May 13, 1999
Web posted at: 12:41 p.m. EDT (1641 GMT)

• Good cop, Carrey cop?
• Gifford goes to Broadway
• Don't blame Hollywood, says Seagram head
• O'Connor returns to 'Follies' stage
• Cops nab Springer guest

Carrey

JAMESTOWN, Rhode Island (CNN) -- Officer Jim Carrey?

Probably not. But, maybe.

Apparently, "The Truman Show" star, currently shooting the comedy "Me, Myself and Irene," looked so authentic in his Rhode Island state police uniform that the state's law enforcement was tempted to offer him a job.

In the movie, directed by "Dumb and Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary" helmsmen Bobby and Peter Farrelly, Carrey plays a state trooper with two personalities, both in love with the same woman. So the brothers consulted with the state police to make sure Carrey -- who sports a buzz cut, aviator sunglasses and gray uniform -- looked like the real deal.

"Their main concern was getting the uniform right," Maj. Harold Watson said, adding that everything about Carrey's costume "looks regulation." "If he decides to dump his movie career, we'll sign him up."

Gifford

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nicole Kidman, Brooke Shields and Ewan McGregor all took to the small stage. So why shouldn't talk show/off-price clothing queen Kathie Lee Gifford do the same?

Starting November 9, the co-host of "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" is scheduled to make her Broadway debut, subbing for Carol Burnett in "Putting It Together" for one Tuesday a week. Burnett opens October 28 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in the revue of songs from Stephen Sondheim musicals.

Both women will share the stage with Bronson Pinchot of the old television sitcom "Perfect Strangers" and George Hearn, last seen on Broadway in "Sunset Boulevard."

The revue includes songs from such Sondheim musicals as "Company," "Follies" and "A Little Night Music." The original, 1993 production of "Putting It Together" starred Julie Andrews.

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- For entertainment mogul and Seagram head honcho Edgar Bronfman Jr., violence "is not an entertainment problem" but a "societal" one.

"It's unfortunate that the American people who really look to their government for leadership instead get finger-pointing and chest-pounding," he said Wednesday.

Bronfman, of course, is referring to President Bill Clinton's recent appeal to Hollywood to cut down its depictions of violence in movies. On Monday, Clinton met with educators, federal officials and entertainers to discuss ways to reduce youth violence. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) plans to propose an investigation into whether Hollywood specifically markets violent images and products to young people.

Bronfman, who oversees an entertainment empire that includes Universal Studios and whose Universal Pictures released the mega-successful movie "The Mummy," believes "the government would be well-served to deal with (violence) as a societal problem rather than create a quick fix that may be popular but ultimately is a disservice to their constituents."

PALM SPRINGS, California (CNN) -- "Singin' in the Rain" entertainer Donald O'Connor will return to the stage, now that he's recovered from the pneumonia that nearly killed him early this year.

"The rumors of my death were highly exaggerated. And although many people didn't think I would make it, I have bounced back," he said in a statement Wednesday.

After being hospitalized with pneumonia at the end of January, his condition deteriorated and he was moved to intensive care and placed on a ventilator. He was released from the hospital on February 27.

O'Connor, 73, returns to the Historic Plaza Theatre stage on May 28 to headline the eighth season of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, a band of hoofers whose ages range from 53 to 86. "We are so thrilled to have him back here with us," Follies producer Riff Markowitz said. "This is what the Follies is all about: hope and triumph in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity."

Springer's show is known for spawning fistfights -- not so much for solving crimes.

HOUSTON (CNN) -- Jerry Springer's show has been called many things. "Crime solver" hasn't exactly been one of them, until now.

Turns out that Houston police had been searching for Springer guest Willie Johnson since mid-April. Johnson is accused of stabbing his sister's common-law husband during an April 11 argument. At one point, say police, he promised to surrender but never showed.

Fast forward to Monday, May 10, when Johnson was at a relative's house, watching an episode of Jerry Springer that featured him in a televised battle with his sister.

Police were watching the same episode. Houston cops just happened to be on the phone with Louisiana authorities in search of Johnson when the show aired on Monday.

"My partner gave the officer a description of Johnson and the officer laughed and said, 'I think he's on TV right now,'" Houston homicide detective Brian Harris said.

The next thing Johnson knew, police arrested him at his family's home in Rapides Parish in front of the relatives who had gathered with him to watch the show. Police led him away on a Texas warrant, charging him with aggravated assault in last month's stabbing.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.