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Tattle: No joke, Twain humor award to Tina Fey

AROUND THE country she's "the woman known for her impression of Sarah Palin on 'Saturday Night Live' " or "the creator and star of '30 Rock.' "

AROUND THE country she's "the woman known for her impression of Sarah Palin on 'Saturday Night Live' " or "the creator and star of '30 Rock.' "

But at the Philadelphia Daily News she'll always be "Upper Darby's Tina Fey."

Tattle, in fact, has a function key that types out "Upper Darby's Tina Fey" in one stroke.

So, congrats to Upper Darby's Tina Fey, who has won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Some refer to the Twain as the nation's highest honor for humor but is there another one? Clearly it's way bigger than winning "Last Comic Standing."

Fey joins the ranks of Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels and others who have won the Twain, but our Tina will be the youngest, having just turned 40.

"I am truly thrilled to receive this honor," Fey said in a written statement. "I assume Betty White was disqualified for steroid use."

Always with the quip.

This isn't the first recognition of Tina's work. She carts home honors nearly as often as Daily News Pulitzer Prize winners Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman. Tina was voted the Associated Press' Entertainer of the Year in 2008 and she has more Emmy Awards, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards than she can hold in two arms. She's also been one of People's "Most Beautiful People" four times.

"She's politically conscious, she's a writer, she's a filmmaker, she's a producer, she's a performer," said Mark Krantz, Twain executive producer. "Her body of work is as inclusive and far-reaching as anyone else's, and she's just funny."

Quaid in court

For a change, it's not Randy.

Dennis Quaid, on behalf of his twins, Zoe and Thomas, has sued Baxter Healthcare, the pharmaceutical company that makes the blood thinner heparin following the overdoses that nearly killed them three years ago.

The suit, filed in L.A., seeks unspecified damages and alleges that packaging caused the drug mix-up at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Bono gets herniated disc

Bono's back injury in Germany has forced U2 to postpone its American tour. They hope to reschedule soon.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt said, "Bono suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve. On review of his MRI scan, I realized there was a serious tear in the ligament and a herniated disc, and that conservative treatment would not suffice. I recommended Bono have emergency spine surgery with Professor Tonn at Munich's LMU University Hospital on Friday."

Tattle once had a sciatic problem and was doubled over for a week. Adding a ligament tear and a herniated disc?

OUCH!

* Billboard.

com reports Christina Aguilera has postponed her 20-date North American summer tour until next year. Her new album, "Bionic," is due June 8.

With no surgery to fall back on, a fairly lame excuse was given.

Tattbits

* Troubled country singer Mindy

McCready, who appeared on "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" earlier this year, was recovering yesterday in a hospital after police responded to an overdose call at a Florida home belonging to her mother.

During this year's "Celebrity Rehab 3," McCready came off as a sympathetic figure, with Drew Pinsky calling her an angel in the season finale.

On the show, Mindy said she suffered from love addiction, not substance abuse, so it's possible she OD'd on roses, chocolate and warm fuzzy feelings.

Dr. Drew said he and Mindy are in regular contact since filming the show last fall. He said in an interview last month that she appeared to be doing well.

"She's an easy person to like and to care about, and we hope she does well," Dr. Drew said. "So far so good as far as I can tell."

* The Walt Disney Co. has called off

talks to sell its Miramax movie division to billionaire Ron Burkle for $625 million, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday.

Burkle twice failed to buy the Philadelphia Daily News over the past four years.

Yo, Ron, if you want to buy something and get it, try QVC.

* Iran released renowned filmmaker

and opposition supporter Jafar Panahi on bail yesterday after more than two months in custody, state TV reported.

Panahi, who has won awards at the Chicago, Cannes and Berlin film festivals, was freed on bail of about $200,000. The report said his indictment would be sent to a revolutionary court for future action.

The decision came about a week after he began a hunger strike.

It was unclear what charges he

faces.

* "Today" show news anchor Ann

Curry delivered the commencement speech at Wheaton College in Massachusetts and cited in her address distinguished alumni such as Rev. Billy Graham, Wes Craven and Dennis Hastert.

Alas, all three men attended Wheaton College in Illinois.

"I am mortified by my mistake," Curry wrote in a letter to the school's president, "and can only hope the purity of my motive, to find a way to connect with the graduates and encourage them to a life of service, will allow you to forgive me."

Compounding the error: Wheaton (Mass.) was a women's college until 1988, when Billy Graham would have been 70.

Compounding the error II: In her apology letter, Curry noted that the correct Wheaton's notable alumnae included Lesley Stahl, Catherine Keener and Christie Todd Whitman, but Curry spelled Lesley's name wrong.

Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

E-mail gensleh@phillynews.com.