It's hectic time for Henry Winkler, who'll soon be heading off to London to play Captain Hook in a pantomime version of "Peter Pan," has his 15th Hank Zipzer kids' book — "A Tale of Two Tails" — about to be released, just completed the Hallmark Channel's Dec. 13 "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" movie with Brooke Burns, and has a "Numb3rs" episode airing tomorrow night (10/24).

"There were so many connections on 'Numb3rs' for me it was like cosmic," he tells us. Referring to "Numb3rs" star David Krumholtz, he notes, "In my old sitcom 'Monty,' David played my younger son, and David Schwimmer played my older son. Steven Gyllenhaal, the 'Numb3rs' director — we met when his children Jake and Maggie went to the same preschool as my children. They went to the same parties. We had not worked together until now. And when I went in for a fitting with the costume designer on the show, she said, 'Eight years ago to the day, you presented me with my Emmy.'"

Winkler plays a rule-bending FBI agent in the episode, which he says was "fun, I had a really good time."

He expects to have fun in London as well. It's his third year taking part in the pantomime tradition that dates back to 1607, and Henry is proud to be "One of the very first Americans to be invited to do this. It's the hardest job I've ever done and one of the most rewarding — 2,000 people twice a day, six times a week. We dance, do sword fights and comedy. The audience definitely has a part, and they know their part. They yell, and I yell. They sing, and we sing." He'll be doing his thing in the U.K. until mid-January.

A MYSTERY TO US: Halloween's just around the corner, and VH1's pickup guru Mystery, who's currently starring in the second season of his reality show "The Pickup Artist," tells us people are already starting to dress like him. "What has been really wild is that I've gotten dozens of pictures of people dressed as Mystery for Halloween. It's already started," says Mystery, who is known for his big hats and outrageous outfits. "There's this one guy, who I've bumped into twice now, who dresses up as me in clubs. He's running around in Hollywood. It's flattering, I guess. I met his girlfriend, and hubba hubba, so I guess it works."

However, when it comes to picking up women, there's only one Mystery. He and his wingman Matador — hey, we don't make up the names — have been helping guide nine socially awkward guys in overcoming their fear of meeting women. "I'm a 37-year-old man. I've figured some things out as an older, wiser man. I understand women," touts Mystery. "I'm not a therapist. I am a pickup artist. I understand the art of pickup, and I've broken it down, and I can teach it to other people," he says. "Everybody wanted it more this season. It definitely made for a more intense experience for them because they knew what was on the line. These guys have made real life transformations."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: "Law & Order: SVU" star Tamara Tunie reports that her character, Dr. Melinda Warner, is becoming a more prevalent part of the show. "I have an episode coming up on the 28th where I have mucho to do. The response from up top is that it's really great," says Tunie of the episode that deals with a case against a group called the AIDS Deniers. "It's another show that is dealing with something very topical and very controversial. It's nice for me to be able to get out of the scrubs in the morgue and really talk about some things in a more passionate way rather than a clinical way."

Fans of the show certainly don't seem to mind seeing her medical examiner character being brought more to light. In fact, they have more than embraced it. "The 'SVU' fans are hardcore. They know every episode. They can practically quote the script to you," she notes.

THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: "90210" hunk Adam Gregory — he plays ultra-rich jock Ty Collins on the show — has been having quite a time mixing it up with Disney youngstars in upcoming movies of late. He is the bully who gives no less than Zac Efron a hard time in Efron's forthcoming "17 Again," and he's the object of Emily Osment's crushing urges in the recently wrapped "Hanna Montana Movie." Of the former, Gregory says, "I didn't get to rough up Zac, which is good because I think if I did that, every girl in the country would want to tear me apart. But he has a little sidekick in the movie, a little buddy, and I pick on him. I'm a jerk, sorry."

Gregory, who was on hand last week for the L.A. premiere of Zac's "High School Musical 3," opening tomorrow (10/24), also tells us that he "did great" sharing a character with Matthew Perry in the flick that's kind of a reverse "13 Going on 30," "He kept in good contact with Matthew Perry, and if he had a question about how to say a line, he'd call him."

With reports by 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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