Bette Midler

Johnny Carson had Bette Midler singing to him during his farewell week on NBC's Tonight show in 1992, but tomorrow, Katie Couric will have Tony Bennett and the entire cast of a Broadway show. "We're going to throw her a nice party on May 31st, and the viewers are invited - they should all participate," Jim Bell, executive producer of Today, said in a telephone interview last week. End of an era Katie Couric's last Today show airs at 7 a.m. tomorrow on WBAL (Channel 11).

What's wrong with Helen Hunt's appearance in Then She Found Me is not that she looks terrible -- pinched emotionally as well as physically -- but that Colin Firth keeps telling her she looks wonderful. And even a Firth who's deliberately sloppy (as he is here) is not the kind of man to lose his head in love that easily. In this New York cheer-and-tearjerker, Firth plays a guy at loose ends raising two kids by writing book-flap copy, and Hunt plays a schoolteacher aching for a baby. At the beginning, Hunt marries a friend and fellow teacher (Matthew Broderick)

Last week's callers to SUNDIAL, The Evening Sun telephone survey of topical issues, chose four of the six top categories that won the Oscars last night: best actor, best actress, best supporting actor and best director. Callers liked Anthony Hopkins for his chilling portrayal in ''The Silence of the Lambs" and Jack Palace for his crusty Curly in ''City Slickers.'' And they chose Jodie Foster as best actress, as did the Academy.They also correctly chose Jonathan Demme as best director for "Silence of the Lambs.

Top Fives SINGLES 1. "Let Me Love You," Mario 2. "1, 2 Step," Ciara 3. "Lovers and Friends," Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz 4. "Drop It Like It's Hot," Snoop Dogg 5. "Soldier," Destiny's Child (From Billboard magazine) ALBUMS 1. American Idiot, Green Day 2. Encore, Eminem 3. Crunk Juice, Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz 4. Get Lifted, John Legend 5. The Red Light District, Ludacris (From Billboard magazine) CONCERT TOURS 1. Bette Midler 2. Metallica 3. Barry Manilow 4. Jay-Z 5. Cher (From Pollstar)

Best actress is another of those Oscar categories with two nominees from one picture competing, meaning that as with best supporting actor, the five nominees come from four 1991 movies. The two-fer in the actress competition is for the female buddy picture, "Thelma & Louise." Oscar winners will be announced at the annual televised Academy Awards ceremony March 30.The Evening Sun would like to know which actress you feel should win: Geena Davis, "Thelma & Louise"; Susan Sarandon, "Thelma & Louise"; Laura Dern, "Rambling Rose"; Jodie Foster, "The Silence of the Lambs," or Bette Midler, "For the Boys."

Is Madonna, the bleached-blond booster of beauty marks and bustiers, about to start a run on lip implants?With stories circulating that the Blonde Ambition has plumped up her kisser, cosmetic surgeons might expect plumper pockets.Although her publicists won't confirm the lip augmentation, recent photos of Madonna show a fuller, poutier mouth.Well, if Madonna did beef up her lips, she's far from alone. Roughly 75,000 women have facial collagen injections each year, and the majority of the injections are in the lips, reports the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.

An update on the concert scene: newly announced shows and ticket availability. For ticket information and purchase, call Ticketmaster at 410-481-SEAT or visit www.ticketmaster.com unless otherwise noted. Just announced B2K, ATL, O'Ryan and Da Razkalz Cru will perform at Constitution Hall in Washington Dec. 30. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today. Sting performs at the Warner Theatre in Washington March 11. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. The "You and I Reunion Tour," starring Teena Marie and Rick James, makes a stop at 1st Mariner Arena Dec. 7. Patti Austin plays the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis March 20. Call 410-268-4545.