Vanessa Williams' "Work To Do:" A fitting song to lead us into Labor Day weekend, no?

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Although I'm not positive what exactly is awarded the TV Land Awards, I do know that they were filmed this weekend and a wide variety of old and new television stars showed up. There was Vanessa Williams, and the cast of The Office, and… the Golden Girls (minus the very ill Estelle Getty)!!! And to think I was channeling Sophia just an hour ago.

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It took her 27 years, but Vanessa Williams is graduating from Syracuse University with a bachelor of fine arts degree. How, you ask? Well, she attended the drama school there from 1981-1983, then she left to become the first black Miss America, get her crown taken away after lewd pictures showed up in Penthouse, and go on to become a successful recording artist and actress. Because they have kindness in their hearts, the folks at SU letting her earn the remaining credits for her degree through her real world dramatic experience. It all sounds pretty honorary degree-ish to me, but that's not what they're calling it. Having received my Master's from SU, I can say that I can't blame her for wanting to leave after two years. I was done with that place the first time I stepped outside in the winter and my eyelashes froze together. [HP]

Today marks the beginning of "Earth Week," and to commemorate we're highlighting some black celebrities who have made publicized efforts to improve or raise awareness about the environment. Maybe next year when I search certain celebs and "green" or "global warming" I come up with a few more hits.

GOLDEN FACEWASH Former Proactive spokeswoman Vanessa Williams said recently that her acne was such a problem that she once went so far as to douse her face in her own urine. Thank God she discovered Proactiv. [SP]

Vanessa Williams was one of the four honored guests on Barbara Walter's annual Oscar night special last night, and she spoke with refreshing honesty about her beauty regimen. Instead of that idiotic "I eat anything I want and drink lots of water" lie she admitted she botoxes, has a food delivery service, and employs trainers on both coasts. She also talked to Barbara about her infamous Penthouse photos that cost her the Miss America crown she won in 1983. And she's really diplomatic about the Barack/Hillary question.

Ugly Betty and The Great Debaters were the big winners at the 39th annual NAACP Image Awards last night, while Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder received special honors. In case you're wondering, Jurnee Smollett snatched the coveted Best Actress prize out from under Angelina Jolie. Lots of pics and a list of winners after the jump.

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Has Terrence Howard finally found that non-promiscuous woman who has baby wipes on display in her bathroom and won't seduce him into breaking his vow of celibacy? He attended the Kennedy Center Honors last night with Zulay Henao, a Colombian-American actress with whom he is filming a probable-stinker called Fighting. Recently, there have also been rumors that Zulay was dating Nick Cannon. This chick sure can pick 'em.

Honorees at the annual event included Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson. More after the jump.

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Janet Jackson is a woman who saves lives. She can't be bothered with this frivolous Nipplegate shit. But I do have to commend those CW anchors on their interview techniques. Next time they have Vanessa Williams on to talk about her new projects, they should ask her about those nude pics she took in the early '80s. The public has a right to know!

[MG]

So way back in April, when Stereohyped was just one day old, I let you guys know that I had a certain nostalgic fondness for Vanessa Williams: The Singer. And guess what? She's back.

And although the star is busy with the hit TV series, she admits she has not given up on singing just yet, having signed a new contract with Concord Records earlier this year.

She says, "I was in Rio for Christmas working on a couple of songs and I'm going back into the studio in the next couple of months so hopefully I should have something ready by the time the next series of 'Ugly Betty' ends."

As long as the lace cat-suit stays in the vault, I'm interested to see what she has in store.

[SP]

• When the loose dress doesn't hide the baby bump well enough, get your friends to leak the news to In Touch Weekly. [BWE]

• Queen Latifah is feeling needed by aging hip hop listeners.[SP]

• And also by the gay press. [QT]

• Maybe one day Vanessa Hudgens can have her nudity scandal so far behind her that blogs will only bring it up once in a blue moon. Vanessa Williams can tell her all about it. [Bossip]

• The dress is too tight, in my opinion, but it does disprove all of those "Ashanti gained so much weight" rumors. [C&D]

You know when television's premiere awards show has to resort to bringing out Kanye West, who was completely irrelevant to the proceedings, you know the show's producers are feeling like the ceremony has gotten kind of boring and out of touch over the last few years. But it's not the actual show that makes the awards a joke, it's the nominees and the eventual winners.

When The Wire's not even nominated, Jaime Pressly wins a best supporting actress award over the brilliant Vanessa Williams or Jenna Fischer from The Office and James Spader from Boston Legal wins best actor over, well, anyone (but particularly James Gandolfini), I have a hard time respecting the importance and meaning of an Emmy statue. Nevertheless, congrats to the winners — especially 30 Rock — whether they deserved their awards or not. More pics and a list of winners after the jump.

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It was the era of the Supermodel — you know, when they all went by their first and last names but certainly didn't need to — think Naomi, Christy, Linda — and claimed they didn't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.

New York Fashion Week shows were more glamorous (read: they weren't sponsored by Olympus or Mercedes Benz and were held in lofts, clubs, and restaurants instead of tents). And Sam Fine was behind the scenes — at Geoffrey Bean, Fernando Sanchez, Tracy Reese, Todd Oldham, Isaac Mizrahi, etc. — giving the models faces to match their designer looks or rushing from show to show with Naomi and Tyra.

It was the first half of the '90s when Sam Fine both assisted the late Kevyn Aucoin and worked the shows on his own. Those were the good ol' days… that he doesn't really want to go back to.

"It's a fun gig, but I leave it to the young at heart and the ones that really love fashion," he told Stereohyped.

And it's not like being a celebrity makeup artist, which is the the job Sam Fine graduated to when he left the fashion show world, is any less glamorous. Or that much different.

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The Emmy nominations are out, and to quote Isaiah Washington quoting the movie Network, "I'M MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

I'm mad as hell because the best show on television didn't get nominated for a single award. Not a writing award. Not a directing award. Certainly not an acting award or what it mainly deserves, which is Best Drama Series. And it's not just me pouting over my favorite show being ignored. Television critics who know far more about these things than I do routinely tout it as the best show television has seen in years. Maybe ever. And the one thing that sets it apart from the shows in the best drama category — Grey's Anatomy, House, Boston Legal, Heroes, and The Sopranos — is that the cast is almost entirely black, the show is set in poverty-stricken inner city Baltimore, and the writers and producers don't pull any punches or coddle the audience. Yeah, I'm talking about The Wire, and I shouldn't be surprised that its being ignored in its fourth season. It was ignored in the previous three. Not that I had a lot of respect for this particular award show in the past, but now I'm completely done. Done!

I will swallow my bitterness for a moment to congratulate Grey's Chandra Wilson, Ugly Betty's Vanessa Williams, and Life Support's Queen Latifah for their acting noms. Return of the bitterness: they probably won't win.

[EW]