P. Diddy's former umbrella-carrying personal assistant, Fonzworth Bentley, is about to step out from under Diddy's umbrella — now that the debut album he's been working on with Kanye West and Andre 3000 is almost a wrap.

"I've been finishing my music project entitled 'Cool Outrageous Lovers of Uniquely Raw Style," says Bentley of the project being co-executive produced by West. "You'll be seeing the video for the first single soon. It will have me, Kanye, and Andre 3000, so it should make a bit of a splash."

As for his music, he explains, "I'm classically trained as a violinist so you'll get some of that flavor in there. I like a lot of different music, and the album title is an acronym for 'colours,' as the English spell it. No two colors are alike, so no two songs on the album are alike."

Bentley, who has since put his umbrella away (and is seen fiddling in the "Yes, We Can" music video on behalf of Barack Obama), says Diddy is happy he's moved on to bigger things. "It's sort of like Luke Skywalker and Yoda. Once you learn the force, you've got to go out and do it on your own. He's very proud of me," claims Bentley. Yes, Bentley is making his own mark at MTV with the show "From G's to Gents," premiering Tuesday (7/15). Bentley, known for his class, was handpicked by executive producer Jamie Foxx to mentor 14 guys who will shed their thug-like ways in hopes of becoming true gentlemen. "A lot of guys probably want to do better but just haven't known how," he opines. "It takes more effort to be a gentleman, but we show how much you can do with certain tools."

BITTER WITH THE SWEET: Why have so many female broadcasters been dumped from their jobs upon reaching a "certain age"? "Because most of the men [who] run the networks, when they can't get rid of their own wife, they get rid of the host of their show. It's easier."

So says Joan Lunden, who experienced just such a dumping in 1997, after putting in 17 highly successful years on "Good Morning America."

That said, however, Lunden is quick to note that she's seeing changes for the better.

"'The Today Show' chose Meredith Vieira to replace Katie Couric. She's not a twenty-something. Kathie Lee Gifford was named to join that show (in April). You can point to a number of women today being named to host shows who are not even in their forties — they're in their fifties. The Baby Boomer generation, which is such a huge part of the population, it's changing things in this regard. I think we're going to see more women sustain careers longer.

"But it's still hard to sell a Joan Lunden or Connie Chung, because they all want twenty-somethings," admits the 57-year-old, referring to television powers that be. "What that means to me is, I can't walk in and say, 'Hire me.' I have to come up with a good concept and sell it to a producer or do it myself. We have to work a little harder, but what else is new? Multitasking is nothing new for women."

Lunden, whose latest gig is hosting DirecTV's uplifting "Hometown Heroes" series, certainly is used to juggling her personal and professional lives. Her three daughters from her first marriage now grown, she's got her hands full with her and husband Jeff Konigsberg's two sets of twins — ages 5 and 3 — who were famously born via surrogate. She frequently lectures. And, she informs, "I have a production company now. I have several new shows in the works for several networks — but nothing I can talk about yet." We'll see.

GOSSIP BOY: As if "Gossip Girl's" Ed Westwick wasn't hot enough being the bad boy on a hit TV show, he has to go and be in a band as well?! Yes, the British actor is also the lead singer of the band The Filthy Youth, which he says is trying to figure out their next move now that he's living in New York. "We've got to plan what we're going to do next, but my schedule can be kind of crazy. If we can fit it around what I'm doing, then great, because I love doing it," says Westwick. "It's not just the music thing. I get to hang around four of my good friends and have a great time together."

THE RISING STAR TRACK: "It's quite overwhelming," says hot new singer/songwriter Maiysha, whose upcoming debut CD, "This Much is True," has already received raves in Newsweek and USA Today. "On those days I'm like totally overwhelmed and overworked I'm constantly reminding myself this is the best time in my life and the beginning of so many things I want to do." The former model adds, "This is really what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I'm thrilled to be able to do it. It's been a long time coming."

Maiysha says she's blown away by momentum already begun from the advance critical acclaim she's received. "I think for a long time I had this idea we were going to be doing this grass-roots kind of thing. I wasn't thinking on a large scale, just thought we'd sell the CDs at the shows. But Newsweek made everything real and tangible." Maiysha wrote most of the songs on "This Much is True," which drops Aug. 26. "I guess you could consider them all different aspects of my own personality," she says. "For any artist, no matter what the medium, you can reconcile conflicting aspects of yourself with your work."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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