If you ever wondered what it took to become a hero pilot, you’re about to find out.
Chesley B. Sullenberger, the man responsible for safely splash-landing a crippled US Airways plane in New York’s Hudson River two months ago, has just inked a deal to tell his life story.
The veteran pilot, whose flying expertise helped save the lives of 155 people aboard the doomed US Airways flight, has agreed to allow William Morrow to publish the first of two books about his boyhood, his military service and, of course, his “Miracle on the Hudson” experiences.
In a statement to the media, Sullenberger says he is thrilled to be given the opportunity to share his experiences with others. In addition, Sullenberger revealed that he plans to return to his day job as a pilot this summer.
OPRAH AND ELLEN COVER GIRLS
After weeks of publicly campaigning to appear on the front of Oprah Winfrey’s magazine, funny girl Ellen DeGeneres is about to have her cover girl dreams come true.
Yesterday Winfrey surprised the actress turned talk show host with a video telephone call inviting her to appear on an upcoming issue of O magazine. A shocked DeGeneres was rendered speechless for a bit, then later recovered and told Winfrey: “I can’t believe you’re serious about this. I’m freaking out right now.”
For the last nine years Winfrey has appeared solo on the cover of O magazine, but earlier this year shared the spot with first lady Michelle Obama. DeGeneres will make history as the first Hollywood star to appear on the cover of Winfrey’s magazine.
One person not happy with the news of DeGeneres’ good fortune is model Tyson Beckford. The model turned host of Bravo’s “Make Me a Supermodel,” says actors, musicians and other celebrities should not be allowed to grace magazine covers because it takes jobs away from models.
“You have to do a lot of tweaking and airbrushing to get the same from a celebrity that you would get from a model,” the 38-year-old former supermodel told reporters. “A lot of celebrities – I’m gonna tell you right now – they’re not 5’11”; they’re not a size 2 to fit into these designer dresses, but the designers want exposure so they’re willing to make the specific dress for that actor or actress to get them to look good on the cover.”
Beckford adds that he hopes celebrity magazine covers will soon be a thing of the past.
“I hope one day some designer will wake up and say, ‘You know what? I don’t want to use Gwyneth Paltrow. I want to use Adriana Lima, I want to use Gisele (Bundchen), I want to go back to the high fashion. I think slowly but surely you’ll see that start happening.”
In the meantime, Beyonce is on the cover of Vogue’s April issue, and Drew Barrymore is posing on the cover of this month’s W magazine.