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HOWARD K STERN was accused of killing his client and lover ANNA NICOLE SMITH in court yesterday by rival LARRY BIRKHEAD’s lawyer.

Appearing in a Florida courtroom to testify on the fate of Smith’s remains, Stern’s “lifestyle” was held responsible for the former Playboy Playmate’s tragic demise by attorney DEBRA OPRI.

Stern’s lawyer KRISTA BARTH complained to JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN about the remarks, branding them “unacceptable”. She said, “Miss Opri did make a statement to my client that he killed Miss Smith.”

However, Stern, who is fighting Birkhead for paternity of Smith’s baby daughter DANNIELYNN, insisted his lover had “emotionally” died months before following her son DANIEL’s fatal overdose in September.

He said, “She talked of death really from the time that I met her.”

Smith died on her way to hospital earlier this month after her nurse found her unconscious in a suite at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

Radio shock jock HOWARD STERN made St Valentine’s Day extra special for his longtime girlfriend BETH OSTROSKY – by proposing to her.

The 53-year-old host told listeners of his Sirius Radio show that he had asked the model to marry him.

Stern recalled last night’s proposal on today’s show, explaining he asked the 34-year-old model if she wanted her Valentine’s Day gift early and she said yes.

He told listeners he ordered her to strip down, and, once naked, he presented her with a 5.2 carat diamond ring saying, “I love you. You’re everything to me. This is so gay… I’m asking you to spend the rest of your life with me.”

Stern insists the engagement is not a joke. Last month, he announced on air that the couple had tied the knot, but later revealed it was a prank.

This will be the first marriage for Ostrosky and the second for Stern, who split from wife ALISON in 2000.

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

The TV producer who landed exclusive coverage of HOWARD K. STERN’s emotional return to the Bahamian home he shared with ANNA NICOLE SMITH has slammed reports she paid $1 million for the scoop.

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT Senior Supervising Producer BONNIE TIEGEL insists she paid nothing to follow heartbroken Stern on the trip from Florida to The Bahamas and then shoot footage as the lawyer discovered his island home had been ransacked by thieves.

Tiegel states the scoop came from a longstanding relationship with Stern dating back to last summer when Stern and Smith took up residency in The Bahamas.

The angry producer says, “We do not pay for interviews. It is just not done… We are inside. We are the only ones inside.”

Meanwhile, speaking on CNN show LARRY KING LIVE on Tuesday, ET reporter MARK STEINES, who accompanied Stern on his journey back to The Bahamas at the weekend, revealed he was annoyed about the $1 million report.

He fumed, “This bothers me because so many people say this and they’re from the outside. We have been with these people. Bonnie has been on the phone with Howard. We’ve had a relationship with these guys.

“Because of the tragic events that happened, we were so close to this that Howard, when he saw me, when he sees Bonnie and our producers, they see a trusted face. They see somebody who they’ve allowed into their life.

“That’s how this relationship and this interview came about.”

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

Howard Stern has announced plans for his own film festival.

The “Howard Stern Film Festival” will feature movies that last five minutes or less.

The top three films will air on In Demand Networks, which also airs Stern’s “Howard TV.”

The grand prize winner will receive $15,000; second place receives $7,500; and third will get $2,500.

The films must have something to do with Stern, the talk show host who recently moved over to Sirius satellite radio.

Stern will announce the winner on his show on April 27.

In a move that would surely be disastrous, David Lee Roth may replace Howard Stern when he leaves the radio airwaves for satellite radio next year, according to a report.

Chaunce Hayden, a New York gossip columnist and former Stern guest, says a source at Infinity Broadcasting has told him that Roth will sign the deal.

Roth is just one of many personalities the company is looking at, according to Billboard.

Stern is set to depart on the last day of this year, before heading over to Sirius Satellite Radio.