Sideshow: Speaking of the way Hamlisch was

Marvin Hamlisch was remembered as a "great, giving genius" (by former President Bill Clinton) and "the merriest of minstrels" (Sir Howard Stringer, chairman of Sony Corp.) at a celebrity-heavy funeral Tuesday at the prominent Manhattan synagogue Congregation Emanu-El, which was also the site of George Gershwin's funeral in 1937.

"Genius is rare enough, but a good-hearted genius is rarer still. A good-hearted, humble, and hilarious genius is almost unheard of," Clinton said of Hamlisch, 68, who died Aug. 6 in Los Angeles.

Guests included ex-Yankee manager Joe Torre, Kelli O'Hara, Ann-Margret, Raul Esparza, Robert Klein, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Leslie Uggams, Richard Gere, Tony Danza, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Diane Sawyer and her husband, Mike Nichols.

A choir that included fellow composers, lyricists, and musicians such as Lucie Arnaz, Rupert Holmes, and Sheldon Harnick sang the "The Way We Were" and other classics.

"Marvin taught me how to live life with gusto and magic," said the late composer's wife of 26 years, Terre. "He would order every dessert on the menu so everyone could taste everything and miss nothing in life."

First he loses his grip and allegedly head-butts his wife, Evelyn Lozada, then he loses his job with the Miami Dolphins and his VH1 reality show, Ev & Ocho, which culminated with the couple's wedding. Now Chad Johnson, 34, is about to lose Ev altogether. Lozada has filed for divorce after a whole 41 days of marriage, besting Kim Kardashian's mark of 72 for the shortest reality-TV induced marriage. In court papers filed Tuesday in Miami, Lozada says the marriage is "irretrievably broken."

?uestlove, 41, is resurrecting his indie digital-release-only label, Okayplayer Records, which has been dormant for eight years, reports Billboard.biz. The Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts alum and the Roots superhero will kick off the relaunch with two new releases, Atlanta-based rapper and producer Danny!'s Payback, due Sept. 25, and recording engineer Young Guru's instrumental album, Essentials Vol. 1, on Oct. 9.

The joint news teams of sister stations CBS3 and CW Philly won a leading 38 Mid-Atlantic Emmy nominations, which honor "excellence in television news, programming and individual achievement in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware," says a news release.

Comcast SportsNet/The Comcast Network is in second place with 33 nods, while NBC10 Philadelphia is at No. 3 with 23.

6ABC does not enter the awards as a station.

The nominations were set to be announced Tuesday night at a festive Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences do at Xfinity Live! in South Philadelphia.

James Cameron's multi-gazillion-grossing CGI epic Avatar will be out on Blu-ray 3D on Oct. 16.

 Halle Berry, her daughter Nahla, and fiance Olivier Martinez didn't lend a hand when an unidentified elderly woman collapsed at their table at an outdoor eatery in Malibu, Calif., Sunday night. TMZ says that while a good Samaritan called 911 and waited for the ambulance, Halle & Co. quietly slipped out a side exit.

Fans tuned in by droves to watch Kyra Sedgwick, 46, retire her most memorable character, L.A.P.D. wizard Brenda Leigh Johnson, Monday on the series finale of TNT's The Closer. Nielsen says 9.1 mil watched the show, making it the winningest summer cable show this year.

Russian band Pussy Riot, on trial after making anti-Putin statements in a performance in one of Moscow's most venerated churches, have become quite a celeb cause célèbre. A group of boldfacers, including Chloë Sevigny, Eileen Myles, Karen Finley, and Johanna Fateman, will hold a Free Pussy Riot public reading at Liberty Hall at the Ace Hotel in New York on Thursday night. Good thoughts will be generated for the alt-rock trio, who will hear the court's verdict read to them on Friday.