Behind the scenes at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards in L.A., there was as much buzz about romance as about who won what. Getting lots of attention was Oscar winner Morgan Freeman, happily escorting his live-in manager and producer Lori McCreary, who reportedly is keeping house with the actor at his Malibu digs.
Freeman's domestic life hit the spotlight after a 2008 car crash. He was a passenger in a car driven by a woman his estranged wife Myrna later claimed had been her best friend -- until Myrna discovered she was having an affair with Freeman.
Since then, news has surfaced about an alleged romantic relationship with his step-granddaughter, E'Dena Hines. The 27-year-old -- the granddaughter of Freeman's first wife, Jeannette -- was raised by the actor and Myrna!
Sound complicated? ''It is,'' a longtime Freeman associate told me Monday. ''Morgan is terrific, but when it comes to his personal relationships and marriages, it's like trying to follow a maze. . . . I gave up trying to figure it out years ago!''
• Also at the Globes, it appeared a new romance was budding with Chicago's own Jeremy Piven and ''Mad Men'' star January Jones.
• While Jennifer Aniston and fellow Globes presenter Gerard Butler appeared very cozy backstage and at an after-party, folks close to both stars insist they truly are just good friends enjoying a casual, fun relationship.
THE WRITE STUFF: Chicago Dramatists resident playwright Keith Huff -- who penned ''A Steady Rain,'' which starred Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman on Broadway last fall -- has also begun work as a staff writer for the fourth season of the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe-winning TV drama ''Mad Men.''
TRIBUTE TIME: Services have been set for groundbreaking African-American car dealer and civic leader Al Johnson. Visitation for Mr. Johnson will be from noon to 7 p.m. today at Cage Memorial Chapel, 7651 S. Jeffrey. Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at St. James Episcopal Cathedral, 65 E. Huron, with the sermon delivered by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
STAGE SET: The people of Strawdog Theatre Ensemble are so confident of Chicago's acting and music talent -- they've created a fund-raiser for the theater solely based on the phone book! ''Strawdog and Friends Present: The Phone Book,'' featuring Michael Stahl-David, Mike Nussbaum, Rick Kogan, Will Clinger, David Pasquesi and T.J. Jagodowski, takes place Feb. 1 at the theater, 3829 N. Broadway.
SEEN ON THE SCENE: Philip Seymour Hoffman -- here busily directing the upcoming ''The Long Red Road'' at the Goodman -- was spied sipping O'Doul's and chowing down on ribs and chicken with pals at Dick's Last Resort on the Chicago River. . . . The Bulls' Derrick Rose slipped into Market with friends -- happily checking the TV screens for other NBA games. . . .
Ex-Bear Rex Grossman had heads turning when he showed at Rockit Bar & Grill on Hubbard. . . . Hydrate in Boys Town was the nightspot of choice for recent visits by ''America's Next Top Model'' (season 8) winner Jaslene Gonzalez and Bobby Trendy -- whose 15 minutes of fame came from his gig on the late Anna Nicole Smith's reality show. . . . R.J. and Jerrod Melman, owners of Hub 51, are just back from Golden Globes weekend in L.A. and checking on their La Grande Orange eatery in Santa Monica -- where recent star sightings have included Chris Rock, Owen Wilson, Sissy Spacek, her daughter and actress Schuyler Fisk, Michael Keaton and Sean Penn.
LAST WISHES? Friends of Dennis Hopper are outraged the actor -- said to be close to death as he battles terminal pancreatic cancer -- has filed for divorce from his wife, Victoria. At 14 years, the couple's union is the longest of Hopper's five marriages.
''Dennis can't know what he's doing,'' a longtime Hopper friend said Tuesday. 'I think all the drugs he's been taking have seriously impaired his judgment,'' added the pal, deeply concerned Victoria and the couple's 6-year-old daughter, Galen, will be disinherited.
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