Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

News of Anna Kournikova leaving "The Biggest Loser" after one season was accompanied by anonymous quotes that the tennis champ clashed with show staff and some of the contestants, and calling her "difficult" and "a nightmare." "Biggest Loser" host Alison Sweeney is quick to leap to Kournikova's defense, though, telling us, "I didn't have that experience. I got to know her a little bit, and I thought she was a great addition. She's so sweet."

Sweeney reports that they're already six weeks into shooting Season 13 of "The Biggest Loser" and that Kournikova hasn't been replaced. Instead, the trainer she calls a "super-talented competitor" — show stalwart Bob Harper — is "going head-to-head in the competition" with plucky newcomer, trainer to the stars Dolvett Quince.

Tomorrow night's (Dec. 6) "Biggest Loser" episode includes the Season 12 marathon, giving one previously ousted contestant a chance to vie for the championship on next Tuesday's (Dec. 13) live season finale. "The 'Biggest Loser' finale is such an exciting show, such a fun show, such a celebration of what the show is all about and what people have achieved," says Sweeney, who keeps those specials moving along at a quick clip.

MEANWHILE: As if handling the demands of two different "Biggest Loser" seasons at once wasn't enough, there's also her day job. Sweeney, who has played the role of much-married bad girl Sami Brady on "Days of Our Lives" since her teens, admits it's feeling pretty lonely lately, with nearly all the other daytime dramas either being retired or already gone.

"I miss the other soaps. It's really hard to say goodbye. I know they have a lot of followers," she says. "I just hope we can keep 'Days of Our Lives' on the up-and-up and hold onto the fans. There are so many different issues at play with the ratings. You know how complicated daytime is."

With her popular "The Mommy Diet" book (it comes out in paperback Dec. 13) and her new TV Guide Network "Hollywood Moms' Club" show she's producing, one might wonder whether she's getting ready for "Days" to come to an end. But Sweeney tends to always have a lot of irons in the fire.

"I'm always looking for new challenges, new fun things to do," she says. "I hope that 'Days' goes on for another 46 years. I've been so blessed to do the show."

She and her husband, highway patrolman David Sanov, have a 6-year-old son and a daughter who turns 3 in January. Asked whether things have gotten any easier as the children have gotten bigger, she answers, "I think the mommy guilt starts to ease off a little bit once they're in school and have their own friends and their own plans.

Are they likely to go into show business or law enforcement? She laughs. "My husband and I just hope they follow their dreams, like we did."

CAN'T KEEP A GOOD CUTUP DOWN: Marty Allen, who normally goes to the gym five days a week, broke his hip about a week and a half ago, but that's not keeping him out of commission. He got a hip replacement and says, "I'm already walking with a cane and I've started exercising with this physical therapist who comes over."

The chubby cutup, who rose to fame with former partner Steve Rossi way back in the 1960s classic age of comedy, expects to be in shape to play a gig Saturday (Dec. 10) at the Louie Anderson Theater at Palace Station in Las Vegas. "And the next night, we fly to Milwaukee for another one." He says, "You know how old I am? People get hysterical about it. I turn 90 in March."

Allen's onstage partner is his wife of 27 years, Karon Kate Blackwell. "She's a phenomenal singer," he says. "She plays piano like Jerry Lee Lewis. And she's a great straight woman. Our act is kind of George Burns and Gracie Allen, and I'm Gracie." The two keep a full calendar of performance engagements, Allen says, including a lot of cruise ship performances.

"We're constantly working. We don't do vacations. We play to older crowds, younger crowds, anybody. Our act is one of the few clean acts out there. We do topical humor," he lets us know. For instance, they have a current bit in which Marty dons a colorful wig and plays Daddy Gaga, father of guess who.

Allen gets out to see buddies like Don Rickles and Shecky Greene perform, and he keeps his eye on the contemporary scene. The comedy world is vastly different from his earlier career, he allows, but he still sees a lot to like. "There are different people of today who are really good. Craig Ferguson is very funny."

And he likes that gal who's a couple months older than he is, Betty White.

FRANKLY SPEAKING: Listening to "America's Got Talent" winner Landau Eugene Murphy's "That's Life" album of Frank Sinatra song covers, we're amazed all over again by the former automobile detailer's uncanny command of the Sinatra vocal style. And yet ... It'll be nice when the charismatic and genial Murphy branches out with some non-Sinatra tunes. Even, dare we say, original songs.

The powerful impact of seeing the very young, non-Sinatra-esque African American man, complete with dreadlocks, sounding just like Ol' Blue Eyes, is missing on the record, of course. And with Sinatra's own recordings still very much available, there's a certain redundancy about "That's Life." Murphy's popularity as a live performer should see him through to album No. 2. We hope it does.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2011 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM