Wednesday, April 9, 2003 | 10:36 a.m.
We're talkin' divas, but not Celine, for a change.
The sixth annual "VH1 Divas" show is coming back to Las Vegas, the cable music network and officials from the MGM Grand Garden Arena confirmed Tuesday.
The lineup includes Academy Award-nominated actress and Grammy-winning rapper Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan and Jewel.
MGM spokesman Scott Ghertner promised "additional performers, presenters and special guests."
While Celine sponsor DaimlerChrysler is also one of the VH1 show's sponsors, Diva Las Vegas probably won't make a surprise guest appearance. She performs that evening in her own show at Caesars Palace.
"We're pretty excited about hosting the show," Richard Sturm, president and chief operating officer, MGM MIRAGE Entertainment and Sports, told VegasBeat. "We anticipate a sensational evening."
The concert will air live on VH1 (Cox cable channel 33) on May 22 at 9 p.m.
Tickets -- only four per customer -- go on sale Saturday morning at TicketMaster and at the MGM box office. Prices range from $60 to $175.
The "Diva" specials raise funds for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, which helps put music lessons back into classrooms.
Cosby show
Bill Cosby, who entertained a National Association of Broadcasters crowd at the Bellagio Sunday night, also let slip some news that will be officially announced today.
The lovable comic is teaming with Nickelodeon to produce Nick at Nite's first original series, "Fatherhood" -- based on Cosby's 1986 best-selling book.
Seven half-hour episodes are to go into production soon, with a December premiere.
The series will feature the voice of David Alan Grier as the central character of Dr. Bindlebeep, a high school teacher and father of three.
The look of characters will be based on the drawings of New Yorker cartoonist George Booth.
Vegas Times
The New York Times had a pair of Vegas-themed articles in its Arts section Tuesday.
On the front page was a positive review of the new FX show "Lucky," which is set in Las Vegas and stars John Corbett as a down-and-out former World Poker Championship winner.
Inside was a very positive review of the James McManus book, "Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker," which VegasBeat wrote about a few weeks back.
Russ to D.C.
Comic magician Russ Merlin -- who does a routine in "V -- The Ultimate Variety Show" at The Venetian -- has been plucked by Larry King to co-star at King's Washington fund-raiser on April 17.
"I was thrilled to meet King when he came to see the show" last month, Merlin told VegasBeat. "And when his organization called the next day and asked me to perform ... I feel extremely honored to have been invited to make people laugh in the birthplace of comedy, Washington, D.C."
"An Evening With Larry King and Friends" is a benefit for King's Cardiac Foundation. The headliner is Lionel Richie and the featured speaker is Tommy Lasorda, former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is the evening's honorary chairman.
Mr. Ed?
The horsey set is coming to Las Vegas.
The Budweiser World Cup 2003 gallops into the Thomas & Mack Center April 16 to April 20. Some of the world's top riders, including veteran U.S. Equestrian Team rider Leslie Howard, will be competing.
And if you plan to be at McCarran International Airport on Saturday, do not be surprised to see a real horse's, uh, hind quarters, in a security line. Seems that many of the four-legged competitors are arriving from overseas and will be briefly quarantined and examined before being allowed into the country.
Double vision
Sitting ringside at the Harvey Korman/Tim Conway show at Stardust on Thursday night were the Edwards Twins, Anthony and Eddie.
From the stage, Korman noticed the identical pair -- dressed as themselves, not one of the many characters they impersonate -- and called them out to the amusement of the packed house.
The duo apparently also startled Elton John at his MGM show with Billy Joel last month, too. Anthony was sitting in the front row decked out in his full Elton regalia.
The twins, who started their impersonation act as part of the "An Evening at La Cage" cast at the Riviera, now play at Laughlin's River Palms, and just finished a Sunset Station run.
Also taking in Korman and Conway over the weekend: Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and his wife, Mickie, who sat with Steve and Elaine Wynn.
VegasBits
Rumors are starting to fly that Madonna will attend a release party for her new "American Life" album that Warner Bros. has scheduled at the Palms on April 24 ...
Stephen Sorrentino will open for caustic comic Dennis Miller when the former "Saturday Night Live" star headlines at Paris Las Vegas April 25 to April 27 ...
The "Wheelmobile" pulls into The Rio this weekend. It is a mobile facility to audition contestants for the televised game show "Wheel of Fortune." Fans of the Pat Sajak-hosted show also will have an opportunity to play a simulated broadcast version of the game ...
First, VegasBeat reported that the Hard Rock Hotel had banned Evian and Perrier. Then, it was Paris Las Vegas pulling down the French flag. Now, we hear that Coast Casinos boss Michael Gaughan has banned French wine and water from his properties ...
Tavis Smiley, who hosts a show on National Public Radio and is also a correspondent on "Good Morning America," will be doing a book signing and autograph session at the KCEP 88-FM radio booth at the second annual Las Vegas Black Expo on Saturday afternoon at Cashman Center.
From Sun wires
Comedic actor Rodney Dangerfield underwent an eight-hour arterial brain surgery to improve his body's blood flow in preparation for yet another surgery, a heart valve replacement.
The operation began Tuesday morning at University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center.
The surgery is intended to deal with blockages in the main artery in the neck, which carries blood to the brain. Typically, surgeons make a small hole in the skull, then connect an artery in the scalp to another inside the skull, increasing blood flow to the brain.
Dangerfield, 81, is expected to recover after about 10 days of hospitalization. His heart valve surgery is planned about three weeks after that.
War of the world?: Jane Fonda told a Canadian audience that she fears the U.S. campaign in Iraq will turn people all over the world against America.
"What it's going to mean for (America's) stability as a nation, for terrorism, for the economy -- I can't imagine," Fonda said Tuesday. "I think the entire world is going to be united against us."
That frightens her, she said, but she isn't sure what Americans can do about it.
"I don't know if a country where the people are so ignorant of reality and of history, if you can call that a free world," she said.
Fonda made her comments in Vancouver as part of the Unique Lives and Experiences lecture series.
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