When It Comes To Ego, If The Insult Truly Fits…

Take solace, Connie Chung. At least you don’t have to work with Bryant Gumbel.

Gumbel, you know, believes that CBS news is better off without you. The co-host of NBC’s “Today” show told TV Guide as much.

“I don’t want to speculate what happened in their shop,” Gumbel said, “but I’m a big Dan Rather fan. It’s a better program with him alone. He’s the one with the credibility.”

When it comes to him and his own talents, Gumbel has a theory as to why people fault him for being his own biggest fan.

“I find it odd that the charge is never leveled at Ted Koppel or Peter Jennings or anybody else in this business,” he said. “Let’s face it, there are a lot of people who are uncomfortable with the idea of a black man being their intellectual or economic or social equal or superior.”

Loose talk

Allison Krauss on her personal taste in music (in Close Up magazine): “I love Foreigner. I grew up roller skating every Friday and Saturday, and they played that kind of stuff and Bad Company. I love all of that stuff.”

Say, didn’t their grandmother once front for Folgers?

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen turn 7 today.

Ah, she says that to all the talented Short guys

Martin Short, who on his recent NBC special, impersonated Brett Butler as a violent hothead, subsequently received a letter from the sitcom star. “(Your portrayal) was cheap and easy and not fair,” Butler says she wrote. “P.S. I could kick your butt if I wanted to.”

Somethin’s happenin’ here, but we don’t know what it is

So who is more popular, Bob Dylan or John Lennon? In an auction of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia on Saturday at Sotheby’s in New York, Dylan’s handwritten lyrics to “Blowin’ in the Wind” drew $8,625 while ex-Beatle Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for “Because” sold for $17,250.

Now starring, Joey Buttafuoco as the Samurai Philanderer

Talent agent Ruth Webb, whose agency bears her name, has handled such clients as John Wayne Bobbitt, Tonya Harding, Gennifer Flowers and the former Tammy Faye Bakker. But her client of the moments is… Joey Buttafuoco. “Joey Buttafuoco not only qualifies, but with the loss of John Belushi and John Candy, there is a need for a really dedicated actor who can play drama and comedy with ease,” Webb says.

Maybe we should wait until we see it to protest

Despite the protests over the forthcoming Disney film “Pocahontas,” one noted Indian activist is pleased with it. “It’s a beautiful movie and it’s grounded in truth,” says Russell Means, a founder of the American Indian Movement. “My people are going to benefit for decades.” Means portrayed the voice of Pocahontas’ father, Powhatan, in the movie.

What’d she think of his nude scene with Drew Barrymore?

So most mothers would be thrilled to know that their son has made it big in Hollywood, especially if success entailed playing the earringed crimefighter Robin in “Batman Forever.” But, says Chris O’Donnell, “My mom hung up on me when I told her about that.”

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Dan Webster