Mother-daughter duo finds no ‘worst dressed’

New York — Joan and Melissa Rivers are singing the praises of the Oscar fashions, saying the simple, colorful gowns hit the right note.

Usually, the mother-daughter duo come off the red carpet and dish about the best and worst dressed, “but there was no worst!” Joan Rivers said Monday on NBC’s “Today” show. They are the fashion commentators for the TV Guide Channel.

“The women were beautiful,” added Melissa Rivers.

JLo’s jacket reminds some of ‘death head’ Nazi symbol

It’s not exactly Britain’s Prince Harry donning a Nazi uniform for a costume party. But the jacket Jennifer Lopez wore for a recent German TV spot might raise some eyebrows.

Detailed on the cuff of the white lambskin-with-rabbit-fur-hood jacket is a design with both German military and biker overtones: an Iron Cross, a lightning bolt and two skulls, a design that Los Angeles tattoo researcher Terisa Green suggests is reminiscent of the “death’s head” patches worn by SS troopers during World War II. The wings emerging behind the heads were also elements in military symbolism.

The Iron Cross was once a proud symbol of courage among German soldiers. But in World War II, Adolf Hitler superimposed a swastika on the cross, and today even the traditional Iron Cross often evokes images of the Third Reich.

The designer of the one-of-a-kind, $2,300 jacket, Jeff Sebilia, says his imagery not only doesn’t endorse Nazism, but is meant “to make people aware of just how powerful imagery can be.”

Actor kept shooting series during chemotherapy

Radnor, Pa. — In his final days, Jerry Orbach refused to let cancer stop him from portraying police Detective Lennie Briscoe on NBC’s “Law & Order: Trial by Jury,” the show’s executive producer said.

Orbach, who died of prostate cancer in December, continued to work even while getting chemotherapy every two weeks, Walon Green told TV Guide for its Feb. 27 issue.

Green said he needed to make some changes for Orbach’s final scene because the actor had weakened to the point where he could not speak in his normal voice.

Contestant knew she wasn’t ready to be ‘Survivor’

New York — Ashlee Ashby wasn’t surprised when she was voted off CBS’ “Survivor: Palau.” She was looking forward to it.

“Everyone sensed that I was ready to go home,” Ashby told The Associated Press. “I knew that I was ready to go home. So tribal council was a good thing.”

Despite surviving the 10th edition’s kickball-style tribe selection in the premiere episode, the 22-year-old wasn’t mentally or physically prepared for “Survivor.” Although it wasn’t seen on the show, Ashby cried about the experience to Jolanda Jones, the first person voted off the “Palau” edition.