FX cancels talk show

New York — The FX network has pulled the plug on “The Orlando Jones Show,” making it a rough week for cable TV talk shows.

The series, which began June 16, stopped production last Thursday, FX spokesman John Solberg said Monday. Repeats will air until FX decides on a time slot replacement.

FX was pleased with the show, but its average viewership of 259,000 at the last measurement didn’t justify the production costs, Solberg said.

Last week, MTV canceled Tom Green’s late-night talk show.

Jones, a 35-year-old actor and comedian, has co-starred in films including “The Replacements,” “Evolution” and “Biker Boyz.” Before that, he was best known as the 7-Up pitchman.

CNN’s Tucker Carlson mad about no-call flap

Washington — Conservative CNN commentator Tucker Carlson’s humor backfired on him — and his wife.

While defending telemarketers during a segment on “Crossfire” last week, the bow-tied co-host was asked for his home phone number. Carlson gave out a number, but it was for the Washington bureau of Fox News, CNN’s bitter rival.

The bureau was deluged with calls. To get back at him, Fox posted Carlson’s unlisted home number on its Web site. After his wife was inundated with obscene calls, Carlson went to the Fox News bureau to complain. He was told the number would be taken off the Web site if he apologized on the air. He did, but that didn’t end the anger.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Carlson called Fox News “a mean, sick group of people.”

For the troops

Tikrit, Iraq — Comedian Drew Carey performed at an American base in Saddam Hussein’s hometown, staging the show for the troops in front of a bomb-damaged palace.

Carey entertained hundreds of soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division for more than an hour on a stage in front of Saddam’s main Tikrit palace. Flanked by two tanks, Carey showed up on stage in a desert camouflage uniform.

“We just came here to tell you that we appreciate you and that we support you completely,” Carey said Sunday.

Cited, not indicted

Nutley, N.J. — Martha Stewart has taken her spot in her hometown’s Hall of Fame.

The home-decorating diva was among nine Nutley residents who entered the hall Sunday during ceremonies at the township library. The group — which included two college professors, a supermarket magnate and a pharmaceutical president — were the hall’s first inductees.

Stewart, who now lives in Westport, Conn., graduated from Nutley High School in the late 1950s and worked as a model and stockbroker before eventually establishing a multimillion-dollar lifestyle company.

Besides Stewart, inductees included ShopRite CEO and Chairman Thomas Infusino, former Merck & Co. President John Lloyd Huck, mathematician Eileen Poiani and scientist Geerat Vermeij.