SPEAKING OF HIT MEN: The New York Daily News reporting that Paul Falco, the 37-year-old brother of Sopranos star Edie Falco, is accused of assaulting his legally blind fiancée and threatening her with a butcher knife.
ROCK AND WAR? Rocker Tommy Lee proposing a tour of military bases as a way of meeting the terms of his community service. Rhe rocker still has to finish 237 hours of community service to meet the requirements of his probation on spousal abuse charges.
RUMBLING EARLY: Miramax planning to move up the domestic release date of Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, from December 25 to an earlier Friday to avoid clashing with Catch Me If You Can, Steven Spielberg's action comedy also starring DiCaprio and set for a Christmas opening.
DIE HARDEST? Bruce Willis and producer Arnold Rifkin's Cheyenne Enterprises near a deal with 20th Century Fox to commit to a fourth installment of the Die Hard franchise.
NOT LOGICAL: The Seattle Times reporting that the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle dropped Leonard Nimoy from its October 23 fundraiser because he features naked and partially dressed women, some with Jewish ritual items, in his new book of photography.
SNUFFED: Ghandia Johnson, the 33-year-old legal secretary from Denver, the latest bootee in Survivor: Thailand. She and tribes mate Ted Rogers had been involved in a he-said, she-said spat after he snuggled her while sleeping.
MUST-SEE WARS: According to preliminary Nielsens, Friends drew 26 million viewers to beat Survivor's 21 million last night. But CBS won the night on the strength of CSI, which led all shows with 30.3 million viewers.
SPRUNG: Laura Zapata, sister of Latin pop star Thalia, released after being held by kidnappers in Mexico for 18 days. Another sister, Ernestina Sodi, who was kidnapped along with Zapata, is still missing.
BAD TIMING: Twentieth Century Fox executives pondering whether to delay the release for its upcoming thriller, Phone Booth, from November 15 to a later date because of the of the sniper terrorizing the Washington D.C. area.
GOING PUBLIC: American Idol finalist Tamyra Gray set to join the cast of Boston Public for four episodes starting in February.
ON THE MEND: Country singer Trace Adkins released from a hospital Thursday after treatment for injuries suffered after being pinned under a small off-road vehicle while doing work on his Tennessee farm.
CAN YOU TAKE HIM HIGHER? Creed postponing a few shows after singer Scott Stapp came down with acute laryngitis. The next gig is scheduled for Los Angeles on October 20.
BIG BULLY: New Miss America Erika Harold, who planned to campaign against youth violence and bullying, reportedly furious at pageant officials who tried to bully her into not talking about sexual abstinence during her reign.
WINGS CLIPPED? NBC's The West Wing down by 33 percent in the key adults 18 to 49 ratings demo this season. NBC could use the ratings slip as bargaining leverage later this year when the network starts talks with Warner Bros. over extending the Emmy-winning White House drama's license fee agreement.
FORCED OUT: Jonathan Wald exiting as executive producer of NBC's top-rated Today show after just 17 months following widespread reports of ongoing tension between him and anchors Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. Execs were also getting worried about ABC's second-place Good Morning America catching up in the ratings.
THE 40-YEAR ITCH: DiMaggio, Setting the Record Straight, a new book out on American baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, revealing that he planned to remarry his Marilyn Monroe just before her death and remained obsessed with her for the rest of his life.
HIS KIND OF TOWN: Actor Billy Zane, the baddie in Titanic, joining the cast of Broadway's Chicago on November 8. He'll play shady lawyer Billy Flynn
GOLD CIRCLE SEATING: Barry Diller's USA Interactive announcing Thursday it plans to acquire the remaining shares of Ticketmaster it does not already own for about $700 million.
HI-YA! Terminator 2 producer Larry Kasanoff launching Blackbelt TV, a new cable network packaging 24 hours' worth of martial arts films from the likes of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris.
REMEMBERED: Actress Teresa Graves, who starred as a sassy undercover cop in the 1970s television police drama Get Christie Love! and was a performer on Laugh-In, died in a fire at her home. She was 54.