Jerry Springer to begin radio show in January

Jerry Springer to beginradio show in January
CINCINNATI -- Trash TV king Jerry Springer will begin hosting a three-hour weekday radio talk show in January. Springer, a former Cincinnati mayor and Democrat who may be interested in running for statewide office in Ohio, will start the show on Cincinnati's WSAI when the Clear Channel station switches from oldies music to liberal talk. He said Thursday that he wants to syndicate the show nationally. Darryl Parks, operations director for Clear Channel's four AM radio stations in Cincinnati, said the station had been negotiating with Springer for months. The one-year radio commitment will not affect Springer's daytime TV show taped in Chicago, he said. Springer will do the radio show Monday through Wednesday from Chicago before taping his television shows and will broadcast Thursday and Friday from Cincinnati. Springer, 60, ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1982 and considered runs for U.S. Senate in 1999 and last year.
Cruise, Winfrey headlineNobel Peace Prize Concert
OSLO, Norway -- Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey will continue the tradition of bringing a superstar shine to dark December nights in Norway when the pair hosts the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Tonight's concert, held to honor Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, will also feature musical artists such as Joss Stone, Andrea Bocelli, Diana Krall, Cyndi Lauper and Patti LaBelle. The 64-year-old Maathai, Kenya's deputy environment minister, was honored as founder of the Green Belt Movement, which has sought to empower women, improve the environment and fight corruption in Africa for almost 30 years. Winfrey said it was a "great pleasure" to celebrate "the first African woman recipient of one of the most meaningful awards of our time." "Wangari Maathai is a true inspiration because she uses her life to benefit others, from fervently fighting for women's rights to literally turning the earth to improve living conditions in Africa," Winfrey said. Cruise said he was "exceptionally proud" to pay tribute to Maathai. "Wangari is a real example of what one person, determined to help her fellow man, can accomplish," he said. The Nobel concert, which will be carried live in more than 100 countries, will be broadcast in the United States on Dec. 23 on E! Entertainment Television.
Bianca Jagger is honored
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Bianca Jagger was among the winners of this year's Right Livelihood Awards -- dubbed the "alternative Nobels" -- presented by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf in a ceremony at parliament. The awards include a $297,160 cash prize. They are funded by an endowment established by Jakob von Uexkull in part to honor what he said were oversights by the annual Nobel Prizes. Jagger, a former model and ex-wife of Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, was honored Thursday for showing how a celebrity can help the exploited and disadvantaged, organizers said. "The financial award will allow me to set up a foundation to continue my human rights work," she said. "Everything I do has its theme, which is justice -- social and economic justice."
Today's birthdays
Nobel Prize-winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn is 86. Actor Jean-Louis Trintignant is 74. Actress Rita Moreno is 73. Actor Ron Carey is 69. Former California state lawmaker Tom Hayden is 65. Pop singer David Gates (Bread) is 64. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is 63. Actress Donna Mills is 62. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is 61. Singer Brenda Lee is 60. Actress Lynda Day George is 60. Music producer Tony Brown is 58. Actress Teri Garr is 56. Movie director Susan Seidelman is 52. Actress Bess Armstrong is 51. Singer Jermaine Jackson is 50. Rock musician Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) is 46. Rock musician Darryl Jones (The Rolling Stones) is 43. Singer-musician Justin Currie (Del Amitri) is 40. Rock musician David Schools (Gov't Mule, Widespread Panic) is 40. Actor Gary Dourdan ("CSI") is 38. Actress-comedian Mo'Nique ("The Parkers") is 36. Rapper-actor Mos Def is 31. Actor Rider Strong is 25.