Want to co-host with Springer? Here's a chance

Want to co-host withSpringer? Here's a chance
NEW YORK -- If it's been your dream to preside over a catfight between strippers who are sleeping with their boyfriends' fathers, then spin a lesson about tolerance from the resulting mayhem, has Jerry Springer got a deal for you. Springer's daytime talk show, infamous for its warring lovers, shock-manufacturing stories and eternally bemused host, is launching a contest in which viewers can "Be Jerry for a Day" and co-host the show with the former Cincinnati mayor. The catch is, would-be hopefuls have to attend a Professional Bull Riders event to enter. The contest launches April 30 at a PBR event on Long Island and will continue through the summer. Contestants will be asked to sing an original song about Springer or record a Springer-esque "Final Thought."
Those who can't make it to an in-person audition can mail a videotape to the show. Five finalists will be flown to Chicago in September to tape a final audition in front of an audience. The show will air the finalists' tapes in October, and a viewer vote will determine the winner. (Details on the contest are at JerrySpringerTV.com.) "It's good timing for everyone to try and be me and co-host my show," Springer quips, "because that is when I will be auditioning to be Oprah."
Witherspoon takes actionagainst LA paparazzi
LOS ANGELES -- Reese Witherspoon is the latest celeb who has had it up to here with the stalkerazzi -- and this time, she's going legal. The "Legally Blonde" star has filed a false-imprisonment complaint with the LAPD after paparazzi surrounded her vehicle outside her gym in Lalaland, blocking her in.
She eventually managed to pull away, only to be pursued by at least five shutterbug vehicles "driving aggressively and almost cutting her off at times," an LAPD rep said. According to E!Online, once she reached her domicile, R.W. encountered another photog car blocking her front gate. Her security guards chased that loser away. The cops say they're investigating and haven't filed any charges. Witherspoon's rep didn't return calls to comment.
Hoffman aware of failure
NEW YORK -- After hearing Mike Nichols take some digs at his nose and Robert de Niro joke about his age, Hollywood veteran Dustin Hoffman took to the stage of Lincoln Center this week and spoke about his sense of failure, reports Agence France-Presse. "I became an actor because I believed I was a failure," said Hoffman, this year's honoree at the Center's annual tribute gala. "And in acting, because so few of us ever get work, I could feel proud and fail with dignity," he said.
The 67-year-old star wrapped up an evening of affectionate tributes from a host of Hollywood luminaries, who testified to Hoffman's influence on an entire generation of actors. The gala ceremony included clips from his best-known movies, including his breakout role in the Nichols-directed "The Graduate," and his Oscar-winning performances in "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Rain Man."
"I was born into what I now know was a dysfunctional family," Hoffman recalled. "I found that out in therapy three weeks ago." As a recipient of the Lincoln Center tribute, Hoffman joined a distinguished list of actors and directors that includes Charlie Chaplin, Laurence Olivier, James Stewart and Michael Caine.
Rob and Amber tie knot;union will air on TV in May
LOS ANGELES --What more can be said about reality's fave couple, Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich? The duo captured (and boldly refuse to let go of) America's heart with their terrific turn at being real on CBS's "Survivor All-Stars" (he proposed to her -- live! on! TV! -- after she won the thing), only to then hunt us all down again and abduct our souls with their fabulous performance as a bona-fide engaged couple on CBS's current installment of "The Amazing Race."
Now we hear they will get married on reality TV -- and make the network some more $ -- on CBS's "Rob and Amber Get Married" on May 24.
The two patooties actually married, in real life, on Saturday in the Bahamas, amid family, friends, and a boatload of cameras and crew from CBS.
Broadcasts induct Leno
LAS VEGAS -- Jay Leno joked that as the only living host of "The Tonight Show," he was the obvious choice to represent the late-night talk show at its induction into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. "As the only one left alive, they had to go to me," Leno joked as he arrived at the Las Vegas Hilton on Monday to accept the award on behalf of the show. Hosts of "The Tonight Show," which debuted in September 1954, include Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Johnny Carson. Leno took over in 1992.
Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, said "The Tonight Show" earned the hall of fame honor for its "cultural significance" and five decades as "a treasured American television institution."
Leno attributed the show's longevity to its immediacy. "It's never more than a few hours old," he said. "We don't tape shows two or three days ahead of time." Leno, who turns 55 next week, will leave "Tonight" in 2009. He will be replaced by "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien.
Today's birthdays
Ice skater Werner Groebli ("Mr. Frick") is 90. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is 79. Actress-comedian-writer Elaine May is 73. Actor Charles Grodin is 70. Singer-musician Iggy Pop is 58. Singer-songwriter Paul Davis is 57. Actress Patti LuPone is 56. Actor Tony Danza is 54. Actress Andie MacDowell is 47. Rock singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 46. Rock musician Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 46. Actor John Cameron Mitchell is 42. Rapper Michael Franti (Spearhead) is 37. Comedian Nicole Sullivan is 35.