Kathy Lee, the brains behind the Lewis and Floorwax radio show, will be baring her behind and more during a photo shoot for Playboy magazine today. Lee, 30, was chosen – along withseven other women across the country – for a special Playboy issue on “The Women of Radio,” which hits newsstands in August or September.Kathy says she has “the boys” to thank for her Playboy plug because they bought her breast implants that took her from an A to a C cup. “I’m very nervous,” Kathy told me while waiting at DIA to board her flight to Chicago. “It’s kind of nerve-wracking because you only see beautiful women in there. To be compared to them will be interesting.” Puh-leez! Kathy is one cute cookie at 5-foot-4 and 110 pounds. Note to guys: She’s single. A limo will pick her up at O’Hare Airport and take her to her room at the W Hotel, then to Playboy corporate headquarters, where she’ll partake in the clothes-peeling. Does she plan to promote the pictorial when it debuts? “It depends on how the pictures look,” she said. “My parents don’t even know.”
They do now. Tune in to the Lewis and Floorwax show on 103.5-FM beginning at 6 this morning for a play-by-play Playboy report from Kathy. TARA’S ‘DAYS’ DEBUT: Tara Smith, daughter of Denver social sceners Michael and Iris Smith, is more than a Mile High these days, even though she lives at sea level. Tara, who lives in L.A., landed a part on the sudser Days of Our Lives. She plays Pam, the baseball equipment manager at Salem University, where Days heartthrob Shawn is a team member. Her five-minute scene, airing at 1 p.m. March 19 on 9News, could grow into a recurring role. “Chances are higher than normal that I could come back because I’m not a waitress or student No. 1,” Tara said. “I have a name. If they continue with this baseball thing, they could bring me back.” Tara, 22, graduated from Kent Denver, but moved to Southern California during her last semester in high school. She landed a role in Academy Boys, an independent feature film. She also acted in school productions as a communications student at USC, hooked up with a manager and snagged an agent. “I’ve just been hitting it with auditions, but it can be absolutely heartbreaking,” she said. “For one audition, I went in and they wanted someone heavier. I’d just been told by someone else to lose weight. But if you take it personally, you’re just going to be miserable.” While she’s waiting to find fame, Tara works part time as an intern for Beacon Pictures, the production company headed by Charlie Lyons, former chief executive of Ascent Entertainment Group, the former owner of the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche and the Pepsi Center. “Since I work at a production company, I could see myself going in that direction as well,” Tara said. In the meantime, she’s sending postcards to casting directors she’s met. It features her picture and the message: “Watch me on Days of Our Lives on March 19.” “It’s a business,” she says.
“You’re selling yourself.” ROY’S ON ICE: Roy’s Cherry Creek, the awesome eatery inside the Cherry Creek mall, closed Feb. 16 after it was discovered that the plumbing underneath the restaurant was plumb tuckered out. Major repairs are under way, with plans to reopen the restaurant on March 21. “It’s been difficult because we hate to see any merchant close at the center,” said CC mall general manager Nick LeMasters. “Our game plan is to reintroduce the restaurant when it reopens.” The mall masters hired PR pro Wendy Aiello to stage the comeback. “We’re planning some special promotions for our guests, and we have other interesting surprises up our sleeves,” Aiello said.
