Singer punished for song theft

London  Chart-topping singer Robbie Williams and his publisher must pay $71,000 in royalties to the owners of a song he plagiarized, a judge ruled Thursday.

Judge Nicholas Pumfrey rejected a request for more damages from Ludlow Music Inc., which holds the copyright to the Woody Guthrie song “I Am the Way.”

The court ruled in October 2000 that Williams had copied substantial portions of the song for “Jesus in a Camper Van,” a track from his 1998 album “I’ve Been Expecting You.”

Guthrie wrote the original song in 1961.

Pumfrey also granted an injunction that bars future use of the part of the lyric that infringed copyright.

ABC’s mainstay ‘Blue’ to return

Los Angeles  Dennis Franz and the rest of the cast of “NYPD Blue” will be pounding the beat for another year.

The ABC police drama has been renewed for the 2002-03 season, its 10th, the network said Wednesday.

Despite moving to a new and competitive time slot, 8 p.m. Tuesday, “NYPD Blue” has been one of struggling ABC’s better performing series this season.

The ensemble cast expanded this year to include Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Jacqueline Obradors as new detectives.

McCarthy carrying bundle of love

Los Angeles  Actress and former Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy and director John Asher are expecting their first child in June.

“We are thrilled to bring a bundle of love into our family,” McCarthy said.

The couple was married in 1999.

McCarthy, 29, recently was a co-host of the American Music Awards and will appear next in the feature film “The Perfect You.”

Asher, 31, directed the Showtime series “Going to California,” and the feature film “Diamonds,” starring Kirk Douglas.

Jewish porn star shares insights

Santa Clarita, Calif. Â After appearing in hundreds of X-rated films, Nina Hartley now plans to share her sexual insight during a talk to an adult education class held by a religious group.

The star of “Debbie Duz Dishes” has agreed to speak at Temple Beth-Ami in Newhall about how couples can spice up their marriages.

“Sexual knowledge is sexual knowledge, and one way you learn it is when you do it,” Hartley told the Daily News of Los Angeles. “And most people haven’t done it as much as I have.”

Rabbi Mark Blazer asked Hartley, who is Jewish, to speak as part of his congregation’s adult education series after he met her through a mutual friend  and later learned about her career as a porn star and sex educator.