Morning Briefing:
The lawyer is the father: Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer Howard K. Stern was on “Larry King Live” Tuesday night supposedly just to talk about the sudden and still-unexplained death of her son, Daniel, but revealed the surprising news that he’s the “proud father” of Smith’s newborn baby girl. Stern — who was with Smith in the Bahamas on the night that Daniel died — said they’ve named their daughter Dannie Lynn Hope, and told King that they plan to stay in the Bahamas and marry sometime soon. (Associated Press)
Paris charged: Paris Hilton has been officially charged with drunken driving stemming from her arrest earlier this month. She’s due in court on Thursday in Los Angeles for arraignment, facing at most a $1,000 fine and six months in county jail, but is likely to be looking at a fine, probation and some mandatory Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. (Los Angeles Times)
Tales of the Screech sex tape: Celebrity porn broker David Hans Schmidt has confirmed he’s acquired the rights to a 40-minute sex tape starring actor Dustin Diamond, aka Screech from “Saved by the Bell” — hardly a surprise, given the urban legends surrounding Diamond’s size. The tape is apparently pretty raunchy, involving two women, bodily functions and a move called the Dirty Sanchez (defined here, but definitely NSFW). But news of the tape’s existence may have an unexpected upside. “I haven’t seen the tape,” his rep told Rush & Molloy. “I’ve heard rumors. Dustin has been trying to escape the Screech typecast. So this may help me get more bookings.” (Rush & Molloy, City Rag)
Blacklisting the Scissor Sisters: The New York disco-rock band the Scissor Sisters released a new album on Tuesday, “Ta-Dah,” but it may not necessarily be coming to a store near you. The group — whose single off the album, “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’,” is No. 1 in the U.K. charts — won’t be appearing in any of the 1,100 stores owned by Trans World Entertainment, including FYE, Sam Goody, Strawberries, Wherehouse, Specs and Coconuts. The reason? Frontman Jake Shears complained at a record retailers convention last month that Trans World’s prices are too high: “I went to go buy the new Raconteurs album, and it was like $18.99.” Trans World president and CEO Jim Litwak said Shears was exaggerating the price but never apologized, “so we made the decision not to carry the band’s new release.” (VH1)
Also:
Terri Irwin, “Crocodile Hunter” Steve’s widow, says she hasn’t seen the footage of her husband’s deadly encounter with a stingray, and tells Barbara Walters in an interview airing Wednesday night that it will never be aired: “What purpose would that serve?” (Associated Press via Yahoo) … Chevy Chase is slated to play a somewhat Mel Gibsonian character in an upcoming “Law & Order” show, portraying “a television celebrity who is pulled over for drunken driving while wearing blood-soaked clothes, and whose religious prejudice comes out after his arrest.” (TMZ) … “Grey’s Anatomy” was the ratings winner for last week’s prime-time TV, with 25.41 million viewers. (Associated Press) … Eddie Murphy has reportedly confirmed that he and former Spice Girl Melanie B. are an item. The two have recently been spotted vacationing in Hawaii, and a source tells Hello that Murphy has revealed, “I am madly in love with Mel, but there are no wedding plans.” (Hello) … Fantasia Barrino’s father is suing the publisher of the “American Idol” winner’s 2005 memoir, “Fantasia: Life Is Not a Fairytale,” for $10 million, claiming his daughter’s book includes “false, exaggerated, sensational, intentional and malicious untruths” about him and other family members. (E Online)
Money Quote:
“Grey’s Anatomy” star Sandra Oh on what her parents originally thought of her choosing acting as a career: “It was one step above prostitution.” (“Ellen” via People)
Turn On:
Sydney Pollack’s documentary “Sketches of Frank Gehry” (PBS, check local listings) has its television debut on Wednesday night, and “One Tree Hill” (CW, 9 p.m. EDT) has its season premiere. On “20/20: Special Edition” (ABC, 10 p.m. EDT) Barbara Walters talks with Steve Irwin’s widow, Terri, and while the third season of the castaway show doesn’t come until next week, “Lost: A Tale of Survival” (ABC, 9 p.m. EDT) will get you caught up on all the plotlines.
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): Clay Aiken
Charlie Rose (PBS, check local listings): Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul; Nicholas Burns, U.S. Department of State undersecretary for political affairs
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Amanda Peet, Nigella Lawson, Bob Seger
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Evangeline Lilly, Magic Johnson, Aaron Neville
Conan O’Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Billy Bob Thornton
Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Forest Whitaker, Julie Walters, Shang Forbes
Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, 12:05 a.m. EDT): Jon Heder, Don, Mole and Perry, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT): Al Franken
Stephen Colbert (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Lowell Bergman
— Scott Lamb
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