Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Regis Philbin expects to exchange tennis shots with Venus Williams, hear fashion critiques of beachgoers from "Project Runway's" Tim Gunn and enjoy a good soaking in The Cove Atlantis 63-acre water amusement park next week when "Live With Regis and Kelly" heads to the Bahamas. Not bad for a guy who had triple bypass heart surgery seven and a half months ago — and now admits it's only been in the last month and a half that he's been feeling back up to speed.

"I've been working in a gym regularly," the septuagenarian TV icon tells us. "They said after six months, it all kind of clicks in and you feel a lot better, and I do.

"The surgery, being in the hospital — it was more than I thought it was going to be," he adds. "I didn't know that much about it. I probably should have done more research, but maybe it's good I didn't. The first one I called to find out about it was David Letterman, who of course had a quintuple bypass, and he highly recommended it as one of the great experiences of his life. It's tough, but of course the tradeoff is more years of great living."

And the re-energized Regis is packing in a lot of that living in coming weeks. He and wife Joy will be hosting a family gathering on Thanksgiving, including daughter J.J., who's expecting their first grandchild in February. He's looking forward to spending New Year's Eve "with the Trumpster, Donald Trump" at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. Philbin is hosting his latest game show, "Million Dollar Password," which begins taping in January. And, of course, there's lots more "Regis and Kelly" ahead. In the Bahamas water park, he says, "we'll probably be sending Kelly down a chute in a tire," he enthuses. "She's a little bit of a daredevil, you know."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Who needs bionic parts when you're The Creator? Lee Majors — the original bionic man in the hit '70s series "The Six Million Dollar Man" — pops up "as God" on the seventh-season premiere of Jim Belushi's ABC sitcom "According to Jim" next year. "I thought it was typecasting," quips Majors. "We've all seen Morgan Freeman as God in 'Evan Almighty,' and he had all white on and kind of glowed. Well, we wanted (this version) to look a little different, so we thought we'd do white but give him this beautiful suit with western piping and white shoes. Every time he walks into the room, a spotlight and music come on, and Jim is always saying, 'Oh, God.' It's a very funny show."

Speaking of "Evan Almighty" and signs of divine intervention, Majors says he watched the film about a week before he was to start shooting the Cartoon Network's live-action TV movie "Ben 10: Race Against Time" premiering tomorrow (Nov.

21) with Graham Phillips and Haley Ramm — "I said to my wife that the middle kid in that movie would be great for 'Ben 10.' It was just something that came to me, and when I got to the set, there he was."

In the telepic, based on the Cartoon Network's hit animated action-adventure series "Ben 10," Majors plays the evil-battling grandpa of Ben Tennyson (Phillips), who can change into 10 different aliens with superpowers, thanks to a powerful alien wristwatch. "I felt like I was Sean Connery to Harrison Ford in an 'Indiana Jones' movie, playing grandpa to two 12-year-olds. It was a pleasure working with those kids and playing that role. He's a little gruff — but hopefully lovable."

CELEBRITY SCENE: There is nothing slick, cool or glamorous about dog fighting, states Russell Simmons in Frances Hayward's and the Humane Society of the USA's new public-service announcement to put a stop to it. "It hurts the human spirit as much as it hurts the animals."

Our Humane Society source on the scene tells us that Alicia Silverstone, Patricia Arquette and Nicky Hilton were among the notables viewing a preview of that message at a party in the Hollywood Hills at the home of power-couple producers Keith Addis and

Keri Selig the other night. The PSA will premiere on television before the Michael Vick sentencing on Dec. 10.

According to Selig, they'd planned for 150 cars to be parked for guests, but 205 actually rolled up for the viewing event, which lasted until after 11 p.m.

While enjoying fabulous vegan fare created by chef Wolfgang Puck in the power couple's classic 1900s home, Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society of the United States, thanked BeKind founder Frances Hayward and Russell Simmons, who could not attend, for working with the HSUS to make the poignant PSA and help put an end to the barbaric practice of dog fighting and to encourage people to "fight for kindness." Now, there's a fight worth supporting.

OK TO BE BLASE: "Ugly Betty" star Ana Ortiz may be on one of primetime's most popular shows, but she says the people in her native city don't let it go to her head. "I'm from New York, born and raised," she notes. And when she heads home to visit her mother and gets recognized on the street, it's no big deal. "New Yorkers are like, 'Yeah, I've been there, done that.'"

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and 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 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.