As I read about the sad death of Bernie Mac over the weekend, I took note that the "King of Comedy" and his wife Rhonda maintained a healthy marriage for 30 years. That's admirable under any circumstances, but the fact that they stayed together despite the pressures and pleasures of Bernie's fame is doubly impressive.
While many of us gnaw on any gossip we can find about Hollywood marriages that have hit snags or deteriorated, some celebrities continue to stay happily married and raise seemingly stable families. Today -- as many send their sympathies to Bernie's grieving wife Rhonda -- we at Strollerderby salute six more of the most rock-solid famous couples ever.
1. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward: They've been married for 50 years, they have three daughters together and they've co-starred in plays and films multiple times. Theirs' might be the quintessential rock-solid Hollywood marriage and one that, sadly, we may be hearing more about in the near future. Newman, who suffers from cancer, reportedly has just weeks to live. Here's hoping he stays by his wife's side as long as he can.
2. Billy and Janice Crystal: The "When Harry Met Sally..." star has claimed that Janice, his wife of 38 years, is the only woman he's ever dated. Whether or not that's true, it's clear that he was with her before he got "Soap," "Saturday Night Live" or "City Slickers" and he's still with her today. They have two daughters together.
3. Denzel and Pauletta Washington: How easy would it be for Denzel to leave his wife for, oh, pretty much any woman on the planet who would happily hang on his arm? But he hasn't. He and wife Pauletta wed in 1983, are still married and have raised four children together. The Washingtons have got game, not to mention class.
4. Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara: Together, they were the comedy team of Stiller and Meara in the 1950s. But Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara later found fame on their own, in movies, on stage and, most recently, on TV shows like "Seinfeld" and "Sex and the City." Through it all, they have been husband and wife for 54 years and boast two children who also found success in Hollywood: Amy Stiller and some guy named Ben Stiller.
5. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick: Next month the star of "Footloose" and the star of "The Closer" will celebrate 20 years of marriage. Somehow they have nurtured busy careers while also nurturing two grown children. And I do mean busy: Sedgwick currently spends half of the year in L.A. filming "The Closer" and, as we all know, Bacon has starred in a movie with almost every working actor in the business.
6. Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw: The director of "E.T." got a costly divorce from Amy Irving before he finally settled down with Capshaw. But once they tied the knot, it stayed tied. The couple has been married for almost 17 years and has five kids together, plus two more, one from each of their respective previous marriages. The second time at the altar seems to have been the charm for both.
