Roseanne Barr program canceled

New York — Roseanne Barr’s hysterectomy has forced the cancellation of her upcoming cooking show, “Domestic Goddess,” and may claim the ABC reality show leading up to it.

The 50-year-old comedian-actress is due to undergo the operation this week.

“Domestic Goddess” was to begin airing Sept. 20 on the ABC Family cable channel. Production had only recently begun and no completed episodes were available to broadcast, a network spokeswoman said.

However, ABC is in the midst of airing a reality series in which cameras followed Barr as she pitched “Domestic Goddess” to various networks.

Two half-hour episodes of “The Real Roseanne Show” are scheduled to air each Wednesday through Sept. 17, setting up “Domestic Goddess.” Production on the ABC network shows is already complete.

ABC is taking a “hard look” at whether it should cancel the reality series, as well, spokesman Kevin Brockman said Monday.

Former ‘West Wing’ star to assist real-life campaign

Burbank, Calif. — Actor and longtime Democrat Rob Lowe says he’s volunteering for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gubernatorial campaign because he believes the action-film star has injected new energy into California politics.

Schwarzenegger is “motivating and energizing people in this state that haven’t been interested in politics in many, many years,” Lowe said in a taped interview with the syndicated TV entertainment show “Extra,” which aired Monday.

Despite their party differences, Lowe said he wanted to help the Republican candidate unseat Gov. Gray Davis in the Oct. 7 recall election because Schwarzenegger will “put the people above partisan politics.”

Bee Gees singer’s will disclosed

Miami — The will of Bee Gees member Maurice Gibb leaves his widow more than $2 million, their six homes and all ownership in copyrights and musical compositions.

Gibb, a longtime Miami Beach resident, died Jan. 12 at 53 after emergency surgery for a blocked intestine.

The surviving Gibb brothers, Barry and Robin, have not yet followed through on a threat of legal action against Mount Sinai Medical Center on Miami Beach, where their brother died. The singers have said mistakes occurred at the hospital.

The not-so-funny years

Los Angeles — Comedian Conan O’Brien can laugh now — but his early years as a late night TV host were far from funny.

Audiences and critics were unimpressed when the red-haired rookie replaced David Letterman in NBC’s “Late Night” slot 10 years ago. The network wasn’t sure about their choice, either, and O’Brien recalled NBC suggested week-to-week renewals.

“I thought the reviews were fair when they went after me as a performer and a late-night host because I just didn’t have the confidence and the chops yet, but I thought that they were unfair when they attacked the comedy because I always thought the comedy was good,” he said recently.

NBC will air his 10th anniversary special in primetime on Sept. 14.