Stars facing foreclosure

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"Stars -- they're just like us: They face foreclosure!" could become a regular feature in Us magazine.A cavalcade of the rich and famous is joining the Joe Six-Packs threatened with bank repossessions of their homes.Cheery TV sidekick Ed McMahon and former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield have become the latest celebrities ensnared in the worldwide credit crisis.McMahon and wife Pamela "understand that they are in the same situation as hundreds of thousands of other hardworking Americans, and their hearts go out to them," a spokesman said.From King of Pop Michael Jackson to Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, plenty of superstars recently racked up real estate debts. Some played "make a deal" and got reinstated; some got kicked out; some chose to walk away. Some, like McMahon, are still hoping for a happy ending.Here's a rundown on some famous folks in default on their mansions, merry-go-rounds, chateaus and yachts.Ed McMahonIt's hard not to feel sympathy for the man. He's elderly, he's disabled and he freely admits (to Larry King) that he didn't manage his affairs properly. The former celebrity pitchman, 85, hasn't worked in 18 months since breaking his neck. He is $644,000 in arrears to Countrywide on his Beverly Hills home, a six-bedroom mansion on the market for two years for almost $6 million. Maybe prospective buyers are scared off by the scrum of paparazzi camped out at the neighbor's house. Who's the neighbor? Britney Spears.Latrell SprewellThe former NBA guard went through two foreclosures this year. In January, the U.S. Marshals Service sold off his 70-foot yacht, Milwaukee's Best, for $856,000 after he stopped making the $10,322 monthly payments. In May, his home in a Milwaukee suburb was foreclosed on; he owed $320,284 on the house worth about $610,000. Sprewell, who once choked head coach P.J. Carlesimo during a Golden State Warriors practice, turned down a three-year, $21 million contract extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves for being insultingly low.Michael JacksonGetting behind on his mortgage may be the most normal thing Jackson has done in years. His sprawling Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County, complete with train, merry-go-round and Ferris wheel, was due to hit the auction block this spring. In a last-minute reprieve, a private investment company swooped in and bought the loan. Press reports said the company wants Jacko to pay it back by staging an Elvis-style comeback in Las Vegas.Jose CansecoA couple of ugly divorces cost the former American League MVP some of the millions he racked up during his baseball career. Canseco could be a pitchman for walk-away homeowners. "It didn't make financial sense for me to keep paying a mortgage on a home that was basically owned by someone else," he said on "Inside Edition" about his $2.5 million Encino, Calif., home. "I decided to just let it go."Aretha FranklinIn March, the Detroit Free Press reported that the singer owed back taxes on her $714,000 brick mansion overlooking the Detroit Golf Club and a $2 million condo in Bloomfield Township. That left both properties liable to forfeiture to the tax collector. After press calls about the debt, Franklin blamed an attorney's mistake and said she planned to immediately pay off the debts.Evander HolyfieldThe four-time heavyweight champ's 109-room estate in Fayette County, Ga., is scheduled for the gavel July 1 after he defaulted on a $10 million loan to Washington Mutual. That's just one of his money woes. Holyfield, 45, also owes more than half a million for landscaping, and he's being sued for back child support. Reportedly he wants to get back in the ring to bring in some quick dough.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)