NAMES & FACES

Monday, February 20, 2006

Ready for His Close-up

Jon Stewart has won what many consider to be the Heisman Trophy of comedy.

As host of next month's Academy Awards, Stewart joins an elite group whose members include Steve Martin , Billy Crystal , Bob Hope and Johnny Carson .

"It doesn't mean you're going to have a good pro career, or even do well in the bowl game," Stewart told the Associated Press. "But to get to that point means something. Now you're in the club."

Juggling preparations for the Oscars, hosting Comedy Central's award-winning fake news program "The Daily Show" and being the father of a newborn daughter and 19-month-old son with wife Tracey , Stewart, 43, is having a very full year.

"Some people will burn themselves to the nub," he said from his New York office. "I've decided to exist in a sea of mediocrity. That's allowed me to do all my tasks, but to in fact do them poorly."

Stewart does feel that his other responsibilities have already affected his performance as a father. "What we're hoping is, in my daughter's first two weeks, she's not going to remember a whole lot of this," he said. "So instead of me being there, I just take my deodorant and jam it in her crib. She'll have the faint smell of me but won't really know I haven't been an influence."

Rushed Judgment

Color commentary just might not be Rush Limbaugh's forte. When Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett was forced out of the Democratic primary in the Senate race in Ohio last week, Limbaugh criticized the New York Times for not saying that the party's preferred candidate is black.

Limbaugh later discovered through listener e-mails to his radio show that the candidate, Rep. Sherrod Brown , is, oops, actually Caucasian.

"Uh, Sherrod Brown's a white guy? Then I'm confusing him with somebody. Okay, I'm sorry," Limbaugh admitted later.

Brown is a seven-term congressman and former Ohio secretary of state. He is currently running against GOP Sen. Mike DeWine .

Brown responded, "Rush Limbaugh obviously knows as much about me as the Republicans know about balancing the budget," for an article published Friday in the Chronicle-Telegram of Elyria, Ohio.

Following the verbal slip, Limbaugh commented on the steady influx of e-mails: "We have corrected this, and I, you know, I'm not gonna apologize because I don't think it's an insult to be black," he said.

In 2003, Limbaugh resigned from ESPN's NFL pregame show after he said quarterback Donovan McNa bb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

Rolling On in Rio

The Rolling Stones brought the spirit of Carnaval to Brazil a week early with a free concert before a crowd of more than a million people at Copacabana Beach on Saturday.

Rio de Janeiro deployed 10,000 police officers -- about three times the usual contingent for the annual festival, according to Ana Maria Maia, Rio's subsecretary of special events.

Earlier this month, three people were crushed to death and 38 injured in Sao Paulo when thousands of fans surged through security barriers at an autograph session for the Mexican band RBD .

This is the Stones' third visit to the country but the first time the band has played free of charge in Brazil, where few can afford tickets to see top international acts.

Nick Lachey's Asterisk

In court papers filed Friday in response to Jessica Simpson's Dec. 16 divorce filing, Nick Lachey said he was reserving the right to seek spousal support. Apparently the two did not have a prenuptial agreement.

Lachey cited irreconcilable differences for the dissolution of the three-year marriage.

The 32-year-old also asked the court to confirm that "miscellaneous jewelry and other personal effects" are separate property, as well as any earnings after the date of separation.

Lachey insists that day was Dec. 13, although Simpson claims it was Nov. 23.

The famed member of the boy band 98 Degrees had more earning power when the couple wed in October 2002. However, Simpson's fame skyrocketed during the marriage. The 25-year-old singer-actress reportedly earned more than $30 million last year, including income from her big-screen debut as Daisy Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard."

Last month, the house that the couple lived in during the "Newlyweds" show was sold to "Malcolm in the Middle" teen star Justin Berfield for an undisclosed price.

-- Compiled by Catherine Handren from Web and wire reports