Names in the news

” Jeopardy!” champ Ken Jennings has probably been called a lot of things: A whiz, a brainiac,… ” Jeopardy!” champ Ken Jennings has probably been called a lot of things: A whiz, a brainiac, a nerd, a conehead, an egghead, a pointy-head.

But when it comes down to it, words really do not matter – numbers do. And on Wednesday, Jennings sealed his 66th straight win on Alex Trebek’s brain-teaser of a game by shattering a mondo record. Winning $45,099 that night, Jennings brought his grand total to $2,197,000, which makes him “the top television game-show winner in all of that medium’s long and august history.

The previous record of $2,180,000, was set by Kevin Olmstead on ABC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” in 2001. So a new moniker for Jennings: Top banana! And he’s a mild-mannered, well-spoken, likable feller to boot. A rep for the quiz show said Jennings also won Thursday night, although the amount of his winnings was not available at press time.

PATTY DUKE SICK BAY

Patty Duke underwent single bypass surgery Wednesday at the North Idaho Heart Center in Coeur D’Alene and is listed in fair condition in the intensive care unit.

The 57-year-old actress, who first charmed the nation as a pair of identical teen sisters in the ’60s staple, “The Patty Duke Show,” is expected to make a quick recovery. She’s due to serve as the chairwoman for the Festival of Trees, Nov. 26 to 29, which raises money for the heart center. (Duke and husband, Mike Pearce, live in the area.)

SIMPSON BRANCHES OUT

Until now the closest you could get to your idol, Jessica Simpson, was to envelop yourself with her angelic voice as you slathered yourself with products from the pop star’s Dessert cosmetic line.

But soon, your deepest desires and grandest dreams will come true. Soon, you will be able to don Jessica Simpson wear! According to the New York Daily News, the 24-year-old vocalist and MTV reality star has signed a deal with New York-based manufacturing firm Andrew Sports Club to produce a clothing line set to rival that of Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen: a line of junior sportswear including kids’ clothes, hats, watches, jewelry and even undies under the Jessica Simpson and Sweet Kisses brand names (that is just so sweet we’re having a serious sugar high).

Meanwhile, Jess and her less famous but supremely patient husband, Nick Lachey, tell People mag that rumors of troubles in their perfect marriage are icky lies.

“Our relationship is better than it’s ever been,” Simpson says, amid unsubstantiated reports that her hubby cavorted with a porn star at a friend’s bachelor party last month. But if there is strife in the “Newlyweds” household we suggest a perfect cure: Give Nick a matching clothing line called Syrupy Smoochies.

ONO SCORES, AGAIN!

Yoko Ono, best known for her work as a visual artist (and for some, as the force that broke up the greatest pop band in history), is killing the young’uns on the dance floor! John Lennon’s 71-year-old widow has already scored her second No. 1 dance song this year with “Everyman … /Everywoman … (Basement Jaxx Club Mix),” a techno-beat-fueled tune featuring Ono’s screeching vocals.

But don’t expect to rub elbows with Ono on the actual dance floor, because she ain’t no club-hopping ingenue like Paris Hilton or Christina Aguilera: “I don’t think I’m the type of woman who can walk into a club by myself. I’m inhibited, I suppose.”

There’s more to come: Ono says she’s working on a new version of “Give Peace a Chance,” with the lyrics updated to reflect the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

LOVE ON ALLEN’S SET?

When you think Woody Allen, don’t you immediately think, walking aphrodisiac? That the Woodster brings love everywhere he goes is the subtext of a little report by the New York Post, which says young movie siren Scarlett Johansson fell for Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (“Velvet Goldmine”) when the two shared the set of Allen’s latest flick.

This might make Jared Leto slightly upset, since he is Scarlett’s beau of record. But the Post says there’s even a photo showing S.J. and J.R.M. k-i-s-s-i-n-g.

Enter Marcel Pariseau, Ms. Johansson’s rep, who says the photo is real but depicts something known as f-i-c-t-i-o-n, that is, it’s from a scene in the film in which the two CHARACTERS kiss (actors are not the same people as the people whose roles they inhabit on screen).

Pariseau says since the film wrapped two months ago, the pair have not so much as had a handshake. Which should make Mr. Leto rest easy, although we suspect that, as an actor himself, he is in on the distinction between smooching in the name of fiction and osculating with real lust, which means he’s been resting easy all this time.

(Inquirer wire services contributed to this column.)

(c) 2004, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Visit Philadelphia Online, the Inquirer’s World Wide Web site, at http://www.philly.com/

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.