NEW YORK (AP) -- Barbara Walters said she will have surgery to replace a faulty heart valve later this week and take the summer off from "The View" to recuperate.

The television legend made the announcement on the air Monday. She said she's known about her condition for a while, and decided with her doctors that this is the best time to have the heart surgery done.

"Since the summer is coming up," she said, "I can take a nice vacation."

Walters, 80, is one of the best-known personalities in television news. She began on the "Today" show, was the first woman to anchor a network evening news program, then was one of the toughest competitors in the fierce game of landing sought-after interviews.

At a time others would be slowing down, she invented "The View" in 1997 and the daily talk show with a woman's round-table is a staple on daytime TV. She said earlier this year she was giving up her annual interview special with actors that traditionally preceded the Academy Awards.

She said her condition would be a surprise to many friends. "But I thought it best not to talk about it too far in advance," she said.

Walters said she had not felt any symptoms from the narrowing of the heart valve, which can worsen and restrict the flow of blood to the heart. There are four heart valves, and they can be surgically replaced by a mechanical valve, an animal valve or human organ from a donor.

"There's no denying that this is serious surgery," said ABC News President David Westin. "But it's also a type of surgery that has been done often and successfully. and, as those of us who work with Barbara know, she's in excellent condition. So we have every reason to expect a great result and a speedy recovery."

Walters said recovery generally takes one to three months, mostly involving regaining strength.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush and comic Robin Williams had heart valve replacement surgery last year.

Whoopi Goldberg, her co-host on "The View," asked if she was scared.

She said no and pointed to how it has become more commonplace, but said, "Look, nobody wants to have this kind of surgery."

NEW YORK (AP) -- Even though he's no longer around, Frank Sinatra can still intimidate.

Three of the five "American Idol' contestants had trouble interpreting the crooner's biggest hits on Tuesday's show, even with the encouragement, arrangements and piano playing of Harry Connick Jr.

They included 17-year-old Aaron Kelly from Sonestown, Pa., who seemed grounded on "Fly Me to the Moon."

"If (Sinatra) was a lion, you were just a mouse," said judge Simon Cowell on the Fox show.

Similarly, Casey James of Fort Worth, Texas, and Crystal Bowersox of Toledo, Ohio, couldn't stand up to the Chairman of the Board, at least in the judges' determination. Bowersox, 24, looked elegant in an evening gown singing "Summer Wind," but judge Ellen DeGeneres thought she needed to loosen up a little more.

James, a 27-year-old construction worker, mentioned before singing "Blue Skies" that a friend who doesn't watch "American Idol" had offered him a $50 gig on Tuesday night. Maybe he should have taken it.

Cowell said he thought James looked embarrassed trying the song. James, who just missed being voted off last week, admitted Sinatra wasn't in his wheelhouse.

To salvage a dismal evening, Michael Lynche and Lee Dewyze took different routes to impress the judges.

Lynche, a 26-year-old personal trainer from New York, sang a soulful version of "The Way You Look Tonight" that led enthusiastic judge Randy Jackson to say that he had thrown down gauntlet with his performance.

Dewyze, a 24-year-old paint sales clerk from Mount Prospect, Ill., put his all into the big, boozy "That's Life."

"What I really loved was you gave it 110 percent," said judge Kara DioGuardi.

By MIKE CIDONI
AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- They misspelled Julia Louis-Dreyfus' name on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star, but the Emmy-winning star of "Seinfeld" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine" seemed tickled by the typo.

The mistake? The star read "Luis" instead of "Louis," and there was no hyphen between Louis and Dreyfus.

"The misspelling was so perfectly apt, a great metaphor for show business," Louis-Dreyfus said after the Tuesday-morning ceremony. "Right when you think you've made it, you get knocked down," she continues. "It's an ideal metaphor for how this business works."

Following the ceremony, it was announced that the last Walk of Fame honoree whose name was misspelled was actor Dick Van Dyke in 1993.

Attendees at the Louis-Dreyfus ceremony included cast and crew members of "Christine," as well "Seinfeld" director Andy Ackerman, co-star Jason Alexander and co-creator Larry David, who joked, "I am prepared to give up my nights and weekends to guard this (star) with my life from the filth and pollutants to which it's prone. Anyone who so much as sneezes near this area, while I'm on duty ... well, I'll say, 'God bless you,' but I won't be happy about it."

Louis-Dreyfus, 49, is the first "Seinfeld" principal to get the Walk of Fame honor, as well as the first to enjoy a successful follow-up series, "Christine," for which she won an Emmy in 2006. CBS has yet to announce whether it will renew the sitcom for 2010-11. "Oh, I certainly hope we'll be back," Louis-Dreyfus noted. "We love doing it. And I think it's very likely that we'll be back next season. Yes."

A spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which administrates the Walk of Fame ceremonies, said it would install a new, correctly spelled star and will be sending Louis-Dreyfus the erroneous "LUIS" and the accompanying chunks of pink-terrazzo star as souvenirs."

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, but he won't be spending any more time on the dance floor.

The 80-year-old astronaut was eliminated Tuesday from "Dancing With the Stars."

Aldrin and his professional partner, Ashly Costa, consistently finished in last place during the ABC show's three weeks of competition. He earned just 13 points out of 30 for his waltz on Monday's episode.

Still, Costa told him "I'm proud of you" after the couple learned their fate.

Aldrin said he surprised himself by appearing on the hit ABC show.

"I never thought I'd walk on the moon, but I certainly never thought I'd dance on TV," he said on Tuesday's episode.

Host Tom Bergeron told Aldrin that he remembers watching the moon mission on TV as a kid and that he was honored to work with the legendary astronaut.

Aldrin said he joined the "Dancing" cast to inspire interest in the space program and to honor veterans and "elder geezers."

"I did this show for the fighter pilots out there, the military people and the elder geezers like me who would just like to see an elder come back week after week," Aldrin said. "I'm interested also in having the public be thankful for the great successes we had in the Apollo program and look forward to even greater successes in the future."

Judges' scores are combined with viewer votes to determine which celebrity is eliminated each week.

Tuesday's episode also featured a performance by Reba McEntire, who said her "Dancing" favorites are Olympic figure skater Evan Lysacek, sportscaster Erin Andrews and singer Nicole Scherzinger.

Besides those three, the remaining competitors include reality TV stars Jake Pavelka and Kate Gosselin, actors Pamela Anderson, Niecy Nash and Aiden Turner, and football star Chad Ochocinco.

Each will perform again Monday, when they will earn two separate scores from each judge, one for technique and one for performance.

The stars are part of "Curb: The Discussion," a TV Guide Network companion series to "Curb Your Enthusiasm." The Larry David comedy is coming to the network in June.

A celebrity panel will watch each episode of the comedy and discuss ethical issues raised by the unorthodox behavior of David's character. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" cast member Susie Essman moderates the panels, with Hill Harper, Dave Navarro and Dr. Drew Pinsky among those set to take part.

The HBO-originated series was created by David. It also stars Cheryl Hines and Jeff Garlin. David was the co-creator of "Seinfeld."