Sparks may fly tonight

Sparks may fly tonight
"Tonight" host Jay Leno might want to consider wearing referee stripes on this evening's show when Ann Coulter and George Carlin are his guests.
Coulter, the acid-tongued conservative with a new book out, and Carlin, the quick-witted, antiestablishment comedian who's in the voice cast for the new animated film "Cars," were booked at separate times for the NBC late-nighter, a spokeswoman said Monday.
But the duo's meeting could produce serious fireworks for "Tonight," which usually limits its political fodder to Leno's bipartisan monologue jokes.
Coulter, author of "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," has drawn fire for attacking the four New Jersey widows who pushed for an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks in which their husbands died.
In her book, Coulter accuses the women of "reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much."
An appearance by Coulter on another NBC series, "Today," led to a prickly exchange with host Matt Lauer over her comments on the widows.
Also scheduled for "Tonight" is Scottish singer and songwriter KT Tunstall.
Rice is top pick as guest
When Esquire asked a panel of men whom they'd invite from a list of 14 notable women to a dinner party, they chose Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over such stars as Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston.
Asked which famous man they'd invite to dinner, respondents favored Jay Leno ahead of Bill Clinton, George Clooney and President Bush in results reported in the magazine's July issue. The survey of 1,083 men age 25 and up was conducted online in March by Beta Research Corp.
Today's birthdays
Actor Gene Barry is 87. Actress Marla Gibbs is 75. Actor Jack Bannon is 66. Rock singer Rod Argent (The Zombies; Argent) is 61. Real estate developer Donald Trump is 60. Singer Janet Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 60. Rock musician Alan White (Yes) is 57. Actor Eddie Mekka is 54. Actor Will Patton is 52. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Eric Heiden is 48. Singer Boy George is 45. Rock musician Chris DeGarmo is 43. Actress Yasmine Bleeth is 38. Tennis player Steffi Graf is 37. Actress Traylor Howard is 35. Actor Daryl Sabara is 14.