Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Jeff Foxworthy thinks it's time to stop negative stereotyping of teens. The comic and "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" host wants to get the word out about 7 Days Across America, an effort to showcase the good deeds of today's youth, with a team meeting such teens beginning tomorrow (9/5) in San Diego, winding up Sept. 12 in New York. They're visiting 14 cities in all.

"I just thought it was a cool idea," says Foxworthy of the program that includes awarding of a $5,000 scholarship (see www.7Daysacrossamerica.com for details). He notes that according to research by the not-for-profit Encouragement Foundation, which is spearheading the effort, "about 71 percent of the press about teens is negative. They just said, 'There's a lot of great kids out there, and maybe just by bringing some of these good stories to light, it will encourage other kids to say, "I can do that." ' "

For Foxworthy, it's personal. Two of the teenagers he considers great happen to be his daughters, Jordan and Julianne. "They're good kids, and they run with good kids — good friends. But that's not what gets attention," he says.

Foxworthy took Jordan to Africa when she was 14 as part of a church charity trek. She came back determined to do something to fight malaria, which kills more children in Africa than HIV/AIDS, and teamed with Compassion International to develop the Bite Back campaign. Since then, the 17-year-old has been back to Africa three times — and raised a half-million dollars.

Younger daughter Julianne "has been making us laugh since she was 2. She's just naturally funny. And she's a really good writer."

As for himself, "It's been a busy summer," Foxworthy understates. He taped 170 episodes of "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" — both the upcoming new daily syndicated version and the primetime show that starts its new season on Fox Sept. 21. Then he jumped into a string of standup comedy gigs all over the country.

"Speaking of encouragement, that's one of the things that I've really enjoyed about the show," adds Foxworthy, "that I've seen in my mail letters from teachers saying, 'You've made it cool for kids to be smart again.' Wow, not only are we hopefully a little entertaining, but we're encouraging and positive as well."

ON A PHILOSOPHICAL NOTE: Veteran actor George Hamilton tells us he may be getting older, but these are some of his best years and he's learning more about himself than ever.

"I'm only 70, for God's sake," he notes with a laugh. "I'm producing movies. I'm doing a series with my son. It's all good," claims Hamilton. "My mother taught me to expect good things to happen for yourself and know you'll be supported. You don't have to be afraid of struggling. I don't have that fear. Struggle will come to teach you things. The things that failed were the only things that ever gave me lessons. The successes were too easy," he tells us. "All of the failures taught me humility and how to relate to people, and the more I relate to people, the more people relate to me."

That's one thing in life Hamilton is most proud of.

"I started off with a very aloof image, but it was all just an image — it wasn't me. As I peel off those little layers and become more human, people relate to me more. You then become more accessible and more popular." And in the case of Hamilton, more tan!

A DIFFERENT PATH: Angela Simmons, whose uncle is uber famous music mogul Russell Simmons and dad is Rev. Run from the legendary hip-hop group Run DMC, tells us music may run in her family, but she has no desire to follow in those footsteps. "That's some big shoes to fill if you want to get into the music career. Because we're our father's children, people are going to be a lot more critical so that's something you've got to have some really tough skin for," says Simmons, whose younger brother Jojo is an aspiring rapper. "I like music a lot and I think it's fun. I'll go in the studio for fun to write and play, but I think we're going to leave that to Jojo and the rest of the family."

SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT: Vocalists extraordinaire Manhattan Transfer will be treating the crowd at the Sept. 11 Society of Singers benefit to some surprises, with tunes from their "Chick Corea Songbook" album that won't be released until month's end. That's according to the group's Cheryl Bentyne, who adds they'll also be singing faves like "Operator," "Birdland," and Route 66" — as well as some Latin numbers from their "Brasil" album. The benefit, at North Hollywood's El Portal Theatre, also celebrates the 25th anniversary of the organization that offers comprehensive services to meet emergency financial needs of professional singers worldwide. "Manhattan Transfer has represented the state-of-the-art in vocal music for as long as the Society of Singers has existed," says S.O.S. chieftain Jerry Sharell, "so we are honored that they've agreed to help us celebrate this important anniversary."

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

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 2009 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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