Note To ‘Simpsons’ Cast: Don’t Have A Cow, Folks

Homer Simpson’s signature phrase is “Doh!” But maybe it should be “Dope!”

Why? Because the actor who gives voice to the animated head of “The Simpsons” clan, Dan Castellaneta, seems willing to sacrifice his easy-paying gig to make a point.

He’s not alone, of course. Castellaneta and the rest of the show’s cast - Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright and Yeardly Smith - all want a raise as the show heads into its 10th season. And they’re willing to walk away if they don’t get it.

Fox executives are said to be resisting. After all, they reason, the actors already get an estimated $30,000 to $35,000 per episode for what amounts to two half-days of work. But they’re still negotiating.

Maybe if they throw in some doughnuts?

Loose talk

Keenan Ivory Wayans on the cancellation of his Fox talk show: “When you’re on the outside looking in, these (talk) shows don’t appear to be the monsters that they are. I’ve gained much greater respect for the guys that have been doing it for 10, 15 years.”

No doubt he’ll celebrate during the midnight hour

Wilson Pickett turns 57 today.

Next up: Dylan swings to Schubert’s lullabies

So how did Michael Bolton, whose newest album is “My Secret Passion: The Arias,” come to love opera? “I was invited to sing with (Luciano) Pavarotti, and I had only a few days to prepare,” he told the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald. “So I started listening, and I couldn’t tell you - I basically learned like an infant - touching, feeling, observing.”

You say he wanted to tie that yellow ribbon where?

Dawn may yet break for Tony Orlando. The entertainer, who is being sued by two former singers, hopes that he will be cleared as the trial progresses this week. Sisters Aleta and Sonya Buckelew allege that Orlando both berated and made sexual remarks to them. “Tony is looking forward to the truth being told this week,” said his lawyer.

Before we knew it, she went ‘Good Will’ hunting

She is known for nursing her paralyzed husband, Christopher Reeve, but Dana Reeve wants to pursue her acting career, too. “People come up to me in elevators to tell me how much they ‘admire’ me,” she told the New York Daily News. “I’m a very famous wife - but I’m still plodding along in my career.” Reeve will star in “Good Will,” a play based on a Jane Smiley novella.

Here’s bad news: One less book about the Simpson case

Don’t expect to see Denise Brown’s long-promised book about her sister, Nicole Brown Simpson, anytime soon. Not only has Brown dumped her co-author, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sheryl James, but she’s battling with editor Judith Regan. Trouble began in earnest when Lou Brown, her father and executor of Nicole’s estate, refused Denise the use of Nicole’s diaries.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos

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