Falk the focus of big family fight

The battle over Peter Falk is just beginning.

We’re already reported that the 81-year-old actor is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and that his daughter, Catherine Falk, applied last month to be named conservator over her father’s affairs.

Now comes word that Falk’s wife of 32 years, Shera Falk, is opposing the bid.

According to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the former “Columbo” star’s wife contends that Falk is receiving adequate care and does not have a close relationship with his daughter.

Shera Falk’s filing includes declarations from the couple’s accountant, housekeeper and numerous friends, including an ex-wife of Johnny Carson and actor Joe Mantegna.

The filing says the actor is cared for around-the-clock by a nursing staff in a guest house at their Beverly Hills home, which was converted into a studio and is easier for Falk to navigate after undergoing hip surgery.

More Britney, all the time

London’s Daily Mirror is reporting that Britney Spears is being paid $14 million for her memoirs. An anonymous source told the British tabloid that “Britney will talk frankly about growing up and how she went off the rails” last year during a series of public missteps (remember the head-shaving incident?).

Bet she won’t beat Britney

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has signed with the William Morris Agency. Rice most likely will pursue literary activities, including lectures and books.

“It is an honor to represent Secretary Rice as she prepares to embark on the next chapter of her incredible career,” WMA CEO/chairman Jim Wiatt told Variety.

They likely drank appletinis

Forget his national approval rating, which by all accounts is higher than that of former President George W. Bush, newly elected President Barack Obama has the approval that counts: Oprah Winfrey’s. The Chicago Sun-Times says that after the inaugural parties wound down Tuesday night, Oprah dropped by the White House for a nightcap.

PETA has a new poster girl

Animal lover/celebrity Paris Hilton was awarded a plaque at a Humane Society dinner Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival.

Hilton, by the way, also is up for three Razzies, awards given to the worst movies of the year, her “acting” in such 2008 films as “The Hottie and the Nottie.”

This reporter gets around

MSNBC legal correspondent Dan Abrams may seem like a straight arrow, but he has that certain … uh, je ne sais quois.

The New York Post says that Abrams, who has been paired in the past with the likes of “Law & Order’s” Elisabeth Rohm, “Dexter” co-star Jaime Murray and supermodel Elle Macpherson, had a date last weekend with actress Renée Zellweger.

The birthday bunch

Actress Chita Rivera is 76. Actor Gil Gerard is 66. Actor Rutger Hauer is 65. Singer Anita Pointer is 61. Actor Richard Dean Anderson is 59. Singer-guitarist Robin Zander of Cheap Trick is 56. Singer Anita Baker is 51. Actress Gail O’Grady is 46. Actress Mariska Hargitay is 45. Nick Harmer of Death Cab For Cutie is 34.