Trace Atkins Tennessee Home Totally Destroyed by Fire – Wife and Kids are Fine

Legendary country music star Trace Atkins lost his home to fire on Saturday but his wife and children are reported to be okay.

Atkins, who was traveling on business, was not at the home but his two children and housekeeper were.

His wife Rhonda was out running errands and was only ten minutes away when the fire started in the garage of the 5,000 square foot Brentwood Tennessee home.

Trace and his wife had lived in the home for more than ten years.

A babysitter was able to get the children and family pets out of the house before calling the fire department.

Rhonda told a local reporter,

"I'm just numb," the singer's wife of 14 years told The Tennessean. "I'm sad because we lost irreplaceable things like all Trace's awards and our family photos. But you can replace things, not people. I'm just glad that my children are safe."

In addition to his country music career, Atkins has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 2003, and has appeared on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice and several episodes of “King of the Hill”.

He is also the author of “A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Freethinking Roughneck”. His book was published in 2007 and showed his strong political and social views.

One interesting fact about the singer is his pinkie finger on his left hand is permanently crooked to fit around the neck of a guitar. Many years ago Trace cut off the finger in a work accident and he asked the doctors to reattach it in a different position to fit his guitar.

Trace is currently filming the movie “The First Ride of Wyatt Earp” starring alongside Val Kilmer. The film is due in theaters sometime next year.

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Video - Actor George Takei Takes on Tennessee’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

As a child I used to watch Star Trek, and Mr. Sulu was one of my heroes.

Who would have thought that 30 years later George Takei would be a vigorous gay rights activist, married to a gay man, and advocating for our gay and lesbian youth?

Takei is lashing out at the Tennessee legislature for their bill effecting thousands of school children across the state.

George says,

“A bill now pending in Tennessee would prohibit teachers in that state from discussing homosexuality in the classroom. The so-called "don't say gay" law is premised on the misguided belief that, by not talking about gay people, they can simply make them disappear”.

George took to YouTube yesterday to tell Tennessee and all the LGBT youth and teachers who would be affected by this law that he was there for them.

In fact, Takei is lending his name to the cause saying any time you need to say the word "gay," you can simply say "Takei."

Get it?

We’re very impressed with George’s tenacity on this issue and his video response to Tennessee below is hilarious.

In addition to his video being shown on the Rachel Maddow show yesterday, George took to twitter to help push the cause saying,

“Thx to the thousands behind me on this campaign! Oh Myyy, that sounds really Takei... The Don't Say Gay bill just passed the TN Senate 19 to 11. Those kids need our support more than ever! A big thx to my Tweeps who pushed my video to #1 "most viewed comedy" on YouTube in the last 24 hrs!”

Hey, Tennessee! Here's my response to your "Don't Say Gay" Bill


George may not have made the Forbes top 100 most powerful celebrities list this year, but we sure are honored to have him on InfoStar’s top 10 influential gay celebrities list for 2011.

Related: InfoStar's Top 10 Influential Gay Celebrities - 2011 Edition

In addition to his work on gay advocacy and politics, George has won several awards and accolades for his work on human rights and Japanese-American relations, including his work with the Japanese American National Museum.

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