Arnold's win is no joking matter

GOOD MORNING: Jay Leno's not the only comic to comment on Arnold. Red Buttons sez "Arnold is already acting presidential -- this morning he invaded the International House of Pancakes." And, "Arnold's not wasting any time -- he's already asked for $87 billion to rebuilt Planet Hollywood." Or, "For the next three years, we'll be pumping iron when we should be pumping oil." "But," Red notes, "we won't have Gary Coleman to kick around any more." Norm Crosby also lends his comment on Arnold's victory "I think Arnold will be a hands-on governor. He'll put his hands on anyone who walks into his office." ... "The chances of his survival are not slim but great!" Siegfried & Roy's manager Bernie Yuman told me after meeting with Roy Horn's medics Wednesday afternoon. Yuman and Siegfried (Fischbacher) were busy Wednesday getting the word out with interviews on Matt Lauer, Diane Sawyer and Larry King ... Meanwhile plans continue for a taping next week of the sixth seg of the animated "Father of the Pride" skedded to launch in September on NBC's 8 p.m. Tuesday slot. Siegfried & Roy are cartooned and voiced (with accents) by thesps Julian Holloway (Siegfried) and Dave Herman (Roy). Carl Reiner voices the "Father" of the pride of big cats who act like humans. "We (animals) all work for Siegfried & Roy," Reiner relates, "and we act like it's 'All In The Family.' It's very funny and first class all the way. Jeffrey Katzenberg is very knowledgeable and is very hands-on" Reiner appears live Oct. 25 at Every Picture Tells a Story in Santa Monica with his children's book, "Tell Me a Scary Story, But Not Too Scary" (Little, Brown) and on screen as himself again in "Oceans 12" which starts filming March 1 with heists in N.Y., Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and the south of France. Adding to the original cast is French star Vincent Kassell.

TONIGHT'S KNIGHTS at the same table: Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Richard Attenborough, David Frost and--Roger Moore. They're Moore's guests at Shumi, his son Geoffrey's restaurant in London, following this afternoon's ceremony at Buckingham Castle where Queen Elizabeth II knighted Moore as a KBE. He's the newest addition to the above group. "I hope we don't have to go off on a Crusade," Sir Roger admitted to me. "I'm too old to lift one of those swords." Moore, as an international goodwill ambassador of UNICEF, heads a benefit for Zambia, Oct. 16 in London and is off to Cambodia, Vietnam, Calgary and Edmonton arriving in L.A. Dec. 3 for the Whoopi Goldberg m.c'd UNICEF dinner. Moore resumes his acting career working for producer son Christian in "Rosenthal," filming in New Zealand followed by "Ocean Warrior" ... The Beverly Hills Friars Club, while "downsizing," continues with its full weekday lunch in the newly decorated upstairs dining room (seats 100) and the full Sunday brunch downstairs. The dining room is always open for banquets -- and is booked solid this month, reports dean and president Irwin Schaeffer. "This institution and the tradition continues," he assures ... The Theater Hall of Fame Inductees to be presented Jan. 26 at N.Y's Gershwin: Vanessa Redgrave, Patricia Neal, Kevin Kline, Jane Greenwood, Richard Wilber, Julian Beck, Judith Malina and posthumously, Madeline Kahn and Peter Stone. Terry Hudge Taylor produces ... The Walter Matthau Family appointed the Roger Richman Agency as its exclusive licensing and enforcement agency. Agency is celebrating its 25th year in pioneering the California, New York and Tennessee Celebrity Rights Acts. They also represent Mae West, Steve McQueen, James Cagney, W.C. Fields, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster and Edward G. Robinson.

THE 40TH ANNI CELEBRATION of Stanley Kramer's "Mad (4) World" Oct. 16 at the Cinerama Dome will benefit the newly founded Stanley Kramer Graduate Fellowship in Directing at the School of Theater Film and Television at UCLA. MGM's prepped a special print and digital sound for the event to be attended by all the surviving stars of the epic. The original preem not only boasted almost every star in Hollywood, but also Robert and Ted Kennedy and Adlai Stevenson ... Playboy's 50th anni party at the Playboy Mansion was taped by exec producer Kevin Burns for airing Dec. 7 on A&E. Among those there participating: Jenny McCarthy, Kelsey Grammer, Pam Anderson, Sharon Osbourne, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Matthew Perry, Dick Gregory, Anna Nicole Smith, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sean Lennon, Jeff Probst, Geraldo Rivera, Barbi Benton, Tony Curtis, Sally Kellerman, Victoria Jackson, Berry Gordy, Cindy Williams, Garry Marshall, Thora Birch ... Some of the glamour to be seen at the Oscars: Harry Winston's on Rodeo Drive previewed $72 million in jewels for stylists to adorn the lucky nominees, presenters, etc. ... The Peninsula in BevHills celebrated its No. 1 choice by Travel & Leisure with a cocktailer hosted by the hotel's managing director Ali Kasikci and the magazine's editor Nancy Novogrod ... The Gary Smiths' son Sam bows his "Sam's Booth" at the Arts & Crafts section of the Rose Bowl Flea Market, Sunday ... Mrs. America will be crowned Saturday on the special exec produced by David Marmel for Pax TV. Florence Henderson and Hal Linden co-host from the Hilton Hawaiian Village ... Wayne Brady headlined the Lupus L.A. Evening of Love, Light and Laughter, which raised $400,000 at the BevHills Hotel's Crystal Room ... Ellen DeGeneres not only attended the L.A. Conservancy's bash at Ed Limato's to save the Ambassador Hotel, but she was so impressed, she pitched it on her show and added it to her own Web site ... The jazz greats convene Oct. 23-26 at the Hyatt Newporter Resort for the L.A. Jazz Institute's Balboa Rendezvous boasting the greats, composers, arrangers, instrumentalists, vocalists and music that created the Stan Kenton legacy. It's a spectacular list of special people of the jazz era. For info call: [phone] ... Bobby Short returns for his 35th consecutive year at the Carlyle on Tuesday, where he'll place his handprints (careful!) outside the Café Carlye ... Diane Schuur gets the Governor's AFTRA Disability Awareness Award, Nov. 2 at the St. Regis hotel in Century City. Diane, blind since birth is a two-time Grammy winner (five-time nominee). ... Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., who sang "Up Where We Belong" as a tribute to the late Nell Carter at the Yom Kippur services at the Temple Shalom of the Arts, will perform for the United Hostesses Charities Nov. 1 at the Beverly Wilshire, on their return from performing at the 25th anniversary of the Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.