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By RODNEY HO

Anderson Cooper was already a busy man at CNN. But like many of his peers at CNN and sister station HLN (Joy Behar, Dr. Drew, Piers Morgan), he is deciding to do double duty on TV.

Besides Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN at 8 p.m., he debuted his his syndicated chat show on Monday with family members of the late Amy Winehouse. (Currently, Anderson airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on WPBF-TV 25.) That’s the type of scoop that Oprah Winfrey might have gotten if she were still around doing her daily talk show.

But Cooper isn’t arrogant enough to say he’s filling Oprah’s shoes.

“I wouldn’t even dare try,” he said in an interview last week. “Oprah’s extraordinary. She’s not going anywhere. Her network is going through some ratings trouble but I have no doubt she’ll do well.”

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By RODNEY HO

Atlanta-based TBS has picked up a new sitcom created by Conan O’Brien’s production company Conaco and Warner Brothers.

The yet untitled half-hour sitcom, based on what little details provided, is about a man who quits his job and returns to his old neighborhood, where he reunites with his former best friend. That hardly sounds groundbreaking. Its success will naturally come down to execution. O’Brien will be one of the executive producers.

A launch date has not been set.

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By RODNEY HO

Katharine McPhee, the star of the upcoming NBC show “Smash,” is getting her own record deal with Columbia Records, the network revealed Thursday.

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By RODNEY HO

Call it cynical. Call it Hollywood creative bankruptcy. Call it whatever you want. But “Teen Wolf” is back — whether you wanted it to be or not.

The campy 1985 Michael J. Fox flick generated $33 million in box office grosses and a sequel starring Jason Bateman. Sadly, it hasn’t exactly stood the test of time.

But with all the heat on vampires, MTV decided to attack werewolves, bringing the “Teen Wolf” concept into the 21st century. Jeff Davis, the executive producer best known for CBS’ sinister “Criminal Minds,” was happy to oblige.

“Taking an old brand doesn’t matter so much if that’s what’s gets things made on networks,” Davis said. And besides, much of the MTV audience wouldn’t even know about the original movie.

“It’s simply a great title,” Davis added. “You look back at Hitchcock. He said titles should be short and tell you exactly what it’s about. ‘Vertigo.’ ‘Psycho.’ ‘Teen Wolf.’ It works for me!”

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Somewhere, there’s a former KFC employee telling a tale that no one has ever believed.

The story? That he was working the drive-thru one night after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and Michael Jackson pulls up in a car with Elizabeth Taylor and a hungry Marlon Brando.

It’s far-fetched enough to be a blockbuster film script, but it just may be true.

Vanity Fair is reporting the tale online, but citing Corey Feldman as a corroborating witness doesn’t do much to help the writer’s credibility. But it may help him sell a few books on the life of Liz Taylor.

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By Alexis Stevens

Rapper Fabolous is accused of assaulting a restaurant bus boy with a glass bottle and a fist during a visit to Atlanta, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court.

The 31-year-old Fabolous, whose real name is John Jackson, is accused of attacking Octavious Butler at Fox Sports Grill, according to the lawsuit. Jackson and an unknown person attacked Butler without being provoked, the suit contends. Read the full story

By RODNEY HO

Mark Harmon, the charming lead on CBS’s “NCIS” is the most popular TV personality, based on a Harris Interactive online poll of 2,331 adults last month.

He bumped Oprah Winfrey, who is the only personality who has remained on the list for its entire 18-year history. She has been No. 1 eight times. She tied for No. 2 with “House” lead Hugh Laurie.

Conan O’Brien is ranked No. 4. He became a cause celebre among younger viewers last year after NBC tried to force him out of the 11:35 p.m. “Tonight Show” slot a year ago to bring back Jay Leno. He is now on TBS. This is O’Brien’’s first appearance in the poll’s top 10 since 2006.

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By Melissa Ruggieri

We’ve all been there.

Rushing through the mall, trying to hit that last couple of sales before proclaiming victory (or defeat) for the afternoon and, suddenly, the temptation overwhelms us.

We might not even be hungry, but we’re surrounded by food. And the worst of it – the cookies, the pretzels, the frozen yogurt with a cup of hot fudge – is the most enticing. Read the full story

By Helena Oliviero

The excitement builds in a cavernous classroom at Marist High School after the school’s elite chamber choir sings a new song, and it’s pitch-perfect.

“Not bad for only the second time seeing this piece,” Sharon Coheley, the school chorus director, says with a smile.

Marist may be well-known as a sports powerhouse, but the private Catholic school is also a singing sensation. The school features 11 choral ensembles, including the Girl’s Trio, the Men’s Quartet and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. The list goes on, with singers belting out not only the classics but pop song mash-ups, too.

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By ALEXIS STEVENS and LARRY HARTSTEIN

The mother of the man threatening a suicide jump credited rapper T.I. with saving her son’s life, and says her son’s problems are real.

“I wish it was a publicity stunt, and that my son wasn’t hurting as bad as he is,” the woman told radio station V-103 during an interview Thursday. “Thank God for T.I.”

The woman’s comments came as the rapper himself responded to speculation that the incident Wednesday afternoon was planned.

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