Sideshow: So long, Larry. Hello, Piers.

September 09, 2010|By Tirdad Derakhshani, Inquirer Staff Writer
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  • MICHAEL BUCKNER / Getty Images
  • MICHAEL BUCKNER / Getty Images
  • Nicole Polizzi, better known as Snooki on "Jersey Shore," in court Wednesday in Seaside Heights, N.J.
  • Piers Morgan, a British import and longtime fan of King's.

Larry King, 77, is replaceable after all. CNN said Wednesday that the avuncular talk-show host, whose suspenders, owl-eyed glasses, and penchant for collecting ex-wives (six to date) have made him a myth, will be replaced in January by Brit tabloid journo and self-made myth Piers Morgan, 45, best known here as a judge on America's Got Talent. "I have watched Larry King Live for much of the last 25 years, and dreamed of one day filling [his] legendary suspenders," says Morgan, who calls King "the greatest TV interviewer of them all." Morgan, who was top dog at News of the World and the Daily Mirror, hosts a chat show on ITV, and has penned eight books, including his third memoir, God Bless America. One thing's for sure, he won't be boring: He says he likes to spark media feuds and has been reviled as "arrogant," "smarmy" and "self-satisfied." Sure, Morgan is talented. But I wonder: Did CNN hire a Brit because America has no talent? All of America, and not one talk-show host?Snooki guilty of being annoying

Jersey Shore pest Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, 22, was fined $533 and gifted community service after pleading guilty Wednesday to disturbing beachgoers in Seaside Heights, where her MTV show is filmed.

Municipal Court Judge Damian G. Murray called Snooki a "Lindsay Lohan wannabe," then gave her some advice: "Going through life rude, profane, obnoxious, and self-indulgent - that's not the way you want to live your life." Snooki was arrested July 30 for being intoxicated in public.

Otto hospitalized in Nashville

Country music star James Otto, 37, was admitted to a Nashville hospital Tuesday for what has been described only as "an abdominal illness." The "Soldiers & Jesus" singer has canceled his weekend concerts in Clarksville, Tenn., and Berea, Ohio.

"[I have] been feeling badly on and off for a while now but didn't think it was serious," Otto says. He promises to be back on the road after a few days' rest.

The singer's wife, Amy, gave birth to a baby girl, Ava, on Aug. 24.

Privacy not an option for Douglas

"Not going public with having cancer was not much of an option. . . . When you are a celebrity, nothing remains secret for very long." So says Wall Street star Michael Douglas, recently diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer. Douglas tells Parade.com that celebs' lack of privacy isn't an entirely bad thing.

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