Dick Clark, Michael Jackson, Elliott Gould and Survivor

NEW YORK – Dick Clark, Michael Jackson, Elliott Gould and Survivor in the bright ratings-grabbing glare of The Foxlight.

I hope Dick Clark enjoys egg on that ancient teenage face. Amidst his feud with the Grammys the Dickster assured everyone that Michael Jackson would perform on the American Music Awards. Well, he didn't — not even the taped performance of "Man In The Mirror." Clark said was the back-up plan. If you wanted to watch Jackson perform you had to switch over to CBS where they were rerunning that Jackson reunion concert.

Jackson did manage to do something odd besides performing or show up with a child star. In accepting the Artist of the Century Award he made special mention of Marlon Brando — calling him "my other father."

Elliott Gould says being fired from a play in New York was the reason he got the pivotal role in the movie M.A.S.H. Gould is on the promo trailer for the DVD release and makes nice about the film these days, but he actually tried to get director Robert Altman fired from the film at the time. Gould hated Altman's loose improvisational style and thought the footage was useless. What a difference 30 years makes.

Finally, here's the ultimate challenge.  Survivor's winner will be revealed tonight. But does anyone care about Survivor anymore? Here's a little perspective. The once "king of the jungle" is now tied with Ted Danson's show Becker in the ratings for the 2001 2002 season.