NEWLN: ANDRA VARIN United Press International
HEEEERE'S JOHNNY AGAIN: Johnny Carson is returning to TV -- sort of. He'll appear in animated form in an episode of Fox's 'The Simpsons.' The former late night talk show host will also provide the voice for his character in the episode, in which celebs such as Bette Midler , Hugh Hefner , Luke Perry and Elizabeth Taylor rally to try to save Krusty the Clown's show from cancellation. Carson has refused numerous professional offers since retiring from 'The Tonight Show' last May. So why did he decide to team up with Bart, Homer and Co.? For one, 'Simpsons' executive producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss were once joke writers for Carson. And then Johnny is amused by the animated antics of the inhabitants of Springfield. 'We heard a rumor that he wanted to do the show, we sent him a script, and he liked it,' Jean told USA Today. The former king of late night apparently didn't expect any special treatment. 'We didn't have to send a limo. He drove over himself,' Jean said. 'At the tape session, it was just like 'The Tonight Show.' He told us lots of jokes and had us all in stitches.'NEWLN:
TEN SEXIEST: So who are the sexiest people around? US magazine lists its Top 10 choices in its October issue. The women: Sharon Stone ('Basic Instinct'), Sarah Jessica Parker ('Honeymoon in Vegas'), Rebecca DeMornay ('The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'), Anjelica Huston ('The Addams Family,' 'The Grifters') and singer/former Miss America Vanessa Williams . The men: Grant Show ('Melrose Place'), Dylan McDermott ('Steel Magnolias'), Kurt Russell ('Unlawful Entry,' 'Captain Ron'), Chris North ('Law and Order') and country-western star Dwight Yoakam . So what turns on these sexy stars? According to Williams, sexy is 'feeling so confidant about yourself and your sexuality that it just oozes out.' Parker says she thinks a man is sexy when he 'makes you laugh.' And Show, who plays hunky Jake on Fox's twentysomething show, says the best compliment he's ever gotten was 'I love your mind.'NEWLN:
SPIKE SUES: Filmmaker Spike Lee has filed a countersuit seeking to keep portions of the Rodney King beating videotape in his movie biography of Malcolm X . George Holliday , the bystander who made the now- famous video of white Los Angeles police officers beating the black motorist, has asked for an injunction to prevent Lee from using excerpts from the tape in the opening scenes of the movie. But Lee, in the countersuit filed in Los Angeles, says Holliday agreed to accept $50,000 for rights to the tape, which he calls 'one of the most significant documents in recent American history.' The movie 'X,' which stars Denzel Washington as the late black activist leader, is scheduled to open at theaters around the country on Nov. 20, but the release date may have to be postponed if the dispute isn't settled by then.NEWLN:
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, VALENTINO: Opera star Placido Domingo , actress- singer Bette Midler and 'Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin sang 'Happy Anniversary' to Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani , who's celebrating his 30th year in business. Tuesday night's gala bash in New York also doubled as an awards ceremony. Valentino used the occasion to present his first annual Rose of Life awards to honor humanitarian contributions. Domingo, Midler and Franklin were among the recipients of the award, a gold rose. Actress-model Brooke Shields accepted for Elizabeth Taylor, who couldn't make it. Actor Tim Robbins accepted the award on behalf of Magic Johnson . Audrey Hepburn was another absentee, but movie star Sophia Loren came in person to claim hers. After accepting her gold rose from Valentino, she told the audience, 'I wish I could talk to him just in Italian. I hope I really deserve what he gave me.' Models Claudia Schiffer , Linda Evangelista and Christie Turlington also won awards.NEWLN:
THE WHO, THE MOVIE: Roger Daltrey , former lead singer of the Who , is writing a movie about Keith Moon , the rock group's drummer who died of a drug overdose in 1978. 'He was the funniest, most outrageous, kindest and most selfish person I've ever met in my life,' Daltrey told People magazine. 'He was just mega over the top.' Daltrey says his movie about Moon won't be like Oliver Stone 's film about Jim Morrison of the Doors fame. 'I knew Jim, and I found the movie a nasty piece of work,' Daltrey said. 'What depressed me was how it glamorized drugs and all the bad things about rock 'n' roll.'NEWLN:
TV BRIEFS: It looks like Vice President Dan Quayle wasn't the only one watching 'Murphy Brown' Monday night. Some 70 million viewers tuned in to CBS to watch Murphy (played by Candice Bergen ) get back at Quayle for criticizing her decision to have a child out of wedlock....' 'Saturday Night Live' has announced the cast for its 18th season. Dana Carvey and Mike Myers of 'Wayne's World' fame will be back for another season on the NBC show. Also returning are regulars Kevin Nealon , Chris Rock , Chris Farley and Julia Sweeney . Rob Schneider , who had been a featured performer, also joins the regular cast. But Victoria Jackson of the baby voice and ditsy blonde act won't be back. Also gone are featured performers Siobhan Fallon and Beth Cahill .
