FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, December 7, 2000

KRAMER KAPUT: As expected, NBC pulling the plug on its poorly rated Michael Richards Show. The network announced it will not order a full season of the post-Seinfeld series, which was slammed by critics and now marks NBC's fifth cancellation of the new season.

DEAD END: Meanwhile, Fox has canceled its low-rated Wall Street series, The $treet, and ABC has reportedly put Madigan Men on hiatus.

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING: Love & Basketball and Remember the Titans among the top nominees for the 32nd NAACP Image Awards. Each film picked up five nods. The hardware gets dished out March 3.

UN-BILL-BOARDED: Bill Murray ordering Columbia to take down billboards for Charlie's Angels featuring him alone with the caption "Bill Murray is Bosley," according to Inside.com. Murray's contract stipulated that he only be depicted in ads with the three Angels, not solo.

OUT OF THE CLOSET: Elton John's sale of old clothes netted more than $615,000 for his AIDS foundation in the process. The most expensive item: the suit the pop singer wore in the "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" video, which went for $5,000.

HOOOOGAN! Werner Klemperer, forever Colonel Klink on TV's Hogan's Heroes, died in New York Wednesday night after a long battle with cancer. He was 80.

THANK REGIS IT'S FRIDAY: ABC shuffling Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from Tuesdays to Fridays beginning January 5 to make room for its new reality-based saboteur series, The Mole, which debuts January 9 at 8 p.m.

LOOKING BACK IN ANGER? Julian Lennon posting a message on his Website blaming the breakdown of his relationship with his father, John, on Yoko Ono and the ex-Beatle's fear of fatherhood. "I had a great deal of anger toward dad because of his negligence and his attitude to peace and love. That peace and love never came home to me," said Julian.

IMAGINE: Tokyo's John Lennon museum has attracted more than 50,000 visitors since opening two months ago. Friday is the 20th anniversary of Lennon's murder.

PARADISE CITY: Guns N' Roses announcing they will perform a New Year's concert at Las Vegas' House of Blues on New Year's Eve. Tickets go on sale today through the band's Website.

PRIVATE DANCER: Rock 'n' roll survivor Tina Turner playing her final performance on her farewell tour in Los Angeles Wednesday night. The pop icon announced in June that this tour would be her last.

THE DEVIL MADE HIM DO IT! Marilyn Manson forced to cancel a show in Toledo, Ohio, Tuesday night because drummer Ginger Fish remains sidelined by a collarbone injury.

UNDER THE GUN: Rosie O'Donnell being sued by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals after saying on her show that The Gap uses leather approved by the activist group. A PETA spokeswoman says there's no such thing as PETA-approved leather and is demanding a full retraction from Rosie.

LET THE OSCAR RACE BEGIN: The National Board of Review, traditionally the first critics group to weigh in with a pre-Oscar best-of list, has tapped the Marquis de Sade flick Quills as the year's top movie. Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) and Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) were named the top actors.

KING CASE UPDATE: Bryan Smith, the man who hit and nearly killed Stephen King, died of an accidental overdose of a painkiller, Maine authorities announced Wednesday. Smith was found dead at his home in September.

THE ODD COUPLE: Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro in talks to costar in Showtime, a sendup that looks to do for buddy cop films what Scream did for horror movies.

DAILY VILLAIN? Jon Stewart signing to play a ruthless network executive in the Danny DeVito-directed Death to Smoochie, about a Barney-like kid show host played by Robin Williams who seeks revenge on the rival rhino that replaces him.

STILL POPULAR! The longest-running special on network TV, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, still going strong in its 37th annual broadcast--the perennial CBS fave topped both Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and the Billboard Music Awards in the ratings this week.

SO MUCH FOR PROMISES... In a report issued Wednesday, the Directors Guild of America says the entertainment industry has failed to make good on its pledge to hire more women and minorities as directors. In fact, the DGA says, the number of minority and female directors has dropped in the past year.

HE'S A NICE GUY: Maury Povich promising to replace a kitten and computer he had given to an 8-year-old cancer victim who appeared on his talk show. The cat and computer were lost when her trailer caught fire.

BUN IN THE OVEN: Ricki Lake, 32, has announced she is pregnant with her second child. She and artist-hubby Rob Sussman already have a 3-year-old son named Milo.

KUDOS! Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis receiving the American Cinema Editors' filmmaker of the year award. Known as the Golden Eddie, the award honors those in the film industry who've "made significant contributions to the advancement of motion pictures."