ELIZABETH TAYLOR HAS SKIN CANCER TREATMENT
 Elizabeth Taylor is a-okay after another hospital stay, this time following successful treatment for skin cancer. Thats the word from her doctor, via a brief statement from Taylors publicist.
Dr. Ronald Thompson announced that the much-married, two-time Oscar-winning actress underwent radiation therapy in June for basal cell carcinoma, a curable form of skin cancer. He said she was fine and there is no evidence of any residual disease. No further details were disclosed. (The announcement was prompted by a supermarket tabloid story that reported Taylor required radiation treatment to battle cancer).
Over the years, Taylor, 70, has logged many a day in the sick bay. She checked in two years ago with a bout of pneumonia, was admitted both in 1999 and 1998 after breaking bones in her back following tumbles in her home, and in 1997, she had a benign brain tumor removed.
LISA LOPES ALBUM SET FOR POSTHUMOUS RELEASE
 When Lisa Left Eye Lopes died in a car crash in April, she left behind a number of unreleased tracks, recorded both for TLC and for her solo project. At the time, that music seemed trapped in limbo. But now that the two surviving members of TLC have announced a Nov. 12 release date for a final album by the trio that will include contributions by Lopes, Suge Knight has followed suit by announcing the release of Lopes solo album a few weeks earlier in October, MTV reports.
Lopes recorded a solo album last year for Arista, TLCs label, called Supermova. It was released throughout the world but, inexplicably, not in the United States. The frustrated Lopes turned to Knight and his revived Tha Row label, recording an album for him under the stage name N.I.N.A. (New Identity Not Applicable). Its not clear how much of the album was finished before her death, or how different it will be from her TLC work.
BILL CLINTON TALK SHOW PROJECTED BY CBS EXECS
 Is Bill Clinton going to be our Talk Show Host-in-Chief? The former president reportedly met with NBC executives in May about the prospect, which NBC quickly shot down. But now, trade reports say that his representatives are in similar talks with syndication giant King World to air a Clinton daytime chatfest on CBS stations.
Likely producers, according to Variety, would be former King World exec Jules Haimovitz, now chief of Dick Clark Productions, and Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, Clinton's Arkansas pals who produced Designing Women and Clintons The Man From Hope campaign documentary. They were in on the May discussions with NBC.
One of the sticking points then was Clintons reported demand for $50 million up front. Its not clear if hes lowered his asking price since then. Also at issue is whether the still very busy ex-president could commit to a five-days-a-week taping schedule.
Variety has described the potential show as Oprah meets Nightline. Of course, to many, Clinton may seem more the Jerry Springer type.
LA TIMES REPORTER NAMES TUPAC SHAKUR KILLER
 The murder of Tupac Shakur in a drive-by shooting six years ago remains unsolved by Las Vegas police. But after a year-long investigation, Los Angeles Times reporter Chuck Philips says he knows who pulled the trigger. It was Orlando Anderson, Philips reported in the Times, naming a now-deceased Crips gang member long suspected but never charged with the murder. But Philips most explosive conclusion is that Anderson asked Tupacs rap rival, the Notorious B.I.G., to pay $1 million for the hit, and that Biggie not only agreed but supplied the gun as well.
Philips wrote that the killing was the culmination of a feud, not just between East Coast and West Coast rap factions, but between the Crips and Bloods gangs. According to Philips, Tupacs label boss, Suge Knight, used Bloods as bodyguards for himself and his Death Row artists, while Biggie Smalls and other artists on Sean Combs Bad Boy label hired Crips for security (an allegation P. Diddy has denied).
Philips account contradicts a theory of the crime espoused by author Randall Sullivan in his recent book LAbyrinth, which claims that Knight was behind both rappers killings. (His alleged beef against Tupac: the rapper was edging toward leaving Death Row, at a time when Knight supposedly owed him millions in royalties). Knight has denied involvement in either death.
Sullivan says the Smalls killing remains unsolved because it involves rogue L.A. cops who worked security for Knight, and the department didnt want the embarrassment at a time when it was already rocked by the Ramparts corruption scandal.
JAZZ GREAT LIONEL HAMPTON DIES AT AGE 94
 Jazz vibraphone virtuoso Lionel Hampton, known as the King of the Vibes for his groundbreaking use of the instrument in jams with fellow luminaries like Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Charlie Parker, died of heart failure in New York recently. He was 94.
A giant in the history of American jazz and one of the last links to the big band era, Hampton kicked off his six-decade career in the 1920s as a drummer. He gained early fame breaking the color barrier with African-American pianist Teddy Wilson in a quartet that included white musicians Goodman and drummer Gene Krupa.
During the early 1930s, however, Hampton became a master of the instrument for which he would become best known, the vibraphone. With its lulling sound, produced by soft mallets hitting metal keys to produce a vibrating tone, the vibes quickly became a key part of the jazz lexicon and established Hamptons enduring reputation as an innovator.
He perfected a melodic swinging style of jazz that resulted in more than 200 pieces of music. Among his most famous compositions: Flying Home, Midnight Sun and Evil Gal Blues.
LA JUDGE NIXES CAMERAS FOR ROBERT BLAKE HEARING
 A Los Angeles judge has moved to ban cameras from the preliminary hearing for Robert Blake, who's accused of gunning down wife Bonny Lee Bakley.
Blake, behind bars since his April 18 arrest, sported snowy white locks in his court appearance, which was attended by actress/supporter Sally Kirkland. While that proceeding was recorded for TV, Superior Court Judge Lloyd Nash granted a defense request that the prelim, to feature witness testimony, be a media-circus-free zone.
Nash set November 13 as the start date for the prelim, quashing prosecutors bid for a hearing that would have kicked off in just 10 days.
The prelim will determine if theres enough evidence to try Blake and his bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, in the Bakley slaying.
Blake is charged with four counts stemming from the May 2001 shooting outside a Studio City, California, restaurant long frequented by the Emmy winner. Caldwell stands accused of conspiracy to commit murder. Both men have pleaded innocent to all counts against them.
The November prelim date is a victory for Blake's side; a time-killer for impatient prosecutors.
SENATOR SIGNED AS LAW AND ORDER PROSECUTOR
 The man who once said, After two years in Washington, I often long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood, is trading in the musty corridors of power for the must-see-TV halls of justice.
United States Senator Fred Thompson has just signed on as the new chief prosecutor on NBCs Law and order. The Tennessee lawyer and politico, who served as a federal prosecutor and Senate Watergate counsel in 1973, replaces head prosecutor Diane Wiest, who's leaving the show after two seasons.
Thompson is no novice thespian. He has had supporting roles in more than a dozen Hollywood flicks, including The Hunt For Red October, Die Hard 2 and In The Line of Fire.
PAUL SIMON TO REPLACE McCARTNEY AT KENNEDY FETE
 Paul Simon will replace Paul McCartney at this years Kennedy Center Honors. McCartney backed out of the event, citing a personal scheduling conflict. He postponed his acceptance of the prestigious arts award until next year.
After the former Beatle issued his scheduling conflict, the Kennedy Center announced that Simon would replace him at the Dec. 8 event. Simon rose to fame with partner Art Garfunkel in the 1960s. In 1986, he released a Grammy-winning solo album, Graceland, and in March, 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Simon was already on a trustees list of future honorees, so when the call came and his schedule showed no conflict, he happily accepted).
Simons publicist said his client was not a guy who was particularly into awards, but he considered the Kennedy Center Honors a privilege and an honor.
ACADEMY AWARDS REJECT BID TO MOVE TO NEW YORK
 The 2003 Academy Awards will remain in Hollywood, although a segment of the show may be televised from New York, the academy says. Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein enlisted a number of high-powered New Yorkers, including Spike Lee, Woody Allen and Gov. George Pataki in a bid to get the show to the East Coast in March as a tribute to Sept. 11.
TV GUIDE RANKS SPRINGER SHOW WORST OF ALL TIME
 TV Guide has named The Jerry Springer Show the worst television show of all time. The publication ranked the 50 worst shows. Rounding out the top 10 were My Mother the Car, XFL, The Brady Bunch Hour, Hogans Heroes,, Celebrity Boxing, AfterMASH, Cop Rock, Youre in the Picture and Hee Haw Honeys.
MARTHA STEWART WILL LAUNCH BOOK CLUB THIS FALL
 Martha Stewart, currently fighting insider-trading allegations, will launch her own book club this fall on her syndicated TV show, Martha Stewart Living, according to the New York Observer. The first guest of Marthas Favorite Books segment will be Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything Is Illuminated).
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