FROM THE NEWS DESK: Cosby, JELL-O, Michael & More!

by McKay Heim and George Larrimore

After the last month of bizarre celebrity news, where you could not make up the stories and events they were so twisted and extreme, this weekend here in Hollywood and other celebrity locales throughout the world it was very quiet in the celebrity news world.

We were able to find some good snippets and pick up some pieces around town and the world!

COSBY RERUN?: Will Bill Cosby return to the Pudding Pop helm? This weekend he told us that he wants to go back to hosting the famed JELL-O Pudding Pop commercial. This time around, he doesn?t want to work with kids he wants to work with the elderly. According to JELL-O History, Bill became the spokesperson for JELL-O pudding in 1974. His good-natured, fatherly image made him a popular personality, he was a part of an extensive television campaign for JELL-O Pudding Pops and in 1987, he became a spokesperson for JELL-O Gelatin. His relationship with the JELL-O brand lasted nearly 30 years.

TOKYO INVITE?: Hundreds of invited fans greeted Michael Jackson at the airport when he showed up in Tokyo this weekend. All the fanfare was because a press release went out giving specific information as to the date and windowed time of his arrival. The release stated that:

?Mr. Jackson would like to say hello to all of his fans. He will be arriving in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, March 4, 2007, between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm, Terminal 2, Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan. Come out and Give Mr. Jackson a Big and Warm Welcome!?

What a way to get an over the top welcome with screaming fans waiting and cameras capturing the entire event! Maybe he will do this for all the cities he visits! The main purpose for the Tokyo visit is Thursday, Michael is to host an exclusive fan party and for a fan that cannot afford a ticket to meet the ?Gloved One? there will be an art contest.

TRAVOLTA DONATION: Friday night, before screening Wild Hogs in Ocala, John Travolta personally donated $15,000 to central Florida tornado victims. He also held an invitation-only movie opening/charity gala and a ticket cost fans $200. It was the first scheduled opportunity for fans to meet and greet John and Kelly. An additional $15,000 was raised to benefit tornado victims, the downtown Marion Theatre renovation and will be used to promote filming in Marion County. John, his wife, Kelly Preston and their two children have lived in the area for about 4 years.

COUNTRY RETURNS: With the Academy of Country Music Award nominees announced this morning in Nashville, we find out that after more than 6 months of a lack in Country music on the FM airwaves in LA, Country music returned to KKGO, ?Go Country 105?. New York and San Francisco were other cities that lost the Country signal. In San Francisco, KMAX changed formats becoming the city’s first country station in almost two years. According to data from M Street Corporation, Country remains radio’s dominant musical format by far with more than 2,000 stations.

ROAD TRIPPIN?: Coming to a city near you, Dancing with the Stars Road Trip, but you won’t actually be seeing stars from previous or the upcoming season. The 2-week cross-country trip will feature 14 dancers starting in New York City and ending in Los Angeles. They will offer free dance lessons, stage dance parties and offer a trip for two to see a live taping of Dancing with the Stars. The dancers will visit major league sporting events, city landmarks, and even a St. Patrick?s Day parade. Dancing with the Stars returns to ABC on March 19.

If you have some Hollywood news, email us, McGeorge.news@nbcuni.com.