Sideshow | Brief union, short divorce

In an apparent testament to the constancy of love - verily, to love's

immortality

- virtuoso artist

Pamela Anderson

, 40, and

Rick Salomon

, 39, were back together just 72 hours after Pam filed for divorce, TMZ.com says, citing an unnamed source. This means Pam's sacred union to her third hub, solemnized on Oct. 6, might just see its 73d

and

74th days!

Pam's latest soulmate Rick is the swain who marketed his XXX tape,

1 Night in Paris

, about his tryst with

Paris Hilton

. This is also his third marriage. He previously brought sweetness and light to the lives of

E.G. Daily

, who does the voice of Babe the Pig, and Oscar-worthy

90210

thesp

Shannen Doherty

.

Pam wed

Tommy Lee

a whole 96 hours after they met. They lasted three years. After a brief engagement with model

Marcus Schenkenberg

, Pam married refined high-society wit and noted poet

Kid Rock

. Although they had, like, six different weddings, they lasted just three months.

Guess the rumors are true: Late-night hosts

David Letterman

,

Conan O'Brien

and

Jay Leno

plan to return to their shows Jan. 2, two months after they went dark as a sign of solidarity with the striking Writers Guild.

"With the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision," NBC man O'Brien said yesterday. "Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for 14 years, to lose their jobs.

"If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice," he added. "But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids."

Leno said his priority was to keep his people working. "I feel it's my responsibility to get my 100 nonwriting staff, which were laid off, back to work," he said.

He's got access to France's nuclear arsenal.

And now he also has full access to - the very soul - of that stunning-sexy-sophisticated supermodel-turned-singer

Carla Bruni

.

The brute!

That (highly cultured) brute happens to be the ruler of France, President

Nicolas Sarkozy

.

French news weekly L'Express has published photos showing the newly divorced 59-year-old politico and the Italian-born Carla, who will turn 40 on Dec. 23, out on a date Saturday.

The sighting led the Sarkozy-admiring paper Le Figaro to run this headline yesterday: "Carla Bruni: The President's Girlfriend."

So what was the new couple's hot date? A

dîner intime

at an exclusive restaurant? A quiet walk along Paris' side streets? A hot dance grind at an underground club on Place Pigalle?

Think again. The couple were at . . . Disneyland Paris. (Gotta love globalization.)

The editor of L'Express tells the Associated Press that Bruni, who has previously been linked to

Mick Jagger

and

Donald Trump

(

yikes

), has confirmed she and the president are dating.

Barbados-born hottie

Rihanna

- who is all of 19 - is getting tired of hearing rumors that she's dating hottie actor

Josh Hartnett

.

"This is what really happened," the chanteuse tells Allure mag. "He and my management, they have each other's contact information. I went to [the New York club] Pink Elephant, and he came by."

Simple enough, right?

But, Rihanna said, "all of a sudden, the next day, I'm seeing that we were kissing and hugging up each other."

The singer (born

Robyn Rihanna Fenty

), who made the big time with her single "Umbrella," has previously been linked to

Shia LaBeouf

and the 38-year-old superstarsupermogul

Jay-Z

(?!), who is president of her record label, Def Jam.

She has denied any involvement with Jay-Z, who is, after all,

Beyonce

's man.

2001: A Space Odyssey

author

Sir Arthur C. Clarke

, celebrated his 90th birthday - his "90th orbit of the sun" - Sunday in his adoptive home, Sri Lanka.

Sir Arthur, who has written more than 80 books and 500 short stories and essays, also has contributed to science fact. He was the first to suggest using satellites orbiting Earth for communication.

He said he had three wishes for the world. First and foremost, "I would like to see some evidence of extraterrestrial life," he said. "We're still waiting for E.T. to call us."

Clarke's second wish is for humans to "kick our current addiction to oil."

Finally, he wished peace for Sri Lanka, which has been embroiled in a decades-long civil war.

BET Networks has announced that the inaugural edition of a new kudos party, the BET Honors, will be Jan. 12 in Washington, USAToday.com reports.

The gala, which will be emceed by

Cedric the Entertainer

, will shower love on honorees from various fields of human activity, including

Alicia Keys

(entertainment),

Tyra Banks

(media),

Cornel West

(inspirational/education),

Richard Parsons

(corporate), Rep.

Maxine Waters

, (D., Calif.) (government) and

Janice Bryant Howroyd

(entrepreneur). The event will be shot live on film and broadcast on BET on Feb. 22.

"Somebody might need to slap me," quips TV surgeon

Katherine Heigl

, who's says she's kinda sorta freaking out about her impending wedding to

Josh Kelley

. (It'll probably be held later this month, but Heigl has yet to confirm the date.)

Speaking to celeb show

Extra

, for a report set to air last night, Heigl said that wedding jitters aside, she's "super excited to start a family."

"I've always wanted a family," she said, "a large family. But I say that now!"

Heigl, who is nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in

Grey's Anatomy

, said she's not comfortable being the "It Girl," the celeb du jour.

" 'It Girl' freaks me out because that means right now, so what about tomorrow?"

Sweeney Todd

star

Helena Bonham Carter

, 41, gave birth to a girl Saturday night, her second baby with

Sweeney Todd

director

Tim Burton

, 49, says People mag. The yet-to-be-titled child joins 4-year-old

Billy

.

"It's a lovely Christmas present for the family," the couple's rep told People.

Legendary film producer

Harvey Weinstein

, 55, wed British designer

Georgina Chapman

, 31, on Saturday at his estate in Connecticut, just a month after he proposed to her, says People.com.

The list of attendees was full of A-listers, including

Jennifer Lopez

,

Marc Anthony

,

Cameron Diaz

,

Renée Zellweger

,

Naomi Watts

and

Rupert Murdoch

.

An item in Sunday's "SideShow" incorrectly gave the wrong first name for the obsessed

Jodie Foster

fan who tried to kill President

Ronald Reagan

. The would-be assassin's correct name, of course, is

John Hinckley Jr.