After Lunch, Lunden Might Seem Less Foggy

Joan Lunden may be moving from the morning to the afternoon.

Lunden, who’ll leave her longtime post as “Good Morning America” co-anchor come September, says she’s been inundated with offers to join the afternoon talk-show wars.

“It seems like the whole industry thinks I should move on to an afternoon show to fill the space when Oprah (Winfrey) leaves,” Lunden, 47, tells TV Guide.

Winfrey has wondered aloud how long she will continue her popular talk show, which has aired for 12 years.

Lunden, who had planned to concentrate on prime-time specials for ABC, says she’s open to anything.

“I feel like I’ve been put on a path to inspire people and make them feel good about their lives,” she says.

Loose talk

Country prodigy LeAnn Rimes, on her future (in Total TV magazine): “I’m not always going to be 14. Hopefully, when I turn 24, they’ll say, ‘She’s still good.”’

Which would be all fingers on both hands up

Roger Ebert turns 55 today.

Why do you think they call them scholar ships?

Speaking of Oprah Winfrey, she sent a surprise $100,000 contribution to a Connecticut college scholarship fund, along with a letter that read: “There are many children who have every reason to excel in life, but no way to swim upstream. This initiative can be their lifeboat.”

Spelled like ‘cur-ik,’ pronounced like ‘cur-ij’

Katie Couric returned to NBC’s “Today” show on Monday after an unexplained week off amid reports that her husband is battling colon cancer. Jay Monahan, a lawyer and legal commentator for MSNBC, underwent surgery June 6 and doctors are reportedly optimistic.

So, he’s gone from dealing dope to playing one

Manny the Hippie, who went from reviewing movies for David Letterman to finishing a jail term for an Ohio drug bust after authorities spotted him, is free and ready to give acting a try. “I already have a part lined up in a movie,” said Manny (aka Micah Papp). “I get to play a drug dealer named Romeo who gets arrested. We break into a house and kill a couple people by accident and then we accidentally call the police.”

But he came to appreciate the unholy word

In his new book, “The Proud Highway,” Hunter S. Thompson tells how he joined the Air Force as a troubled teen and began his “gonzo” journalism career as sports editor for the base newspaper. At the time, Thompson wrote to a friend: “We both know I’m no more qualified for a post like this than I am for the presidency of a theological seminary.”

Alternate title: ‘Into the Wild, Lewd Yonder’

Kelly Flinn, the woman B-52 pilot who left the Air Force amid adultery allegations, has signed a deal with Random House to write a book about her experiences. The working title: “Proud to Be,” taken from her Air Force Academy class motto.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino