Reality show star Anna Nicole Smith, who suffered a shocking tragedy last week with the death of her 20-year-old son, might need some new handlers. Reps for the 38-year-old Smith and her photo agent, Getty Images, have received more than $600,000 for the rights to snapshots of her late son, Daniel. The lad posed with his mother and his new sister in a Bahamian maternity ward the night before he was found slumped dead in a chair Sept. 10. In Touch magazine paid as much as $400,000 for the print exclusive on photos, and the Paramount-produced television shows "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider" forked over an estimated $250,000 for the TV exclusive. In Touch won the rights, I hear, after topping People’s bid of $350,000. A spokeswoman for In Touch told me, "There is an incredible amount of emotion attached to this story and the photos, and our story will be a tribute to Daniel’s life as a well as a celebration of it." I’m told that Anna Nicole has vague plans to use a portion of the money for a Daniel Smith memorial, and it wasn’t clear yesterday what percentage of the proceeds Getty is taking as a commission. But word is that freelance photographer Larry Birkhead — who claims to be the father of the newborn, reportedly named Hannah — also substantially fattened his bank account by cooperating with "E.T." Birkhead, who until now has refused to comment on the death of Daniel Smith (and didn’t respond to Lowdown’s E-mail yesterday), sat down for a two-part interview with correspondent Victoria Recaño for broadcast last night and tonight.
Lloyd Grove
If true, this is just sick.
