SideShow: Dick Clark’s ashes; new guy for Katy Perry

Dick Clark, who died Wednesday at 82 of a heart attack, has been cremated, rep Paul Shefrin tells USA Today. Entertainment Tonight reports the ashes will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean, but Shefrin says Clark's family had not yet decided what to do with them.

Plans for a public memorial hadn't been finalized.

Simon Cowell: Not gay

Simon Cowell, whose sexuality has been the subject of not a few gossip items, tells biographer Tom Bower in a new book he is straight.

"If I was gay, why wouldn't I admit it? It wouldn't harm me, and my mother wouldn't freak out," Si is quoted as saying in Bower's Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell, which also reveals Si had a secret fling with Dannii Minogue in 2008.

Si is unhappy to have his sex life so exposed. "I've been very embarrassed actually this week," he tells TMZ.

"I've always tried to keep my private life private, and it is unfortunate."

A Buzz Bissinger soiree

The incomparable Buzz Bissinger, 57, Pulitzer-winning author of Friday Night Lights, will talk about his work at a fund-raising event for Spells Writing Lab, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on May 10 at Loews Hotel in Center City. The do features a silent auction and book signing and costs $80 to $135. Info: www.PhillySpells.org/store.

Jenna Wolfe in town

Jenna Wolfe, former Channel 17 (WPHL-TV) sportscaster and current Today show correspondent, will be in Philly Saturday to report on the volunteer projects set up around town as part of the annual Comcast Cares Day.

Tidbits 'n' pieces

On June 26, American Idol Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks begins an eight-week gig as the headline act at Bally's Las Vegas. … Country legend and ganja aficionado Willie Nelson was expected Friday in Austin, Texas, to attend the unveiling of an 8-foot statue of him by Philadelphia sculptor Clete Shields. … Hungry for more Hunger Games? The Jennifer Lawrence-dominated, Disneyfied snuff film will screen at IMAX theaters across the land for one week beginning April 27. … Emmy-winning domestic dictator Martha Stewart will create and host a TV show for PBS (?!). Martha Stewart's Cooking School will offer public TV viewers a master class in cooking. It'll premiere in the fall. … Newbie divorcee Katy Perry has found her first post-Russell Brand rebound guy, Florence + the Machine guitarist Robert Ackroyd, says Life & Style mag.

Pam pantless for seals

Pam Anderson sported nothing but a PETA T-shirt (decorated with a seal drawing) and sheer stockings Thursday for a one-woman protest march through the streets of Berlin. Pam, 44, sashayed her way to the Ministry of Economics to deliver documents protesting Germany's sealskin trade.

The Game wa$tes $$$

Rapper The Game, who drew derision Monday when he bought a $1,400 bottle of champagne just to pour it out on the sidewalk, on Thursday night bought two more bottles of Ace of Spades champagne at a Hollywood nightspot, waited for the crowds to gather outside, and poured the contents out. Why? "Because he felt like it," TMZ's astute analysis reads.

Colton: It was Gaga

"I think it was [Lady] Gaga," American Idol reject Dixon Colton told USA Today Friday, regarding the reason he was ejected. Colton, 20, said he's always been in step with his Christian fans, whose values he says he shares — until he decided to sing Gaga's "Bad Romance." Its sexual themes, he said, didn't square with his fans' beliefs. "The message that was portrayed wasn't really who I was, and that's normally the first thing I think about," said Colton.

Suge: Tupac is alive

Days after a hologram of Tupac Shakur rapped 'n' danced for a music festival crowd, a friend of the late, great rapper claimed the man may be alive after all. Suge Knight was with his friend in Las Vegas in '96 when Shakur was hit by five rounds from a handgun; Suge himself was hit once. On Friday, Suge told a Los Angeles radio station he believes Tupac has been alive and in hiding all these years.

Suge claims no one saw Tupac's body after he was pronounced dead. Suge said he gave the person supposed to cremate Shakur's body a fee of "three million dollars, cash," but never heard back.

This article contains information from Inquirer wire services and websites. Contact "SideShow" at sideshow@phillynews.com.