samantha harris

Imagine the look on Jennie Bass's face when she got to 111 across in Sunday's crossword puzzle in the Boston Globe magazine. The clue? "Generic Proposal." The answer? "Will you marry me?" While most puzzlers just scribbled in the answer and moved on, not Bass. Those 14 letters were an actual marriage proposal by Bass's boyfriend Aric Egmont, who'd contacted the magazine to ask if a crossword could be specially created for him. "On our fourth date, I knew I had found the kind of dork I could love," Egmont wrote to the mag. (Both inveterate puzzlers, he's in communications at Fidelity and she's studying food policy and public health at Tufts School of Medicine.) Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, the puzzle-writing pair who've been crafting the magazine's crosswords for years, accepted the challenge. Their puzzle was titled "Popping the question," and each entry was a variation on proposals. The tricky part, of course, was writing a puzzle - including an official proposal - that would be clear to the happy couple but not obscure to everyone else. Hence, 111 across: "Generic proposal" (Jen + Aric = generic). "We get to the 'Will you marry me?' clue," says Egmont, "and I said, 'Will you marry me, Jenny?' I got up, got the ring, and got down on one knee and she screamed and hugged me." It took her a minute to answer, but, yes, she'll marry him.

Our boy Ben Affleck was back in town last night for a screening of his new movie "Gone Baby Gone." Ben introduced the flick, based on Dennis Lehane's book of the same name, and then hosted a VIP reception afterward at Ivy. Affleck's directorial debut, shot in and around South Boston last summer, was well received earlier this month at the Deauville American Film Festival. The movie, which premieres here next month, stars Ben's kid brother Casey, as well as Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. "This is the start of a 35-year career directing movies, so this [film] had to be right," Affleck said afterward. The Cambridge-bred actor, who also co-wrote the "Gone Baby Gone" script, said he was influenced by a number of directors with whom he's worked, including Martin Brest, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, and Roger Michell, director of "Changing Lanes." As much as he loves Lehane's book, Affleck said he wasn't completely faithful. "[Linklater]used to say a movie produced as written is an underachievement," he said.


Brady's baby on cover
Word is we'll get our first look at Tom Brady's lil one on the cover of the new issue of OK!, which comes out tomorrow. We're told Brady's ex Bridget Moynahan did a photo shoot with young John Edward Thomas over the weekend, and the mag is scrambling to put one of the pics on the cover. No word on what, if anything, Bridget was paid for the photos, but OK! has certainly demonstrated a willingness to open its wallet. For the Eva Longoria/Tony Parker wedding pics, for example, the mag wrote a check for $2 million. Samantha Harris has seen her share of perfect 10's, but the number three―as in family of―is starting to have a ring to it.

The E! News correspondent and Dancing with the Stars cohost and her husband Michael Hess, a financial wholesaler, welcomed their first child together early Sunday morning, daughter Josselyn Sydney Hess.

Harris and her little one, who was born at 1:49 a.m. in Los Angeles weighing in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 20 inches long, are doing well.

"Michael and I are ecstatic to have a little girl to welcome into our lives," Harris told E! Online. "We can't wait to introduce her to our family and friends in the morning!"

Harris, who theoretically was scheduled to head back to her late-afternoon job on Monday, when the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars premieres, announced her with-child status in April after fielding a few inquiries regarding her seemingly sudden new curves.

"I did not get a boob job, but I have put on a little weight, because I am happy to finally say I am pregnant," the 33-year-old former model said at the time.

Before joining E!, Harris was a weekend host for Extra, and she has worked as a special correspondent for Good Morning America and has sat in as a guest chatter on The View.

He already knows the ins and outs of the ballroom, after all.

After helping Tom Bergeron kick off season five Monday night, season-two champ Drew Lachey will continue to fill in for Dancing with the Stars cohost Samantha Harris for the extent of her maternity leave, E! News has confirmed.

Harris gave birth to daughter Josselyn Sydney Hess early Sunday morning in Los Angeles, the first child for her and husband Michael.

So, about a day and a half before showtime, Lachey got the call and promptly stepped into Harris' shoes (albeit not her usual heels), conducting backstage interviews and urging viewers to vote for their favorite contestants.

While Lachey didn't miss a beat, being on the other side of the microphone did make him long for his dancing days―for about a minute.

"Then I remember how my back hurt and my knees hurt by the time it was over, and I'm happy with my new job," the former boy bander told People backstage. "I'm all dressed up [with] somewhere to go for once."

Monday saw the premiere of Dancing with the Stars' new three-night format, with the men and women competing on separate shows, followed by a results show on Wednesday.

It was the women who took a turn around the floor first, doing either the fox-trot or the cha-cha.

Female faces (and legs, hands, carriage and charisma) to watch this season include Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan, who wowed the judges with her cha-cha and scored a 27 her first time out of the gate; Spice Girl Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice, whose girl power was on full display en route to earning a 24; and former Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Bond girl Jane Seymour, who at 56 is going to be giving those younger gals a run for that disco ball trophy. She also scored a 24.

Rounding out the pack were Marie Osmond, Jennie Garth and Sports Illustrated cover girl Josie Maran, whose 16 was the lowest score of the night.

The ABC hoofers dominated the ratings, finishing as Monday's most watched show with 21.2 million viewers. The season premiere was up 1 million viewers over last September's opener.

The men―Vegas legend Wayne Newton, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., race car driver Helio Castroneves, model Albert Reed, billionaire Mark Cuban and soap star Cameron Mathison―strut their stuff Tuesday.