Anna Nicole charity; Anna Nicole’s strange life and death
February 9, 2008 by ElfNinosMom
Numerous sources are reporting that Howard K. Stern, the lawyer/companion of the late Anna Nicole Smith, has created a charity in her memory. The charity was announced today, on the first anniversary of the late model/reality show star’s death.
The “Anna Nicole and Daniel Wayne Smith Charitable Foundation” also recognizes her son, who died tragically at the age of 20 due to a drug overdose, just five months before Anna Nicole herself also died of a drug overdose at the age of 39.
Stern says of the charity “Hopefully it will grow, help more people each year, and eventually be headed by her daughter Dannielynn. All donations through February 2008 will benefit a charity in the Bahamas for underprivileged and at risk youths that Anna Nicole wanted to help.”
Stern says the charity will also benefit charitable causes that Anna Nicole supported during her life, including children, the elderly, and the treatment and cure of AIDS.
Anna Nicole Smith is, of course, a former stripper, Playboy Playmate of the Year and Guess Jeans model. She first married young, and had one child, Daniel, but the marriage didn’t last. She later married Howard Marshall, a billionaire in his late 80s who met her at the strip club, and later fought for a claim to his estate which was heard all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. That case is still ongoing.
Eventually Anna Nicole put on a great deal of weight, and both an overweight Anna Nicole and her shy son Daniel, along with Stern, were featured in a reality TV series, “The Anna Nicole Show”. When that show ended Anna Nicole lost a great deal of weight, and attempted to reclaim her career as a model and actress, with some success. She became the Slimfast spokeswoman, known for the line, “Slimfast, baby!” Following her death it came to light that she had used a number of methods, including competitors’ products and HGH (human growth hormone), to lose the weight.
When Anna Nicole passed away at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, there were allegations of malfeasance on the part of pretty much everyone involved. It was determined that Anna Nicole had died of a drug overdose, and that there was no foul play.
In the meantime, a court battle ensued between Stern and Anna Nicole’s mother, Virgie Arthur, over Anna Nicole’s remains. Arthur wanted Anna Nicole to be buried in her native Texas, while Stern insisted that Anna Nicole wanted to be buried next to her son in the Bahamas. The prolonged hearings were televised, and are best known for Judge Larry Seidlin allowing the proceedings to take on a circus-like atmosphere, concluding with his tearful order that Anna Nicole be buried in the Bahamas next to her son. Seidlin retired from the bench shortly thereafter, allegedly to develop a television court show a’la Judge Judy or The People’s Court. Arthur fought Seidlin’s decision both in the US and the Bahamas, but was unsuccessful on both fronts. After being kept refrigerated at the Coroner’s Office so long that her body began to deteriorate, Anna Nicole was laid to rest in the Bahamas, next to her son Daniel.
Anna Nicole’s son Daniel, who still lived in California, died just three days after Anna Nicole gave birth to a daughter, Dannielynn, in the Bahamas. He died very unexpectedly in his mother’s hospital room, while visiting his mother and newborn sister. Accusations were made that his death was due to foul play, and he had prescription drugs in his system which were not prescribed for him and are illegal to even possess in the Bahamas; thus the inquest. Testimony has recently been introduced, which suggests that his overdose on Methadone could not have been accidental due to the level of the drug in his body.
A great deal of controversy ensued following Daniel’s death, because he was not buried within a reasonable period of time. While Daniel’s body was still at the Coroner’s office, long after he should have been buried, Anna Nicole had a “commitment ceremony” with Stern, allegedly to establish him legally as the father of Dannielynn. Daniel was not buried until over a month after his death, and the behavior of Smith and Stern increased concerns in some circles that he had succumbed to foul play.
Anna Nicole had established residency in the Bahamas while pregnant, allegedly because the Bahamas was far less likely to allow Dannielynn’s biological father to successfully claim paternity or custody. The Bahamas Immigration Minister, Shane Gibson, resigned among charges that he had given Anna Nicole preferential treatment in residency; a photo was released showing him in what appeared to be an intimate embrace with Anna Nicole. Her million-dollar-plus home in the Bahamas was provided to her by another former lover, G. Ben Thompson, and was subject to legal wrangling over ownership. Thompson claims Anna Nicole was to assume a mortgage on the property, while Anna Nicole claimed it was a gift.
A fierce paternity battle raged over Dannielynn, with Stern and former boyfriend Larry Birkhead formally claiming paternity, and numerous others informally making that claim. Eventually DNA determined that Birkhead, a photographer who had filed the paternity action, is Dannielynn’s biological father. Birkhead was granted custody, and brought the infant back to the United States, where he regularly involves her in photo opportunities for which he has been harshly criticized.
Birkhead is currently involved in litigation against his former attorney, Debra Opri, who he claims overcharged him. Opri and Birkhead parted ways before the paternity determination, allegedly due to her commandeering almost a million dollars in media fees which were to be paid to Birkhead; she has admitted she has the money in a trust account, but she refuses to give it to Birkhead due to her 
claim of unpaid invoices. Birkhead, on the other hand, claims that Opri agreed to represent him pro bono, due to the publicity it would gain her, and that her invoice included many items which no attorney would reasonably expect a client to pay. A billing record leaked to the press showed that Birkhead had been charged for such items as lobster dinners and dry cleaning for his attorney’s husband. A complaint has been made to the California Bar Association against Opri. A feud between Birkhead and Anna Nicole’s mother Virgie Arthur has continued.
Arthur is currently fighting a court battle against news outlets that aired an interview in which an angry Anna Nicole accused her mother of abuse, and called her “Mommy Dearest”. That interview followed a media plea from Arthur for Anna Nicole to get away from Stern, accusing him of Daniel’s death.
Stern has also been involved in controversy, most recently when he sued Rita Cosby, the author of a book (”Blonde Ambition”) about the death of Anna Nicole, for libel because she claimed that Stern and Birkhead were lovers, and suggested that he was somehow involved in the deaths of both Anna Nicole and her son Daniel. He is seeking $60 million in damages, and the case has been fast-tracked because Cosby was recorded trying to influence witnesses.
The manner of Daniel Smith’s death is subject to an inquest in the Bahamas, which is still ongoing; a great deal of controversy has raged among the public regarding whether his death was accidental or intentional. The DEA is still investigating the cause of Anna Nicole’s death, due to her medications being prescribed in others’ names, and the sheer volume of medication she had been prescribed.
[...] Original post by Adventures In Frickintardistan [...]
Daniel didnt have any illegal drugs in his body, tard.
Sure he did, tard. Methadone is completely illegal in the Bahamas. You cannot possess it even with a prescription there. Since he died within their jurisdiction, it is irrelevant whether it is legal in the US.
However, even if he had died in the US, he didn’t have a prescription for Methadone, so it would be illegal for him to possess it or use it here as well.
Ergo, Daniel Smith did indeed have illegal drugs in his body.
Of course, I already said that, “he had prescription drugs in his system which were not prescribed for him and are illegal to even possess in the Bahamas”.
The problem therefore seems to be that you are unable to read for comprehension, O Mighty Tardness.
[...] elfninosmom wrote an interesting post today on Anna Nicole charity; Anna Nicole’s strange life and deathHere’s a quick excerptNumerous sources are reporting that Howard K. Stern, the lawyer/companion of the late Anna Nicole Smith, has created a charity in her memory. The charity was announced today, on the first anniversary of the late model/reality show … [...]
[...] You can read more about the strange life and death of Anna Nicole Smith here. [...]