Playgirl readers speak: Olbermann the uber-man
THE COUNTDOWN TO THE SEXIEST male newscaster ends with Keith Olbermann – at least according to a Playgirl magazine online poll. The host of MSNBC’s nightly “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” had linked his Web site to the Playgirl Web site and urged viewers to vote for him.
It worked: He won with 24 percent of the 50,000 votes cast.
“My only interest was that I finish ahead of Andy Rooney,” Olbermann said. “You want to finish sixth or eighth out of 18, just as long as you’re ahead of an 85-year-old man.”
Rooney of CBS’ “60 Minutes” tied for fifth with CNN’s boyish Bill Hemmer. Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity came in second and CNN’s Anderson Cooper was third.
Complete results will be revealed in October’s Playgirl – but not the complete Olbermann. “I can state without equivocation or hesitancy that on behalf of humankind, I will not pose,” he said.
But the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund will receive $2,500 on his behalf.
More Miller time on CNBC
Despite a tepid launch in January and a near-immediate hiatus for creative retooling, CNBC has renewed Dennis Miller‘s talk show through 2005.
“For the first time in our history, we are building a unique destination at night for our core business audience, and Dennis and his show are fundamental to our strategy,” said CNBC executive Bob Meyers.
Since leaving NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Miller has hosted the Emmy-winning “Dennis Miller Live” on HBO and was co-host on ABC’s “Monday Night Football.”
There he is, Mr. Runner-up
Viewers who tune in to the Miss America pageant on Saturday will see a shorter show (down to two hours) and fewer displays of talent, but even more Clay Aiken.
According to ABC, the former “American Idol” runner-up, who also appeared on last year’s broadcast, will have a running presence throughout the show.
In addition to performing his single “My Way,” he’ll introduce the contestants during the evening wear part of the competition. And when the winner is announced, Aiken will serenade her with the classic “There She Is.”
This one’s simple: Simon will win
“American Idol” creator Simon Fuller is suing one of the show’s hosts, Simon Cowell, over a new talent show in England that Fuller says is an “Idol” rip-off.
Fuller is accusing the producers of “The X Factor,” who include Cowell, of infringing on the copyright of “Idol.” The show features a panel of judges passing judgment on aspiring actors.
Cowell called the suit “utterly ridiculous.”
Suppose he’ll be making it with the band?
Rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is back to “Making the Band” – this time, with women only.
For three seasons, Combs developed the now-disbanded hip-hop ensemble Da Band in the MTV series “Making the Band 2.” (The original “Making the Band” on ABC, as you may recall, brought us the pop quintet O-Town.)
“We watched P. Diddy work magic with his last group Da Band, who despite their issues working together, still managed to take their very first album gold,” said MTV executive Lois Curren. “We can’t wait to see what he has in store for us as he forms a girl group in a whole new music genre.”
This won’t be P. Diddy’s first time crafting an all-girl pop group. He was the mastermind behind Dream, a pop quartet who sang the hit “He Loves Me Not.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Jackie Cooper is 82. Singer-pianist Bobby Short is 80. Comedian Norm Crosby is 77. Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 58. Actor Josh Charles (“Sports Night”) is 33.