All Letterman can really say is, ‘Thanks, Oprah’

In an apparent thaw to their cold war, Oprah Winfrey has accepted David Letterman‘s invitation to appear on his “Late Show.”

Winfrey’s appearance Dec. 1 will coincide with opening night of the Broadway musical “The Color Purple,” which she is producing.

“What a big night that is going to be – not only for us, not only for Oprah, but for Broadway,” Letterman said.

“You have the big ‘Color Purple’ Broadway opening, and then right across the street here in this theater, you have Oprah appearing here. I mean, that’s what Broadway is all about – it’s a street of dreams.”

Winfrey twice was Letterman’s guest on his former NBC show, but she told Time magazine in 2003 that she wouldn’t go on his CBS show because she’s been “completely uncomfortable” as the target of his jokes.

Letterman’s 1995 stint as Academy Awards host is best remembered for his awkward “Oprah, Uma. Uma, Oprah” introduction.

More gravy for Oprah

Speaking of Oprah Winfrey, she’s received the Founders Award for her international broadcast career and philanthropic initiatives from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton presented the award to Winfrey, host of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” during Monday night’s International Emmy Awards gala.

“Her accomplishments as a television pioneer, actress, film producer, editorial director and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures today,” the Academy said in a statement.

A little less stuffing for Nicole

Lionel Richie says the stress of his daughter’s expanding career is the reason for her shrinking dress size.

“I know what’s happening with her right now, she’s a nervous wreck,” the R&B crooner says.

The 24-year-old Richie has said she was always thin, but went through a heavier stage during the first season of the Paris Hilton reality show “The Simple Life.”

The feuding ex-friends will not return for a fourth Fox season, but Richie has written a Hollywood-themed novel, “The Truth About Diamonds.”

And speaking of thankful …

Pop diva Kylie Minogue will hold her homecoming Australian tour at the end of next year, after canceling the event earlier this year when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The London-based, 37-year-old singer had returned to her hometown of Melbourne in southern Australia to perform her “Showgirl: The Greatest Hits” tour in May when she was diagnosed.

Minogue underwent surgery to remove the cancer, and doctors declared the operation a success.

Finally, a real turkey

Conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly, who last year settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former colleague, is at it again.

O’Reilly recently suggested that Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl should “undergo a full-body search,” adding: “She asked for it.”

He also said she should wear a bikini out on the street, and after a story about a strip club, told her: “It might be worth learning how to dance.”

A Fox spokesperson said Wiehl was not offended by the remarks.

The birthday bunch

Author William F. Buckley Jr. is 80. Former Beatle Pete Best is 64. Actor Colin Hanks is 28. Actress Katherine Heigl (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 27.