Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Now it's Donnie Klang weighing in on the breakup of Danity Kane — news that shocked and saddened fans of the girl group that was formed in 2005 on MTV's "Making the Band" and proceeded to turn out hit after hit, burnishing the star-making reputation of producer Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Klang, who won a solo contract from Diddy on the popular show, admits he's been frustrated over the recent breakup, because he feels the women took their success for granted. "I would never ever think they would let it end. Here Danity Kane is breaking up, and it felt like to me they were taking everything for granted because 'Damaged' was huge on the radio. I would have given anything to have a hit on the radio last year. It was very frustrating to see that happening to them because they had so much going on," Klang, who is returning for a fourth season of the MTV reality show tomorrow (2/12).

Despite the girls' much-discussed fighting, he tells us he was surprised by the news. "I thought they were still talking about working it out. I don't think they still know what's going to happen with them."

If they do reconcile, Donnie says he's confident Aubrey O'Day won't be a part of it. "I think it was one of those things where you don't realize what you have until it's gone … It's tough because I think some of the girls in the group didn't deserve for things to go down that way."

For now, Donnie tells us he's focusing on his own music, especially since his debut album didn't do as well as he'd hoped. It didn't help that the drama of Danity Kane overshadowed its release. "MTV said, 'We apologize for last season. A lot of stuff happened we didn't expect.' The things with Danity Kane kept viewers hooked, and it got in the way of me promoting my album, so MTV came with me across the country doing different shows. I definitely think I'll be way more involved this season."

THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS: Etta James should stop her ongoing put-downs of Beyonce for having sung what James insists is her song to President Barack Obama during his first inaugural dance. It's like she just won't quit — the latest coming last week when she reportedly told a concert crowd in Seattle, "I can't stand Beyonce ...(She) had no business up there singing ... my song that I been singing forever." The 71-year-old blues singer is referring of course to "At Last," but the fact is that way before it was "her song" it was an early '40s hit for Glenn Miller and his orchestra, with vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday.

James got around to recording it in 1961, and it did become her signature song, but by that time it was already an oldie that had been recorded by everyone from Doris Day to Nat King Cole.

'PRIVATE' MATTERS: "Private Practice's" Paul Adelstein confesses that there've been times when show creator Shonda Rhimes' storylines surprised even him. "I didn't see Charlotte and Cooper's relationship coming," he says of his pediatrician character's romance with hospital Chief of Staff Dr. Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland). "I thought that was going to be a one-off joke — that she was the one there waiting for him in the bar after all this Internet dating. It's an example of what Shonda does so well, defying expectations." Adelstein, a married man in real life, makes it clear he's not putting down Internet dating, by the way. "I've actually been to a couple of weddings of close friends who met on the Internet," he says. "It's not shocking to me."

HELLO AGAIN: George Newbern, who plays the father of Emily Osment's character in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Dadnapped" Monday (2/16), may well look familiar as a former teen star himself. Newburn played a teen idol rocker and his look-alike, a shy brainy boy, in "Double Switch" for "The Wonderful World of Disney" back in 1987. He went on to collect credits ranging from the "Father of the Bride" movies to the president of the Allied States of America in "Jericho." And now he is back with Disney, playing The Dad. "I know. It happens to every actor at some point in his life," he says. "He turns around and finds he's playing the older generation. It's a weird day, but it happens."

Newbern happens to actually be a father of three — ages 13, 10 and 6 — who got to visit the set and see a bunch of their Disney Channel favorites. "Which was, for them, like it would have been for me to watch The Monkees and the Jackson 5 all working together," he says.

He adds that although playing The Dad is "sometimes thankless, in this instance it was a blast. Emily was a gas to work with. There was a lot of fast-paced silliness. It's refreshing."

His character is an author of a series of fantasy adventure books, and he has a huge and ardent following — too ardent, because he winds up kidnapped by fanatical fans. "It's pretty funny. I did four or five years of (voicing) Superman on 'The Justice League,' and I'd go to the conventions and such. There are adults who are rabid for this stuff. This movie basically explores that culture."

With reports by 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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