Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Jay Mohr is flying high again — literally.

He's overcome the anxiety attacks that plagued him since he was featured on "Saturday Night Live" in the '90s, and made him, among other things, unable to tolerate a plane flight. And he has elevated himself to a place he considers ideal professionally.

His CBS "Gary Unmarried" sitcom that debuts September 24 has him playing a divorced man with two children. He considers the show, a "dream come true. I was an actor for a while, but I'm back to being funny. I'm a comic but it's been a long time since I could tell jokes before a TV audience. To walk into a scene, tell five jokes and walk out to applause, that's great for a comic from New Jersey."

Mohr gave up his berth on "Ghost Whisperer" because, he says, "There wouldn't have been time for it and 'Gary Unmarried,' too." And he dropped out of "The Last Comic Standing," that he created and executive-produced, because, "I was becoming further and further entrenched in the show and really wanted to do films and I didn't want to walk into movie auditions as that reality show guy. I did 'The Groomsmen' with Ed Burns and once I made the decision to walk away from 'Last Comic,' I landed this year's 'Street Kings' with Keanu Reeves. A pretty fair trade."

As far as the anxiety attacks, he continues to take the Klonopin medication that was first prescribed to him some 12 years ago, and with the help of his doctor, more fully understands the disorder.

His physician, he says, "told me that those with the biggest chance for anxiety problems are interns and actors, because we are taken out of very structured environments and thrown into unstructured environments. For me, 'Saturday Night Live' didn't have a lot of structure and that led to my attacks. With the doctor's help I was also made to see I should have no fear of flying, that it is the most structured environment in the world — you are given a ticket, given a seat, told when to leave, when you will arrive. And so on. Now flying doesn't bother me at all."

FUN STUFF: Parents need not be afraid of watching "Sid the Science Kid" when it premieres on PBS Monday (9/1). The preschool program from The Henson Company was designed with humor aimed toward children and their adults, too.

"That has always been the way of the Henson company," notes Lisa Henson, whose late father, Jim, of course, was the legendary puppeteer. "Going back to the earliest children's program he was involved with, 'Sesame Street,' which was so sophisticated comedically from the start, it had parents laughing on one level and kids on another."

The fun, science readiness-oriented "Sid" — which has been likened to a "Seinfeld" for tots — has been in the making for the past couple of years. "It's a meticulous process to make a children's show for PBS national," points out producer and former Columbia Studios chief Henson. "You have to do fund-raising as well to complete financing of the show, and concurrently, you have the development of the curriculum and the technology involved." In the case of "Sid," the technology is an innovative motion capture animation/puppetry technique that allows for animated improvisational performances.

"We've produced two seasons. When you take on something that big, it becomes the first priority of pretty much everybody at the company. We're making the show here in California. To have an animated production without even a portion being done overseas is very unusual," she adds. "With budget constraints these days, most have work done in Asia or countries where it can be done relatively inexpensively like Ireland. But we're here. We're proud of that."

EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS: With his years of success on small and big screen, Chris Noth lives a well-heeled life, but he still recalls pinching pennies when he was just getting started. "I remember riding a bike everywhere. The idea I could take a cab, or go out to eat at a restaurant was a big deal to me. I've now been comfortable with money for a while. Still, the weird thing is that 'Law & Order' is on cable all the time, but you don't make money from those [reruns] — a lot of small change, frankly. Not anywhere near what people think. I'll get 200 checks for $48.00."

HOT SPOT: MTV guys Cisco Adler and Shwayze celebrated their new album "Buzzin" with a performance at Mansion in New York City the other night, for DJ Reach's birthday. Socialite and "Gossip Girl's" newest cast member Lydia Hearst took to the stage to show her moves. Expect to hear a lot more about her.

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily 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 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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