There has been a run of clebrity deaths in recent days, which started me thinking … all that and more in today’s High 5:

REMEMBER WHEN?: The recent passings of Dennis Hopper and Gary Coleman were a reminder of how shocking a celebrity’s death can be, especially when it comes in unexpected fashion. Here are my choices for the topfive celebrity deaths of the past 50 years that affected us most:

1. Michael Jackson, 2009, overdose
2. Elvis Presley, 1977, heart attack
3. John Lennon, 1980, murdered
4. Marilyn Monroe, 1962, overdose
5. Princess Diana, 1997, car accident

I’m still kind of torn over Nos. 1 and 2. I gave Michael Jackson the edge because of the proliferation of today’s media coverage. If you were around when Elvis died I’m sure you know what I mean. It was a different world back then. Way, way different.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “You’re too pretty to be a day stripper.”

YOUR 15 MINUTES ARE UP:  The holiday weekend.

SONG THAT SDHOULD BE A CLASSIC BUT IS NOT: “When You’re Young And In Love,” by the Marvelettes.

THE No. 1 SONG IN AMERICA TODAY IS: “OMG” by Usher, featuring Will.i.am. The No. 1 songs on this date in the following years were:

1995: “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman,” by Bryan Adams.
1987: “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” by Kim Wilde.
1983: “Flashdance … What A Feeling,” by Irene Cara.
1969: “Get Back,” by the Beatles.
1968: “Mrs. Robinson,” by Simon and Garfunkel.

Just read the first item, shake your head and move on … to the rest of today’s High 5:

IT HAD TO HAPPEN: Time is carrying a report about Skinbook.ning.com , a U.K.-based website that proudly touts itself as the Internet’s only genuine nudist social network. The site capitalizes on users’ familiarity with Facebook-style member profiles, messages, forums and groups. Except that, unlike on Facebook, everyone’s naked. “For younger people, nudism is free from politics or activism. It’s purely recreational,” explains Skinbook’s 25-year-old co-founder Karl Maddocks, who says what sets Skinbook apart is its social functionality that appeals to a younger demographic. Maddocks says the average age of Skinbook’s roughly 9,000 members is between 35 and 40 years old (and falling), while the common ages of nudist clubs and associations usually hover north of 55 or 60.

GOOD JOB: Kudos to ESPN for its Saturday night cutaway from the NCAA softball tournament to give us the bottom of the ninth inning of Roy Halladay’s perfect game. Can you even imagine what it was like not having the multi-media accessibility we, as sports fans, enjoy these days? Unbelievable.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit!”

YOUR 15 MINUTES ARE UP: BP Oil.

R.I.P., DENNIS: Cancer claimed actor Dennis Hooper, 74, this weekend. Bob Cannon of insidemovies,moviefone.com offered his picks for Hopper’s 10 best films:

1. “Blue Velvet” (1986)
2. “Easy Rider” (1969)
3. “Hoosiers” (1986)
4. “True Romance” (1993)
5. “Speed” (1994)
6. “True Grit” 1969)
7. “Apocalypse Now” (1978)
8. “Cool Hand Luke” (1967)
9. “Giant” (1956)
10. “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955)

Cannon writes of Hopper’s role as Frank Booth in “Blue Velvet”: “Frank Booth. Just the name gives you chills. In David Lynch’s nightmarish tale, Hopper’s Booth is a vile, evil creation … An indelibly disturbing character, Booth drops F-bombs with nearly every sentence, and serves as an example of the potential depths of man’s depravity. If you have any friends who like to quote this character, run away. Very fast. It would be the ultimate tribute to Hopper, an actor of singular intensity the likes of whom we may never see again.”

"Half Pint Brawlers" comes to Spike TV on Wednesday night.

Set your DVRs now for 10 p.m. Wednesday … read all about it in today’s High 5:

MUST-SEE TV?: The newest entry into the reality television market is “Half Pint Brawlers” on Spike TV, starting at 10 p.m. (CDT) June 2. The show will follow a troop of wrestling midgets and dwarves from town to town. Here are some of the some of the “stars”:

* Puppet the Psycho Dwarf.
* Madd Mexx the Immigration Sensation.
* Teo the Tattooed Mini-Pimp.

This will either be a sure-fire hit or a sign of the Apocalypse.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “Look who I was making out with this morning!”

R.I.P.: I imagine you were as sad as I was to hear of Gary Coleman’s death Friday. What a tragic ending to life that started so promising. Coleman, the child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom Diff’rent Strokes whose later career was marred by medical and legal problems, died after suffering an intercranial hemorrhage. He was 42. Coleman became a star after Diff’rent Strokes debuted in 1978. He played the younger brother in a pair of African-American siblings adopted by a wealthy white man. His popularity faded when the show ended after six seasons on NBC and two on ABC. He suffered continuing ill health from the kidney disease that stunted his growth and also had a host of legal problems in recent years. Somne of those old Diff’rent Strokes shows used to make me laugh out loud. The show itself was terrible, but Coleman’s timing and stunning ability to dominate a scene were amazing. R.I.P., Little Guy.

Terrell Pryor and the Ohio State Buckeyes are No. 2 in the preseason polls.

SONG THAT SHOULD BE A CLASSIC BUT IS NOT: “Keep The Ball Rollin’,” by Jay and Techniques.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?: The first college football magazines are beginning to hit the newsstands. Here are the early favorites to win the national championship:

The Sporting News

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Miami, Fla.
5. Florida

Athlon

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. USC
4. Boise State
5. Oklahoma

Crystal Bowersox

When it rains, it pours … First, Crystal Bowersox is denied the American Idol title she richly deserved, and now this … read all about it in today’s High 5:

TOUGH WEEK: It’s been a rough week for American Idol runner-up Crystal Bowersox. She has confirmed she and boyfriend Tony Kusian have broken up. After losing the Idol crown to Lee DeWyze on Wednesday night, the singer revealed to Ryan Seacrest on his radio show on Thursday morning that she’d also lost her relationship. “Big Tony … he went home. He wasn’t cool with the lifestyle,” Crystal told Ryan. “I didn’t break up with him… it was a mutual thing.” (That’s too bad, if for no other reason he did it right before the Idol finals. Crystal has always seemed to be a class act, and she was through all of this, too. She did not use the break-up as any sort of crutch and emphasized she and Tony would continue to be friends. He simply did not want the same kind of lifestyle she now does.)

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “So You Think You Can Dance is back! It is so much more fun than American Idol.” (Seriously, who could write something like that?)

JUST GREAT … : Federal forecasters have called for an “active” to “extremely active” hurricane season this year. They predict anywhere from 14 to 23 named storms to form in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Of those named storms, eight to 14 should become hurricanes, including three to seven “major” hurricanes with wind speeds above 111 mph. (You know, if I lived anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico I’d seriously have to start wondering what I did wrong. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,  the current oil spill and now this news. Fargo, N.D. would start looking real good.)

BUT WHO’S COUNTING?: By my count, it’s only 33 days until the third Twilight movie, Eclipse, arrives in theaters. I’m hoping for a cameo by Kim Kardashian.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?: Willie Nelson’s long hair.

Kim Kardashian

I bet some of you thought I had forgotten about Kimbo, didn’t you? Not a chance! … read all about it in today’s High 5:

KIM NOSE BEST: According to published reports, Kim Kardashian has refused to have cosmetic surgery on her nose. The socialite — and our favorite non-celebrity celebrity — admits she had a consultation with a doctor to have her “worst feature” altered, but decided not to go through with the procedure after seeing mock pictures of what she would look like.  “But what’s funny is about my nose, it’s my biggest insecurity. I always want to get my nose done. … I went to a doctor, I had them take the pictures, he showed me what it would look like and it just didn’t– It– I wouldn’t look the same,” Kim was quoted as saying. (Aw, Kim … we love you just the way your are. Good choice.)

SONG THAT SHOULD BE A CLASSIC BUT IS NOT: “Can’t Stop Loving You,” by Phil Collins.

William Hung

SHE WAS ROBBED: I cannot believe Crystal Bowersox did nto win the American Idol competition. Unbelievable. America, what were you thinking? This was the biggest no-brainer since the question, “Do you think Barry Bonds used steroids?” Ten years from now, Crystal Bowersox will be a major musical star and Lee DeWyze — who appears to be a great guy, but … – will be little more than the answer to the same trivia question that Taylor Hicks is now.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?: William Hung.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “Ahhh!!! ow!! my mom just screamed SUPER loud that Lee DeWyze won right in my ear!!!” (Well, I guess I found one person who voted for Lee.)

David Byrne

An embarrassing time for a governor and TV personality … read all about it in today’s High 5:

POLITICS, POLITICS: Apparently, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist could use a lesson in ethics, or at least common sense. He is being sued by Talking Heads front man David Byrne for a cool $1 million. Crist used Byrne’s song “Road to Nowhere” in a campaign ad without permission. “They didn’t approach anybody, they didn’t ask anybody, they just used it,” said Lawrence Iser, an attorney for Byrne.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “I will always love ravioli and juice boxes! Don’t judge me.”

OOPS: This is the kind of thing a journalist will lose sleep over for months. The Today Show co-host Ann Curry is known for her grace and elegance, reporting stoically on all sorts of calamities from far-flung places like the Congo, Iraq and Darfur. She is a highly respected television newsperson, but even the best screw up. She delivered the commencement address last weekend at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. During her address, she rattled off the names of a few of the school’s more illustrious alums. Among the entries were 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, evangelist Billy Graham, slasher-film director Wes Craven and United Airlines Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer. There was just one problem: Apart from Stahl, everyone on that list actually graduated from another Wheaton College, the Christian liberal-arts school in Wheaton, Ill. (It’s kind of a shame, but the reality is this one incident will dog her for the rest of her career.)

YOUR 15 MINUTES ARE UP: Kyle Lohse.

PEOPLE I WOULD LIKE TO MEET: Ken Macha, Eddie Murphy, Dale Murphy, Chris Matthews, Chris Berman, Chris Evert, Everth Cabrera, Miguel Cabrera, Miguel Duhamel, Miguel Dilone, the Olsen twins, all of the Minnesota Twins.

Big night of television this evening … it’s the Ameican Idol performance finale! All that and more in today’s High 5:

TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT: American Idol winds up its ninth season this week, starting with tonight’s championship pairing of Crystal Bowersox and lee DeWyze. Idol watchers who are long in the tooth are likely referring to this as the toughest prediction since 2003 when Clay Aiken squared off against Ruben Studdard. Bowersox wowed America early and has remained steady throughout the four-month ordeal. DeWyze has gained momentum late in the competition and turned the finals into a crapshoot. Who am I picking. You’ll need to visit one of my other blogs, “Idol Nation,” to find out! My prediction will be posted later tonight after the performance show ends. Not to slap myself on the back — well, yes it is, actually — but I have predicted the last six Idol winners. The last miss was in 2003 when I picked Clay to win.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “It couldn’t last forever. It had to end sooner or later. The Cleveland Indians’ one-game win streak came to a screeching halt, thanks to a 7-2 loss to the White Sox.” (That hurts.)

LOST: I had always intended to watch Lost. I thought it looked like a great show when ABC debuted it five or so years ago, but I never got around to it for one reason or another. My eventual plan was to start from scratch when it came out as a boxed set or whatever. But when I read some of the Monday recaps of the much-ballyhooed series finale I have decided to skip it altogether. I’ll be glad to listen to any Lost groupies who think I should reconsider. (Seriously, was there something called a “smoke monster”?)

YOUR 15 MINUTES ARE UP: Lost.

SONG THAT SHOULD BE A CLASSIC BUT IS NOT: “Baby, It’s You,” by Smith.

Although their box office takes were far apart, both MacGruber and Shrek Forever After were disappointments … read all about it in today’s High 5:

DUD: We might have the first major movie flop of the warm-weather months on our hands. MacGruber made just $4.1 million at the box office over the weekend, finishing an embarrassing sixth against what was an overall weak lineup of films. Was this really a surprise? One look at the commercials (which have been running for what seems forever) for the over-hyped and overrated film gave us all the clues we needed that this was a real stinko effort. MacGruber may find it challenging to earn back the meager $10 million it cost to make the film. From producer Lorne Michaels, and starring SNL castmates Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, look for this horrible flick to be on on those video rental shelves much sooner than expected.

FOUND ON FACEBOOK:  ”Being a grown up is not all that bad!”

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?: Deb Bergman.

YOUR 15 MINUTES ARE UP: Orlando Magic.

DISAPPOINTING START, PART DEUX: MacGruber was not the only movie to have a disappointing opening. There didn’t seem to be an extraordinary amount of buzz surrounding the fourth installment of the Shrek movie franchise, Shrek Forever After, and that now looks to have been a tell-tale sign. “Who knew the appetite for Shrek would abate so significantly in just three years?,” wrote Nicole Sperling for Hollywood Insider. “Whereas Shrek the Third bowed to over $121 million back in summer 2007, Shrek Forever After, which boasted a slew of expensive 3-D screens, opened (over the) weekend to just $71.2 million … the only Shrek movie that opened weaker than Shrek Forever After was the original in 2001, a completely unique concept at the time that opened to $42 million.” (Guess we’ve had enough of the big green guy.)

Casey James, one of the finalists on this year's "American Idol" series, perfrorms during a recent showing.

The Idol juggernaut lives, but some Tuesday repair work is needed … read all about it in today’s High 5:

STILL THE ONE:  As the network TV season rapidly winds down, American Idol has locked up another No. 1 rating — its sixth straight — but it is the program’s Wednesday results show that will wear the crown. In years past it had been the Tuesday performance night that was unbeatable. Idol producers seriously beefed up Wednesday nights this year with a wide variety of guest appearances by some of the biggest names in the music industry and the formula apparently worked. Now, they need to address the decline on Tuesday nights, which many feel was an overall subpar cast of contestants this season. Here are the top 10 network shows for the season:

1. American Idol Wednesday night, 25.o million average viewers.
2. American Idol Tuesday night, 23.5
3. Dancing With The Stars Monday night, 19.7
4. NCIS, 18.8
5. The Mentalist, 16.8
6. CSI, 15.8.
7. NCIS Los Angeles, 15.7
8. Dancing With The Stars Tuesday night, 15.0
9. Two and a Half Men, 14.6
10. Big Bang Theory, 14.1

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “Guys have been busy tonight. The Cheetah just fired up!!”

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY: The No. 1 song in the country was “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. The No. 1 songs on this date in the following years were:

Hanson, circa late 1990s.

2004: “Burn,” by Usher.
1999: “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” by Rick Martin.
1997: “MMMBop,” by Hanson.
1990: “Vogue,” by Madonna
1989: “Forever Your Girl,” by Paula Abdul.
1971: “Brown Sugar,” by the Rolling Stones.
1965: “Help Me Rhonda,” by the Beach Boys.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?: Hanson.

WHAT ELESE CAN HAPPEN?: Bret Michaels has had a rough year, there is no queston. Michaels was discharged earlier this weekend from a hospital in Los Angeles after suffering a “warning stroke.” The former Poison front man was in the middle of making comeback plans following a brain hemorrhage (which followed an emergency appendectomy)  last month when he was re-admitted to hospital complaining of numbness on the left side of his body. Doctors found he had suffered a mini-stroke and discovered he had a hole in his heart. In a post on Michaels’ website on Thursday, his physician Dr. Joseph Zabramski wrote, “There is no doubt that (this) is devastating news to Bret and his family. The good news is that it is operable and treatable and we think we may have diagnosed the problem that caused the Transient Ischemic Attack (stroke).  Without a doubt he is very determined to get healthy and make a 100 per cent recovery. Medically speaking it is a fantastic attitude both mentally and physically for him to have. However, Bret’s brain and body are not quite 100 per cent yet, especially with the hole found in his heart.” (You can’t help but root for this guy, whether you were ever a Poison fan or not. Wow, I really hope there is some good — or at least better — news to soon report about the fortysomething rocker.)