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Hank Azaria UPI Photo John Hayes

Hank Azaria’s girlfriend Katie Wright and their four-month-old baby Hal just joined him on Pittsburgh location of “Love and Other Drugs” – which couldn’t please the actor and funnyman more. 

Although his son was born prematurely, “He’s fine — a big, 10-pound baby now.  He’s very calm, very easily soothed, very mellow so far.  It is fun to have the little guy around.  He’s just starting to recognize us,” reports Azaria. 

Asked about what kind of role he’d most like to play next, the besotted new dad answers, “To be honest, I’m pretty happy to hang around and just stare at the baby for awhile.” 

MEANWHILE:  Right now, Azaria’s attention is also on “Love and Other Drugs.”  In fact, he tells us that with the health care debate raging on, he and Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal and the rest of the “Love and Other Drugs” team keep saying to each other, “We wish this movie was coming out next week.  It just has so much to say about the effect big pharma has really had on the medical profession and the health care world.  It’s greater than people think,” Hank declares.  “This really goes into what that system has created and how it works in a day-to-day way.”

As it is, the comedic drama/romance has weeks of production left to go.  Azaria is playing “a doctor of questionable ethics, who engages in some things dealing with pharmaceutical companies that you wish your doctor wouldn’t do” in the feature.  Drawn from “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman” by Jamie Reidy, the film’s depiction of “this whole world – the pharmaceutical world – and the Viagra story itself are all true.  The love story between Jake and Anne, that part is fiction,” he says. 

Meanwhile, the four-time Emmy winner has been recording his “The Simpsons” parts long distance as on the “Drugs” shoot goes.  The landmark animated comedy is soon to hit its 20 year milestone, and he’s looking forward to celebrating that.  “I’m sure they’ll be doing some kind of party or something with a lot of balloons.”

MAN ON THE MOVE:  Dividing his time between making and promoting the “Twilight” sequel, “New Moon,” and threequel, “Eclipse,” and his work as Dr. Fitch “Coop” Cooper on “Nurse Jackie” has put, well, nearly inhuman demands on Peter Facinelli, a.k.a. head vampire Carlyle Cullen, over the past several months. 

“Sometimes I’ve gone without sleep for like 36 hours.  It’s tedious, but we worked it all out and it’s been doable, with some flying back and forth,” says Facinelli.  “It’s exciting. I mean, I love to do what I do. I love to work.  Sometimes it’s nice to have a break in-between, yes, but you do what you need to do.”

He did two weeks of rehearsal and a week of fight training for “Eclipse,” then went into filming the movie with plans to dive directly into new season shooting on “Nurse Jackie.”  As far as his schedule, “It was great. Both sides kind of worked it out before the boards were done on both shows.  The trick is to go in early to talk about your schedule, before the boards are done.  So it’s give and take,” he says.

 Fight training came pretty easily to him.  “I’m pretty athletic.  I did that show ‘Fast Lane’ for awhile and I did 90 per cent of my own stunts, just because I like doing them.  If I don’t go home bruised, I don’t feel like I put in a good day’s work.”

The actor, also known as Jennie Garth’s hubby, certainly couldn’t be playing characters who are much farther apart.  “Someone sent me a picture of Carlyle Cullen next to a picture of Coop and they were so vastly different it made me laugh.  Sometimes I look at pictures of Carlyle and say ‘I don’t look anything like that.’  I’ve always tried to do different things.  When people ask me what I want to do next, I always say ‘Anything I haven’t done before.’”

NOT FOR KIDS:  The no-holds-barred conversation Denise Richards had with Howard Stern on his radio show last June – in which she discussed her boob jobs, types of sex she enjoyed, and ex Charlie Sheen – was so scintillating to Stern fans that the actress-reality star-Playboy pictorial subject has been dubbed a top guest of all time.  “I was very surprised by the response,” she tells us, making it clear she has no regrets.  “I would definitely do Howard Stern’s show again. You have to know what you’re getting into, and I did.  That’s why I’d never done his show before.  My publicist was saying, ‘I don’t think there’s anything you haven’t been asked at this point,’ so I decided to do it and have fun with it, and I was very honest with him,” she recounts.  “Obviously, as soon as I got done, I called my dad back in L.A. and said, ‘Do not listen to Howard Stern,’ and, you know, if you see any quotes on the internet, don’t read them.”  Obviously.

THE BIGGEST SOFTIE:  Hard-driving though “The Biggest Loser” trainer Bob Harper may be, he’s also known to hold a competitor’s hand and have a cry in an emotional moment.  He bonds with his followers and has “established lasting friendships.  I’m a touchstone for them.  If they need me for anything, they reach out.  With all the social networking possibilities these days, I definitely hear from them – ‘Bob, I’ve hit a plateau.’  You have to trust the process to stay on course.”

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Debbie Allen is hoping that the new “Fame” feature that opens Friday (9/25) will do more than entertain – it will serve as a reminder of the importance of arts education at a time when “the money dries up right and left.

Debbie Allen

“We have a war going on,” declares the dance great.  “Where is the money for the arts?  There is no money, but the arts should be one of the last things to be cut.  We need the arts to initiate, to create, to have a voice.  The performing arts are one of the best ways to connect people.  It’s character education.”

 Allen is in the new “Fame” – making her the only performer to appear in the hit 1980 film, its spin-off TV series, and the new movie.  Her character may be named Principal Simms, but to Debbie, she’s playing the same fiercely dedicated teacher she’s played all along.  “After all this time, I am the same character.  Lydia Grant is married – this is her married name,” she says with a laugh. “That’s how the world is going to know her.  I’ve never left it.” 

 Indeed, she carried Lydia Grant into her own life, founding her immensely successful Debbie Allen Dance Academy that’s already seen students hitting the big time, including her daughter, Vivian Nixon, of Broadway’s “Hot Feet” — and “So You Think You Can Dance” contestant William Wingfield.  She’s had other dancers and choreographers land work on stage and screen – including “Fame.”

 “A few of my students are in it.  One of my right hands – Marguerite Derricks – choreographed it.  When I saw it, I just beamed and gushed about how wonderful her work is,” she recounts.

 Debbie herself recently choreographed and directed Mariah Carey’s big new Las Vegas show.  Now, besides her ongoing activities presiding over the school, she is getting ready to direct the London production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” that she directed on Broadway last year – starring her sister Phylicia Rashad and Sanaa Lathan.    

 SO GOOD IT’S BAD:  “I appreciate that people are taking better care of themselves, but I’m like your dirty secret,” says Blythe Beck, who is starring in her own Oxygen reality series “The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck,” debuting today (9/22).

 ”I am the naughty chef.  I call my food sexy new American – food you ate growing up but I make it naughty.  I’m all about beer, butter, pork fat, and loving on your food.  The more love you give to it, the naughtier it is,” claims the sassy chef, who runs the Dallas restaurant Central 214.  “You wouldn’t eat this food every single day, but you come to me when you want to celebrate the good times or be comforted in the bad times.  I just want people to come in my restaurant and let me love on them for a little while.” 

Despite so many cooking shows on television at the moment, Beck claims her show is different.  “My show is not just about cooking.  It’s more of following me around as a chef.  My life alone has been like a television show with the ups and downs of working in this field, and now it actually is one,” she adds with a laugh.  “I’m just blessed that cooking is the gift God gave me.  It’s the best gift ever.” 

Adam Hicks

YOUNG STAR ON THE RISE:  Adam Hicks, Luther Waffles to fans of  “Zeke & Luther,”  is resting up a bit between his and fellow star Hutch Dano’s just-finished promotional sweep of Europe and the start of second season production of their popular Disney XD show.

 “It was amazing!  Everything was a new experience.  Hutch and I are open to all these new things all the time.  I had a blast,” he says.  “I got to see the Eiffel Tower; I’d always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower.  I loved Germany…”  And he got recognized in Paris, he reports.

 Did he and Hutch ever get on each other’s nerves?  “We never really did.  We have a good relationship.  We balance each other out,” he says.  “We’re constantly working together, so that’s great.”

 Hicks, who starred in the big screen “How to Eat Fried Worms” and has a sizeable list of TV and movie credits,  recalls feeling “a different vibe” about “Zeke and Luther” than anything he’d done previously.  “It was more fast-paced, fast cut — a lot of outrageous comedy with us skateboarding down the streets and stuff like that.  I wondered if people would be open to this new flavor of comedy.”

 They were.  Now the amiable red-haired 17-year-old is getting used to being asked questions about what makes a good kiss and such by the teen magazines.  He seems to be taking it all in stride.  “I’m open to answering a lot of the questions.  I’ll give you my best advice,” he says.

FEELING GOOD:  “The Biggest Loser” host Alison Sweeney admits to pangs of jealousy over her husband’s ability to eat just about anything without putting on weight.  “He’s so thin,” she says of her mate, California Highway Patrolman David Sanov.  But it’s not as if he gets a free ride as far as staying in shape, she points out.  “He works out.  It’s interesting.  You learn it’s not just about how many pounds you see on the scale — it’s about what’s going on on the inside, too.  So it’s about what you put into your body and maintaining your health and fitness.” 

 With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Lots of “Biggest Loser” fans felt things went too far on this week’s premiere episode – when contestants Mo DeWalt and Tracey Yukich wound up hospitalized after a surprise challenge that called for a mile run by the newcomers, some of whom weighed in at more than 400 lbs.  Yukich, in fact, was still in the hospital as the episode concluded.

But when Bob Harper is asked if he and fellow “Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels worry about pushing the “losers” too hard, he’s quick to make it clear, “No, because we know what we’re doing.  When that happened, when that girl was sent to the hospital, we’d never met her.  She should not have run the way she did.” 

He notes that when Yukich did make it back to the “Biggest Loser” ranch, “We had to take it real easy with her.”

Is he concerned that the incident will reflect badly on him?

“I don’t think it really reflects on my training,” he replies.  “My style and technique through eight years have been established.”

Indeed.  The fitness master, who debuts as a regular contributor on the syndicated “Dr. Oz” show today (9/18), is known as much for his tenderhearted, sometimes teary-eyed ways as his tough workouts. 

He also put his all into the October-release “Biggest Loser” game for Nintendo Wii and DS, he lets us know.  It allows users to experience their own versions of life at the “Biggest Loser” ranch, complete with food journals, calorie-burning logs, recipes, challenges – and, of course, workouts.  “I was part of putting all the workouts together,” says Harper, who also tested the finished product.  He stresses that he wanted to be sure to give users a full-body regimen, with everything from core and upper body strengthening exercises to yoga.  The only drawback:  “I’m taller and thinner than my avatar,” he dead-pans.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG:  Ernest Bognine has been a perpetual motion man in recent months, with film commitments, book signings for his autobiography, and last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards – where he lost out to Michael J. Fox for Guest Actor in a Drama honors.  Now, “I may stay with my wife in Pennsylvania for awhile.  She bought a place there because it’s so close to her work,” he tells us, referring to wife Tova’s Beauty By Tova cosmetics line that’s featured on West Chester, PA-based QVC.  Ernie notes that Tova is also often on the go for her business – “to England, to Dusseldorf, Germany, to Italy…If she goes to Italy, I go along,” laughs the man born Ermes Effron Borgnino 92 years ago to an Italian countess who emigrated from Modena.

He happily adds that he and Tova “thank our lucky stars because after all this time and everything that’s happened, we love each other all the more every day.  This marriage has lasted close to 38 years now.  And to think, people gave us an hour and a half when we got married.”

THE HEARTTHROB BEAT:  “Melrose Place’s” Colin Egglesfield, who’s had the tough duty of romancing Laura Leighton and Ashlee Simpson on the show, doesn’t mind putting it right out there:  “I’m really living my dream right now.  It’s really awesome.  My family back home – they are just so excited.  When I booked the job, you probably could have heard my mom and sister screaming from Chicago,” he says.  “I’ve had text messages from friends – ‘I saw you on the side of a bus!’”  He’s trying to exercise caution in these heady times, however.  “The tricky part right now is, you want to enjoy what you have – but you still have a job to do and you want to do the best job possible.  Without that, none of the rest matters.”  His family members, he adds, “keep me grounded, for sure.”

INSIDE INSIGHT:  Veteran actor Rocky Carroll, remembered by many from the TV series “Roc,” is now a two-series regular, working both “NCIS” and its spin-off, “NCIS: Los Angeles.”  He tells us he feels blessed to still be working regularly in a business that is known for having no rules.  “I’ve been doing this professionally now for over 20 years.  The key for actors whose careers last more than a few years, part of it has to do with luck, but a huge part of it is I still love what I do,” says Carroll, who plays Director Leon Vance in the CBS drama. 

“There are actors in town who get a taste of success and your whole view of the town starts to sour and it shows in your demeanor and your work.  You go to an audition and everyone sees you have a chip on your shoulder because you feel like your career should be further.  You have to understand it’s simply a business,” he notes.  “Things are cyclical.  There’s no rhyme or reason why seven movies are made about the same topic.  I think the real artists are the ones who roll with the punches.  This is a business where paupers can become kings.  You’ll read a story of a guy who worked in the mailroom and now has a three-picture deal.  That is the norm in our business.  That doesn’t necessarily happen at somewhere like IBM.  That’s why busloads of people come to Los Angeles every day.”  

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

“King of the Hill” fans hoped Fox execs would change their minds about canceling the animated series, but star

Kathy Najimy, (Photo from Kathy Najimy offical website)

Kathy Najimy, who provided the voice of Peggy Hill, says it’s definitely over.

“Isn’t that terrible?  It’s the worst thing in the world. That was the best job I ever had,” says Najimy of the cancellation.  “I wasn’t surprised because they canceled us before and then they brought us back.  This time when they canceled us, I thought they might bring us back” – but it didn’t happen.  Still, “There’s always a chance they could sell it to another network,” she adds.

The final episode airs Sept. 13.

The actress-playwright-director-activist has plenty of other things on her plate as she’s currently penning a one-woman show and has a guest starring stint on Lifetime’s hit dramedy “Drop Dead Diva” Sunday (8/23).  “Margaret Cho emailed me and said, ‘Come do my TV show in Atlanta.’  She’s a person who, when she says come, I come.  I don’t even ask what it is.  I show up, get in a costume, and do what she says because she’s so brilliant,” gushes Najimy.  “At some point after you’re 20, you start caring about the quality of your experience.  The last thing I want to do is be involved with egos or stress. There was no drama there except in the script.”

The show hit a strong chord with the actress, who has always been an advocate for women’s issues.  “This show is great for Lifetime.  I think people want to support anything that sort of levels the field of all the craziness that’s going on with women and their bodies.  Brooke [Elliot] herself is such a surprise,” she adds.  “We’re not used to somebody coming from Broadway that we don’t know in TV land, and she has such a charming, easy way about her.  The truth is, it’s terribly difficult to play a model who has died and comes back in the body of a normal-sized lawyer.  She does it with such ease that we don’t question it.  I’m a big fan of hers and from what I’ve read from the reviews, America has really responded to her as well.”

FULLY DEVELOPED: It’s a different Jennie Garth than we’ve seen before on Candace Bushnell’s Sept. 10-debuting web series, “The Broadroom.” “I play a woman executive.  That was a fun thing for me – to step into my maturity a little bit and play someone my age.”

Jennie, who’s 37, could easily get away with playing years younger, but she’s not trying to.  She points out that her and husband Peter Facinelli’s daughters are now ages 12, six and two.

The couple have been juggling parental duty with their various assignments – she also has an as-yet-undetermined number of “90210” episodes to shoot this season, while he’s busy making the third film in the “Twilight” series, “Eclipse,” and will go into “Nurse Jackie” shooting as soon as he’s finished.

They have to make their schedules work, Jennie tells us.  “We have three little people depending on us.  You know, when he’s working I take it all on, because I’m not going to leave them with someone else.  That’s our job.”

LIFE IS TWEET: A funny thing happened during intermission at one of the Jonas Brothers’ recent L.A. concerts – when suddenly there was an outbreak of audience members spontaneously flapping their hands at the Staples Center.  Turns out it was the work of “Wizards of Waverly Place” star David Henrie, who was there taking in the show (so were teen faves Aly & A.J.) and communicating with his Twitter followers.  The 20-year-old actor instructed his fans who were on hand: “If ur on Twitter scream and wave ur hands like ur on fire.”  He then shot a photo of the audience from his seat and posted it, then Tweeted, “Wave ur hands and scream if ur in this pic.”  Others could only wonder what kind of mass insanity was taking hold.

“The Biggest Loser” host and “Days of Our Lives” actress Alison Sweeney is a frequent Tweeter.  She tells us, “It’s so much fun for interacting with the fans, sharing stories, taking photos at awards, I love it.  I get to see their reactions, or watch shows together, or even just talk about Shark Week or whatever.”  Naturally, her soap followers are a strong presence.  “Obviously there are fan groups who have different kinds of conflicting opinions about the show and my character’s love life.  It’s great to get that kind of feedback.”

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Bob Harper

“The Biggest Loser” has its Season 7 live finale tonight (11/12) – which, for trainer Bob Harper, is a little like graduation time.

“I feel like a school teacher, living vicariously with my students as they go on in life,” says the popular fitness expert.  Harper, in fact, does stay in touch with quite a few of his former “Biggest Loser” contestants, “through emails, Facebook, text messaging.  Certain people strike a heartstring,” he says.

Viewers of the hit NBC show probably won’t be surprised to know that among the alumni who keep trainer Bob apprised of their doings are Mark and Jay Kruger, Roger Shultz and Dan Evans – guys from Season 5.  

Then there are those who don’t.  Case in point:  This season’s Joelle Gwynn, who got into on-camera battles with Bob on more than one occasion and wound up estranged from Carla Triplett, the Best Friend with whom she entered the weight loss competition.

He’s surprised himself by his “yelling and screaming at Joelle this season.  There are times you just get your buttons pressed,” he says with a sigh. 

Then there is the occasional unwelcome news that a former contestant has packed on the pounds again.  “I understand why people gain weight,” says Bob.  “I try to tell people, ‘It’s a lifestyle change — you have to manage it for the rest of your life.  You can’t go back to your old ways.’  But some do.” 

Compared to many weight loss regimens, he notes, “The Biggest Loser” has “a really good success rate, about 50-50” of those who manage to keep off the pounds and those who gain back.   He cites such “Biggest Loser” successes as Ali Vincent, the Season 5 winner, who is now the spokesperson for 24 Hour Fitness gyms, Bill Germanakos from Season 4, “who does public speaking,” and Dan Evans  The latter, “has a music career going now, he’s done a great job.”

PUTTING IN THE GOOD WORD:  Charlie Sheen has been staying on the straight and narrow both on and off screen of late, but Emmanuelle Vaugier, who plays his ex-fiancé on “Two and a Half Men,” tells us she’s coming back to make things interesting. 

It certainly must involve some drama, considering his character is engaged. 

“I’m back to stir the pot!  I seem to get brought back on the show for that reason quite a bit, but I have no complaints.  I’m perfectly happy to go stir the pot,” says Vaugier of her May 18 episode on the popular CBS series.  Working with Sheen is a treat, claims the actress, who insists he’s a lot different from his past party boy reputation.  “He’s a sweetheart.  He’s nothing like the persona people have of him.” 

Fans will see Vaugier’s more serious side as she reprises her role on Thursday’s (5/14) finale of “CSI: NY.”  “I’ve been on the show for three years now as a recurring character.  The season finale is coming up and it’s a very action packed episode with lots of twists and turns.  That was a lot of fun to shoot,” she says of playing Detective Jennifer Angell.  “It’s very different from what I’m used to doing because with this show, the less you do the better.  To them, murder is not a big deal, whereas you and I would be like, ‘Oh my God, someone’s been murdered!’  It’s so cool, though.  I’ve been able to work with guns, chase people down, and do some of my own stunts.” 

When asked if we can see more of her next year, she responds, “We will have to wait and see what they muster up next season.  I have some ideas but I’m not at liberty to say what they might be doing.”  

INSIDE INSIGHT: Wayne Brady has made a living doing improv, and while he has become quite skilled at it, he admits he gets nervous every time he goes out on stage.  “I get nervous all the time.  If I didn’t, I would be in trouble,” says Brady who is currently starring in his own show in Las Vegas.  “If you don’t get nervous then you’re probably not at the top of your game because nerves keep things heightened and it keeps you on your toes while you’re always trying to find that punch line.  They’re actually a good part of the job.” 

NEW MEDIA MAN:  “My Boys” star Reid Scott tells us he’s not just a pretty face on camera.  He’s about to also be a pretty face behind the scenes as he’s set to direct a series of webisodes this summer.  “Directing is what I started off doing.  I went to Syracuse and combined directing and theatre into one.  I’ve always loved acting and it’s been good to me so that’s been my focus,” he notes.  “I’m going to direct a web series for crackle.com called ‘The Prick.’  I’m not sure when that’s going to launch, but I’m excited about delving into it.  It’s easier branch out now that I’m at a position where I have kind of a regular schedule.  I know when I have time off so I can plan around that.”

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster