Ryan Seacrest

Phillip Phillips, the 21-year-old from Leesburg, Ga., was anointed the winner of the 11th season of American Idol on Wednesday night. A fan and judges' favorite, the easy-going singer sailed through the competition, never landing among the weekly bottom three. By way of contrast, Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year-old from Chula Vista, Calif., whom Phillips prevailed over in the finals, was actually eliminated by viewer votes more than a month ago but was brought back by the judges.

My mom was one of the original American idols. It was close to 60 years ago, when Simon Cowell hadn't even been born, let alone cast his first smug look at a contestant. But Rose Elkin was ideal material for a show that was the American Idol of its time and place. Broadcast in the 1950s on WCAU-TV, Dividends for Homemakers was a local, occasionally loopy, but likable talk and gossip program for what were then known as "housewives" in need of some entertainment as they awaited their afternoon soaps (or, as my Aunt Zena used to call them, "the stories")

IF YOU WANT something done, they say, you should ask the busiest person you know. In television, that might mean asking someone who already has a full-time job to take on another. And maybe even another. And while this in some ways mirrors what's happening in the rest of the country - if you're lucky enough to have a job, chances are you're working harder and longer than you once did - in television, the money's generally better and the complaints fewer. "There's a really nice balance and a way to make it all work," actress and "reality" star Niecy Nash told me recently after I asked if she ever slept.

The Roots will help celebrate our nation's roots on the Fourth of July as the house band for the Philly 4th of July Jam at Eakins Oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Mayor Nutter announced on Thursday. "The largest free concert in the United States," as Nutter called the event, is the brainchild of Welcome America! musical director Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, who has invited an array of headliners, including Pottstown native Daryl Hall and superstahs Queen Latifah, Common, and Joe Jonas.

Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Dana Carvey; Jon Fisch; Los Campesinos! perform. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Steven Tyler, Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson; Sarah Colonna. Jimmy Kimmel Live (midnight, 6ABC) - Terrence Howard; Thomas Horn; Safetysuit performs. Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (12:30 a.m., NBC10)- Joan Rivers; actress Stacy Keibler; Cults perform.

WE'RE NOT SAYING these are the 10 busiest people on television - last we heard, Dr. Mehmet Oz ("Dr. Oz") was still cracking open people's chests - but in an age of high unemployment, all these people are highly employed:     RYAN SEACREST What he's up to on air: Regular hosting duties include Fox's "American Idol," which made him a household name; a nationally syndicated radio show, "On Air with Ryan Seacrest"; and...

South Jersey's Jermaine Jones, who got cut from American Idol last week, is now in the Fox talent show's Top 13. The deep-voiced "gentle giant" from Pine Hill not only survived a major cutdown Thursday night, but received high praise during commentaries by the show's mentor, Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M. "I'm so glad the judges brought Jermaine back. I'd listen to a whole album of him," Iovine said. That's a genuine compliment, because, Iovine had harsh words for some performers previously lauded by excessively effusive judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

POP STAR AND ACTRESS Selena Gomez joined "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia yesterday morning for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Voice, the multimedia center for patients that Seacrest's charitable foundation provided, reports Daily News columnist Dan Gross. The Daily News reported Thursday that Seacrest would be at CHOP yesterday, and Seacrest tweeted yesterday morning that Gomez would be a surprise guest. Once word spread about Gomez, rumors swirled that her boyfriend, Justin Bieber , would also attend the ceremony but, alas, it was not meant to be. Seacrest's girlfriend Julianne Hough , an actress and singer and former "Dancing with the Stars" pro, accompanied him to the event but stayed low-key.

LOS ANGELES - Word that Ryan Seacrest may be a candidate to succeed Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" has many in the industry debating whether the radio personality/"American Idol" host/reality-show mogul has the gravitas to anchor a morning news show. All the morning shows have become more entertainment than news, and the choice of anchors reflects that. "Today" has gone from Tom Brokaw to Bryant Gumbel to Matt Lauer, each having less journalistic credibility than his predecessor. Tapping Seacrest to succeed Lauer, whose contract is up at the end of next year, would just be the continuation of that trend.

Katrice Cornett doesn't answer every phone call to her Pine Hill home. "I don't know the number, and I ain't answering," she told her nerve-wracked son Jermaine Jones, who was desperately hoping to get a second chance from Fox's songfest juggernaut, American Idol . Last Thursday, the show had made a surprise announcement: One of four young men, despite being officially eliminated, would be brought back - and Jones was one of them....

Phillip Phillips, the 21-year-old from Leesburg, Ga., was anointed the winner of the 11th season of American Idol on Wednesday night. A fan and judges' favorite, the easy-going singer sailed through the competition, never landing among the weekly bottom three. By way of contrast, Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year-old from Chula Vista, Calif., whom Phillips prevailed over in the finals, was actually eliminated by viewer votes more than a month ago but was brought back by the judges.

My mom was one of the original American idols. It was close to 60 years ago, when Simon Cowell hadn't even been born, let alone cast his first smug look at a contestant. But Rose Elkin was ideal material for a show that was the American Idol of its time and place. Broadcast in the 1950s on WCAU-TV, Dividends for Homemakers was a local, occasionally loopy, but likable talk and gossip program for what were then known as "housewives" in need of some entertainment as they awaited their afternoon soaps (or, as my Aunt Zena used to call them, "the stories")

According to everyone at the American Idol dream factory, Ryan Seacrest had an aggressive strain of stomach virus in the hours leading up to Wednesday's Queen-themed performance show. (I feel ya, Ry. The prospect of six kids singing Freddie Mercury makes me feel nauseated, too.) You might not have even noticed Seacrest was under the weather by the time he took the stage, for the same reason it's always hard to tell how hung over Snooki and her posse are: When you're sporting that much spray tan, it's impossible to tell if your skin has turned green underneath.

The Roots will help celebrate our nation's roots on the Fourth of July as the house band for the Philly 4th of July Jam at Eakins Oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Mayor Nutter announced on Thursday. "The largest free concert in the United States," as Nutter called the event, is the brainchild of Welcome America! musical director Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, who has invited an array of headliners, including Pottstown native Daryl Hall and superstahs Queen Latifah, Common, and Joe Jonas.

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend Dick Clark. He has truly been one of the greatest influences in my life. I idolized him from the start, and I was graced early on in my career with his generous advice and counsel. When I joined his show in 2006, it was a dream come true to work with him every New Year's Eve for the last 6 years. He was smart, charming, funny, and always a true gentleman.. . . He was a remarkable host and businessman and left a rich legacy to television audiences around the world.

DICK CLARK might have preserved his image as "America's Oldest Teenager" if he'd given up "New Year's Rockin' Eve" after the 2004 stroke that turned him, seemingly overnight, into an old man. But, then, he wouldn't have been Dick Clark. A producer and performer who was juggling multiple TV gigs long before his multitasking New Year's Eve co-host, Ryan Seacrest, was born, Clark, who died Wednesday at age 82, simply wasn't the retiring type. When I met him nearly 10 years ago on the set of NBC's "American Dreams," a show, set in early '60s Philadelphia, about a family whose daughter becomes a dancer on "American Bandstand," Clark was already 72. And though not quite as eerily youthful in person as he still appeared on-screen, he looked pretty good, even by Hollywood standards.

WE'RE NOT SAYING these are the 10 busiest people on television - last we heard, Dr. Mehmet Oz ("Dr. Oz") was still cracking open people's chests - but in an age of high unemployment, all these people are highly employed:     RYAN SEACREST What he's up to on air: Regular hosting duties include Fox's "American Idol," which made him a household name; a nationally syndicated radio show, "On Air with Ryan Seacrest"; and...

IF YOU WANT something done, they say, you should ask the busiest person you know. In television, that might mean asking someone who already has a full-time job to take on another. And maybe even another. And while this in some ways mirrors what's happening in the rest of the country - if you're lucky enough to have a job, chances are you're working harder and longer than you once did - in television, the money's generally better and the complaints fewer. "There's a really nice balance and a way to make it all work," actress and "reality" star Niecy Nash told me recently after I asked if she ever slept.

South Jersey's Jermaine Jones, who got cut from American Idol last week, is now in the Fox talent show's Top 13. The deep-voiced "gentle giant" from Pine Hill not only survived a major cutdown Thursday night, but received high praise during commentaries by the show's mentor, Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M. "I'm so glad the judges brought Jermaine back. I'd listen to a whole album of him," Iovine said. That's a genuine compliment, because, Iovine had harsh words for some performers previously lauded by excessively effusive judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

Katrice Cornett doesn't answer every phone call to her Pine Hill home. "I don't know the number, and I ain't answering," she told her nerve-wracked son Jermaine Jones, who was desperately hoping to get a second chance from Fox's songfest juggernaut, American Idol . Last Thursday, the show had made a surprise announcement: One of four young men, despite being officially eliminated, would be brought back - and Jones was one of them....