Caroline Rhea's job change -- from doting aunt of a teenage witch to filler of Rosie O'Donnell's shoes -- might seem daunting to those of us with lesser talents, but not to a born talker. "Everything in my career has led to this point," says the actress, stand-up comic and sometime Hollywood Square. That said, she had a few things on her to-do list before her big debut last month, among them losing weight. Noticeably lighter after losing 18 pounds, she's finished. "The energy I spent thinking about [weight] is being completely redirected into self-acceptance," she tells me. "I want to get married" -- she's engaged -- "and have babies, [and for that] your body needs a little chub." Although Rosie gave her the dream job, Rhea, 38, says Johnny Carson is the host she most admires. "He was always so gracious ... and he always let the other person be funny."

I know Kathy Najimy -- a favorite of mine since "Sister Act" -- got married and had a baby. Is she still acting?
Debra Hamilton, Chicago

Yes. This weekend her latest film, "The Scream Team", premieres on the Disney Channel, and Najimy, 45, who plays a bumbling ghost, tells me it was a scream to make it. She's equally excited about another movie in the works -- on the life of Cass Elliot, of the Mamas and the Papas (yes, she sings). It doesn't take too long a look at Najimy's bio to figure out there's more to her than acting. She's a proud Lebanese American, a wife, a mother, an activist for several causes and an ardent feminist, which she proclaims herself every chance she gets. "I'm a public speaker, and one of the things I speak to is ... the lack of young women who realize where they come from. They think [opportunity] is their birthright. I'm blessed, but I know there is no way I'd be doing any of this without women like Lily Tomlin and others who have gone before me."

I swear I'm falling in love with Damon Wayans, who stars in the ABC comedy "My Wife and Kids". Is that hottie married?
Yvette LaPlace, Reno

Only on the show. Offscreen, the handsome Wayans, 42, is divorced from Lisa, his wife of 19 years, with whom he has four children -- two girls and two boys. Wayans draws his inspiration for the sitcom (which airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET) from that marriage.

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Court TV's Catherine Crier may be biting the hand that feeds her with her first book, "The Case Against Lawyers", new in stores this week. After all, without lawyers there'd be no "Court TV". The former Dallas prosecutor and Texas state judge attacks the very profession that gave her her start, telling us: "I truly believed lawyers were designated as guardians to protect democracy. I think they've done a lousy job." What's wrong with the system, says Crier, 47, has nothing to do with the system itself; it's the lawyers who misuse it. "If I hadn't had experience as a civil trial lawyer and judge, I wouldn't have the basis to express these opinions," she says. In fact, Crier's lack of journalistic credentials caused controversy 12 years ago when CNN hired her straight from the bench to anchor its evening news. She went on to jobs with ABC and Fox before settling in with "Court TV". Crier's not finished writing about the law and lawyers: She's already outlining the sequel to the current book, and another, on 20th-century trials, will be out next year.

Does Robert Downey Jr. have a film or TV show lined up now that he's out of prison? I can't wait to see him in something new.
Jennifer DeSpain-Nardin, Freeport, Ill.

Downey just completed his first movie since 2000's Wonder Boys. It's "The Singing Detective", a musical satirical drama adapted from British writer Dennis Potter's 1986 BBC serial. Downey plays a detective writer, hospitalized with disfiguring psoriasis, who imagines himself living out the adventures of his novel. Mel Gibson, who stuck with Downey even after his last arrest, produced the movie, which is to be released next year; Gibson also plays the hospital psychiatrist. Downey, 37, still is loved by many in the Hollywood community, who respect his talent. He now seems to recognize he must keep it together to retain that respect. He told reporters last July that he realizes Hollywood is "not interested in people who are not going to show up and be healthy."

What has Alicia Silverstone been doing, and when will she be in a movie again?
Gabrielle Devenish, Superior, Colo.

Silverstone, 26, just finished a run on Broadway in "The Graduate", playing Elaine to Kathleen Turner's Mrs. Robinson. The avid animal-rights activist, who took one of her dogs with her as the play traveled to Boston, Baltimore and New York, will be seen at the movies in "Scorched", an upcoming heist comedy that also stars Woody Harrelson and John Cleese. It reportedly earned solid laughs when it was screened earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival.

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BIRTHDAYS
October 6: Rebecca Lobo, 29; Elisabeth Shue, 39
October 7: Toni Braxton, 34; Yo-Yo Ma, 47; John Mellencamp, 51
October 8: Matt Damon, 32; Sigourney Weaver, 53; Chevy Chase, 59; R.L. Stine, 59; Jesse Jackson, 61
October 9: Scott Bakula, 48; Tony Shalhoub, 49
October 10: Dale Earnhardt Jr., 28; Brett Favre, 33; Tanya Tucker, 44; David Lee Roth, 47; Sharon Osbourne, 50
October 11: Luke Perry, 36; Joan Cusack, 40
October 12: Marion Jones, 27; Hugh Jackman, 34; Luciano Pavarotti, 67

With: Frappa Stout. Contributing: Bridget Byrne, Evelyn Poitevent, Patty Rhule.

Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!