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Friar’s Club giving Rickles his due

Rickles
Rickles
From Wire Reports

The Friars Club is honoring Don Rickles with a lifetime achievement award. The entertainers’ group said Wednesday it will celebrate the 86-year-old comedian at its annual awards ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.

Bob Costas, Tony Danza, Kathy Griffin, Bob Newhart, Regis Philbin and Joan Rivers are among those set to participate in the honors on June 24.

Rickles started his career in the 1950s and has worked with generations of legends, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. He still appears on the late-night shows of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson.

McCartney a Voice Against Violence

Paul McCartney added his voice to Tony Bennett’s campaign against gun violence Wednesday.

The former Beatle recorded a voice message that was part of a text-to-call operation for Bennett’s Voices Against Violence campaign. McCartney and others encouraged Americans to send a text, which led to the singer’s message and connected the caller to his or her local Senate office after providing a ZIP code.

But the Senate rejected a bipartisan attempt to expand background checks on gun purchases Wednesday, one of their leading answers to December’s slayings of 20 children and six aides at an elementary in Newtown, Conn.

Bennett, 86, tweeted after the failed vote: “We will not stop until our voices are heard.” Other celebrities who supported Bennett’s campaign included Alec Baldwin, Gloria Estefan, Josh Groban and Juanes.

Short has sitcom in works for NBC

Comic actor Martin Short could be back in the weekly TV business with his former “Saturday Night Live” boss, Lorne Michaels. Short said he’s waiting to hear whether NBC will pick up a comedy pilot produced by Michaels as a series next season.

The untitled sitcom stars “SNL” writer John Mulaney and is loosely based on Mulaney’s life. Short plays a quiz show host who uses jokes written by Mulaney’s character. The former “SNL” cast member said Elliott Gould is also in the cast.

NBC and other networks will announce their lineups for 2013-14 season next month.

The birthday bunch

Actress Barbara Hale is 92. Actor James Drury is 79. Actress Hayley Mills is 67. Actor James Woods is 66. Actor Rick Moranis is 60. Actor Eric Roberts is 57. Talk show host Conan O’Brien is 50. Actor Eric McCormack is 50. Actress Melissa Joan Hart is 37. Reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian is 34.