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Ellen Postpones Deal with Howie Mandel

Mon., Oct. 22, 2007 12:42 PM PDT by Marc Malkin

Steve Granitz/WireImage.com, Lisa O'Connor/ZUMA Press

Ellen DeGeneres’ doggy drama not only caused her to cancel tapings of her own talk show, but now I hear she has also postponed an appearance on Deal or No Deal.

As you may have heard, DeGeneres apparently decided she needed a break after her puppy problems, so she took a long weekend and nixed the tapings for shows that would have aired on Friday and Monday.

Now I’m told she was slated to be a surprise guest during a Deal taping last Friday. DeGeneres’ plans for the Howie Mandel-hosted game show may have included dressing up in a green and red elf costume, as they were doing a Christmas episode.

But DeGeneres is no scrooge. She promises Mandel and his producer that she will reschedule the taping.

A rep for DeGeneres confirmed she will shoot her Deal at a later date. However, the rep could not confirm that her appearance involved an elf costume.