Ah, the Emmys. The one Awards show on TV that has a nonchalant attitude toward its honorees and the medium it seeks to honor. A ceremony that seeks to put on a funny show

Happy Birthday to:

"Planet Terror" actress Rose McGowan (1973)

The series finale. There is nothing quite like it in television. Many shows aren't given the luxury of a proper final episode, instead they are canceled prematurely and often without advanced notice.

I'm sitting with my family at the Thanksgiving table. At the focus is the bird carcass, a bulging centerpiece surrounded by newly stuffed bodies. The cranberry jello, still quivering in the shape of the can, is the only untouched side dish. There is a settling quiet as the full-stomached groans subside and give way to satisfied smiles, until finally somebody strikes up a conversation. Like the feeding frenzy that preceded it, it starts out slow and steadily grows more frantic.

The Merchant of Venom. The King of Zing. Mr. Warmth. Over the course of his long and illustrious career in comedy, Don Rickles has earned these nicknames for his incomparable ability to make insults seem endearing, and to make audiences laugh at each other and themselves.

Happy Birthday to "Charmed" actress Rose McGowan (1973), musician Dweezil Zappa (1969), Racer X bassist Juan Alderete (1963), singer Loudon Wainwright III (1946), drummer Buddy Miles (1946), Queen singer Freddie Mercury (1946; d. 1991), Scottish singer Al Stewart (1945), German film director Werner Herzog (1942), screen bombshell Raquel Welch (1940), Australian "007" George Lazenby (1939), actor William Devane (1939), actress/singer Carol Lawrence (1934), comedian Bob Newhart (1929), deadball era baseball player Nap Lajoie (1874; d. 1959), American outlaw Jesse James (1847; d. 1882), German artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774; d. 1840).

NEW YORK (AP) - Bob Newhart, you're a funny guy, and a man of letters. The deadpan comic and sit-com star was one of three finalists announced Tuesday for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, a $5,000 literary honor named for the famed author and humorist James Thurber.

HONOLULU (AP) - Elvis lives, and he hasn't aged a bit since his legendary 1973 ''Aloha from Hawaii'' concert. A life-sized statue of Elvis Presley was unveiled Thursday at the site of the concert, looking much as he did 34 years ago. His hair is slicked back, vest plastered on, microphone tilted toward his lips and flared pants draped to the floor.

Late night U.S. talk show host Jimmy Kimmel raced back from his recent appendectomy - so he could pay a TV tribute to his hero Don Rickles. Kimmel had his appendix removed last week but was back behind his desk last night for a show dedicated to comedy legend Rickles.