Paris, Nicole’s new lives – separate, but still simple
FEUDING EX-FRIENDS Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie will take “The Simple Life” to E! Entertainment Television in a new format that allows them to have nothing to do with each other.
Fox had declined to air a fourth season of the one-time reality hit, but E! announced it would show 10 new episodes starting next spring.
The series’ initial charm was the humor of spoiled, bratty rich girls interacting with real people and each other. But the two had a falling out, with Hilton saying last spring they were no longer friends, although not explaining why.
The fourth season will have Hilton and Richie taking turns playing “wife” and running households, with the family involved each week deciding which of the two did a better job.
If Hilton and Richie are still not talking, the format allows for filming to take place with each woman not coming into contact with the other.
E! has also acquired the rights to rerun the first three seasons of “The Simple Life”
Nick’s back up to bat
Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson aren’t yet divorced, but Lachey has already found a new wife – at least on TV.
Lachey is set to play a baseball star navigating a new marriage in a pilot for the WB network. Shooting of the half-hour pilot will begin in April, and the show will be considered for the network’s fall 2006 lineup.
Former MTV “Newylweds” reality stars Simpson, 25, and Lachey, 32, last week announced they had decided to part ways after three years of marriage.
She spells it m-o-n-e-y
Veteran TV producer Aaron Spelling (“Charlie’s Angels,” “Beverly Hills 90210”) has sued his former home nurse and her attorney for allegedly spreading rumors around Hollywood that he sexually harassed her.
According to the lawsuit, Charlene Richards threatened to reveal confidential information about the 82-year-old Spelling unless he paid her “an unspecified amount” to settle her sexual harassment claims.
The suit paints her as someone whose “goal in life is to find a rich man to support her in a lavish manner.”
“She’s asking for $30 million, which tells you something,” Spelling’s lawyer said.
Hope Mick doesn’t jumping-jack flash anyone
The Rolling Stones will take a brief break from touring to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 5.
The Stones are touring North America to promote their latest album, “A Bigger Bang.”
The NFL has a history of getting top acts for its halftime show. Last year, it was former Beatle Paul McCartney – and the year before, of course, Janet “Wardrobe Malfunction” Jackson and Justin Timberlake.
Now we know when they’ll be back again
Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary, who has been battling leukemia, will perform in a holiday concert Dec. 9 in Manhattan’s Carnegie Hall.
It will be the first performance by the folk trio since Travers was diagnosed a year ago. She’s been making a steady recovery since a bone marrow transplant in April.
The trio, known for hits such as “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and “Puff, The Magic Dragon,” is planning a dozen concerts next year.
The birthday bunch
Actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is 88. Actor Robert Guillaume is 78. TV personality Dick Clark is 76. Director Ridley Scott is 68. Singer-actor Mandy Patinkin is 53. Singer Billy Idol is 50. Comedian Colin Mochrie (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) is 48. Actor-director Ben Stiller is 40. Actress Sandra Oh is 35. Country singer Mindy McCready is 30. Singer Clay Aiken is 27. Actress Elisha Cuthbert (“24”) is 23.