…it was a little bit of a messy estate. She had a house in the Bahamas, she had a boat in the Bahamas, my daughter is 3 years old and she doesn’t need to ride around on a 36-foot yacht. This [auction] is the first step of trying to move in the right direction so the money is put up for Dannielynn wisely and for charity as well. We’re just trying to do some good. We’ve actually done some great things with the foundation. We were able to build a home for Habitat for Humanity in my home state of Kentucky, sponsored under Anna’s and Daniel’s name.
Rage: As time passes, I sincerely hope you remember the happiest of times. Will you share one instance of when she had you completely doubled over with laughter?
LB: There were a lot of times. She was really, really funny. She had a gnarly sense of
humor. One time she got trapped in the Trim-Spa bus at the time she was spokesperson and we couldn’t get out. She had to go to the restroom and we were pulled over at a truck stop. Basically, (laughter) basically she had to get creative. I’ll just say that. She borrowed Sugar Pie and Marilyn’s little portable on-the-road pottie to go to the bath- room! That made me laugh! Little things like…she would want to act like a little baby sometimes and fix her hair like a little girl. She could make you laugh most all the time,
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