Neil Patrick Harris: TV Land Awards' Hottest Host Ever

It was no laughing matter when the television funnyman's tuxedo caught fire during show rehearsal

Neil Patrick Harris is smokin'—literally.

I just got word that Harris avoided serious injury yesterday when his tuxedo caught fire during a run-through of his opening number as host of the TV Land Awards.

During the skit, the How I Met Your Mother funnyman swings onto the stage from a rope, following a pretaped segment of him fighting with Survivor host Jeff Probst. Remote-control packs attached to the back of Harris' Survivor costume send up clouds of smoke as he rips off his tattered clothes to reveal a snazzy tux underneath.

However, during a dress rehearsal just a few hours before showtime at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, I'm told Harris was MIA when his name was announced.

Turns out his clothes caught on fire shortly after the remote packs were triggered. Sparks from the electronic devices are believed to be the cause of the mishap.

Fortunately, Harris wasn't seriously injured. "He just had some welts on his back," a source reveals. "He didn't have to be taken to a hospital or anything like that."

I'm happy to report that his smoky entrance for the actual taping was a complete success.

Among those honored during the annual fete, which airs April 26 on the TV Land network, were Knots Landing, M*A*S*H, Married With Children, Home Improvement, Two and a Half Men, Magnum, P.I., ER, Don Rickles and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

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