Survivors Line Up Fall Acting Gigs

Sept. 19, 2000 -- This fall’s TV lineup looks to be heavily populated by the now-notorious members of the mega-popular CBS game show Survivor. The question is, who will be the last to be voted off the acting island?

Single mother Jenna Lewis recently passed on posing for Playboy, but the perky former college student is interested in spending time in front of cameras — clothed. Lewis, who, along with other Survivor finalists, appears on ABC’s Live! With Regis this week, has expressed a half-serious interest in replacing the morning show’s recently departed co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford.

The pink-bikini-clad Lewis can also be seen on upcoming episodes of CBS’s Nash Bridges, Hollywood Squares, and Freedom, an action series.

In the other corner, Wisconsin truck driver Susan Hawk is revved up for her guest slot on David Alan Grier’s new NBC sitcom, DAG. But don’t look for too many bells and whistles touting her appearance; according to the New York Daily News, Sue’s contract with CBS allows her to appear on other networks but prevents those networks from promoting the appearance.

Hawk will portray a tough-as-nails personal trainer on the show, which an NBC rep said should air sometime around November sweeps.

Meanwhile, Hawk’s rival, Nevada river guide Kelly Wiglesworth, is heading for a guest appearance on the Showtime drama Resurrection Blvd. Undoubtedly fans would really like Wiglesworth and Hawk’s next roles to be in a televised wrestling match.

No word on a definite acting stint from everyone’s cuddly favorite, college student Colleen Haskell. That’s no surprise to folks in Haskell’s hometown of Bethesda, Md., where The Washington Post reports she was seen leaving a beauty salon with fellow Survivor Greg Buis. The salon staff apparently let the kitten out of the bag by referring to Buis as “Colleen’s boyfriend.”

Though his alleged $500,000 book deal was recently sacked, Survivor winner Richard Hatch still has plenty to smile about. Hatch’s Rhode Island hometown just named Sept. 18 “Honorary Richard Hatch Day,”according to the Associated Press. The champ was celebrated in a ceremony and received a standing ovation from more than 400 people at the Middletown, R.I., town council meeting.

“Only in America can something like this happen,” Hatch’s longtime associate, Ken Cordeiro, said of the event.