People: Simon says … do it, David!
David Hasselhoff says pal Simon Cowell talked him into being a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” the new Cowell-produced reality show that debuts tonight.
“He called me up and said, ‘Would you do this?’ ” Hasselhoff says. “And I said, ‘I don’t want to be a judge!’ And he said, ‘Come on, it’s fun! You’re funny!”’
And, he shrugs, “Because it’s Simon, I did it.”
The Regis Philbin-hosted show, in which everyone from singers to magicians to animal acts vies for a $1 million prize, premieres tonight at 9 on NBC (KHQ-6 in Spokane).
Hasselhoff, who played lifeguard Mitch Buchannon on “Baywatch” for 11 years, is one of three judges along with singer Brandy and British journalist/TV personality Piers Morgan.
“I’m not going to try to be witty, I’m not going to do anything, I’m just going to have fun,” he says.
If you can’t get enough of a Hasselhoff fix tonight, look for him as Adam Sandler‘s boss in the movie comedy “Click,” which opens Friday.
He’s really steamed
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has won a libel action against a British newspaper that accused him of faking scenes on his latest reality TV show.
The Evening Standard claimed that BBC America’s “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares” – in which he helps save failing restaurants – had been exaggerated to make an average restaurant look like a health hazard.
“Even I have limits and on this occasion the line was crossed,” says Ramsay, who starred in the Fox talent competition “Hell’s Kitchen.”
Armed and dangerous?
Bruce Willis has filed a defamation lawsuit against a paparazzi photographer who accused the actor of attacking him outside a restaurant.
Anthony Goodrich claimed Willis “stiff-armed” him, pushing his camera into his face and injuring his nose and teeth.
Willis says he simply raised his hand to shield his face from the “blinding flash of the cameras” by Goodrich and others.
A different tune
Reporters gathered outside Nicole Kidman‘s harborside mansion in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday brought flowers and sang “Happy Birthday” over the intercom as she turned 39.
In return, Kidman, in her native country to celebrate her upcoming wedding to fellow Aussie country singer Keith Urban, sent bottles of water and a case of beer out to the media with a note saying: “Enjoy! Nicole and Keith.”
Still kidding around
Jerry Lewis has been working the phones for his annual Labor Day telethon as he recuperates on his boat in San Diego after heart surgery, his manager says.
Lewis, 80, postponed shows scheduled next month in Las Vegas, but is proceeding with plans to direct a stage musical version of his 1963 movie comedy “The Nutty Professor.”
“He’s been joking with folks for several days now and warming up,” a Lewis pal says.
The birthday bunch
Actress Jane Russell is 85. Actor Bernie Kopell (“The Love Boat”) is 73. Actor Ron Ely (“Tarzan”) is 68. Musician Ray Davies (The Kinks) is 62. Actress Meredith Baxter (“Family Ties”) is 59. Actor Michael Gross (“Family Ties”) is 59. Country singer Kathy Mattea is 47. Actress Juliette Lewis is 33.