DEADLIEST CATCH MAN DIES. Captain Phil Harris of the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch has died at the age of 53. Harris was recently hospitalized after having a stroke while crabbing. According to People.com, his condition was improving but took a sudden turn for the worse and he passed away.

PAY TRIBUTE: Leave condolences for Phil's family and friends over at the Discovery Channel Web site, www.Dsc.Discovery.com

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER HAS CANCER. Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. According to E! Online, the actor caught the disease in its early stages and wants to use having cancer as a platform to inspire other African American males to get tested often so theirs can be caught early too. He is 73 years old.

STREISAND REFUSES 100-MILLION VEGAS OFFER! ContactMusic.com reports Barbra Streisand has turned down a three-year, 100-million dollar contract to perform in Las Vegas. A source claims organizers are surprised the singer declined, especially when “no one has been able to replace” Celine Dion after she left Vegas. The insider added, “Bette Midler failed, Cher is trying, only Barbra is guaranteed to succeed. She’s an international star and the only performer in the world that would make people flock to Vegas year after year.” Instead, fans can expect Barbra to go on tour this summer.

KATE HUDSON WANTS TIMBERLAKE? According to www.ShowBizSpy.com, Kate Hudson has the hots for Justin Timberlake. A source claims, “After reading that his romance with Jessica Biel is over, she’s decided to make her move.” Apparently, during the SAG Awards, Hudson “flirted with Justin outrageously that night, and he was all over her. They exchanged numbers in the green room.” It seems Kate has gotten over her split with Alex Rodriguez and wants to become Justin’s new girlfriend.

TOM CRUISE PREPS MISSION IMPOSSIBLE IV? www.ETOnline.com reports Tom Cruise will star in and produce the upcoming Mission Impossible IV movie. Paramount Pictures announced the franchise film will hit theaters during Memorial Day weekend in 2011 and will reportedly be co-produced by J.J. Abrams – who directed Mission: Impossible III. No word on who will direct the upcoming installment.

AMERICAN IDOL RATINGS! Ellen DeGeneres’ official debut as an American Idol judge drew the series’ biggest audience since its season premiere. Over 27-million viewers tuned in to see DeGeneres share the stage with Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson. The show saw a ten percent boost in viewers compared to last week. Meanwhile, Lost won the 9 PM hour, according to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, with 11-million viewers. The final episode of The Jay Leno Show only drew 5.9-million viewers, while NBC’s two-hour The Biggest Loser scored nine-million viewers.

TOPHER’S TRIPPY TIME? Valentine’s Day star Topher Grace said he was once given a breath strip by a girl at a party, but it wasn’t exactly something that would help with halitosis – it was drugs. It happened about a year ago and Grace claims that shortly after taking it, he asked his pal, “Is there lava coming out of the back of my head?” His friend asked if he was okay and Topher responded, “I think I’m fine, but I can touch colors, should I get naked?” People.com reports he shared the story while a guest on the George Lopez’s show LopezTonight, which airs this evening. Lopez stars in fellow Valentine’s Day with Grace.

TERMINATOR RIGHTS SELL AT AUCTION! There will be a new Terminator film, and the rights to make it sold for a pretty penny. Deadline.com reports that movie company Pacificor won an auction to make the next installment of the hit franchise over both Sony and Lionsgate. The winning bid was said to be 29.5-million dollars.

MURRAY TALKS GHOSTBUSTERS 3! Bill Murray has revealed he’s agreed to appear in the new Ghostbusters film, but only if he can be killed off early in the movie so he can have a role as a ghost. According to www.PerezHilton.com, the funnyman loves the ghost comedy, calling the first 45 minutes of the original film “some of the funniest stuff ever made,” yet saying Ghostbusters 2 was “disappointing” because it was too much about special effects. Two unnamed writers of The Office are currently penning the Ghostbusters 3 script. Shooting is expected to start this year.

A LAVERNE & SHIRLEY REMAKE? Garry Marshall’s latest film is Valentine’s Day, but the director is already considering some future projects, including revamping the hit TV show Laverne & Shirley – and two stars of Valentine’s Day would love to be on board. According to Extra, Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel want to be in it. Garry also joked, “My sister Penny [Marshall] and Cindy [Williams] are gonna have a guest camero. They’re gonna walk ‘schlemiel, schlemazel’ – or they’re gonna get tired in the middle and sit down.”

CHANNING TATUM LAP DANCES ON ELLEN! Dear John star Channing Tatum was on The Ellen Degeneres Show Wednesday and gave Ellen a lap dance. Tatum, who worked at a male revue show when he was young, showed Ellen some of his lap dancing moves. The 29-year-old said of his previous job, “I was a stripper, look, I’m not proud of it, but I’m not ashamed of it.” Learn more at www.People.com and www.Ellen.WarnerBros.com.

FIRST PICTURES OF BABY BRADY! The first pictures of quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen’s baby have been published. The boy, named Benjamin, is shown in a light blue winter jacket with a blue hood. The photos were published in Brazilian magazine Quem, but fans can see them over at www.UsMagazine.com now. Benjamin was born back in December.

OSCAR BALLOTS IN THE MAIL! The final ballots for the 82nd Academy Awards were mailed yesterday to the 5,777 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Completed ballots must be returned to PriceWaterhouseCooper by 5 PM on March 2nd. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted. The 82nd Academy Awards will be presented on March 7th at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The show will air live on ABC at 7 PM. The Oscars will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.