America's Got Talent

Howard Stern pooh-poohed the notion that he was only pulling in 20 million measly dollars a year for his freshly-minted role as a judge on "America's Got Talent."

Stern was out in NYC today -- hours after the announcement -- when a camera dude asked if he was making $20 mil. Stern's response: "Do I work for that little?" Stern laughed -- yes, to the bank.

The reason the camera guy asked the question -- there were reports he was settling on $20 mil. But let's put this in context. Stern signed a 5-year deal with Sirius XM for an estimated $400 million.

A powerful parents organization is furious with NBC for hiring Howard Stern on "America's Got Talent" -- claiming the move is an "act of desperation for a flailing network."

The Parents Television Council has released a statement to TMZ ... claiming primetime TV is no place for Howard Stern ... "a performer who is synonymous with shock, profanity and obscenity."

The PTC says, "The once-proud broadcast network has lost its way and has made it clear it holds no concern whatsoever for children and families."

Dare we say ... we told you so. Howard Stern just signed on with "America's Got Talent."

The King of All Media will replace Piers Morgan, much to the chagrin of those folks at the Parents Television Council, which felt he was too raunchy for primetime.

And producers wanted Stern so bad, they've even agreed to move 'AGT' to NYC -- so Howard can continue working on his radio show.

Fact is ... as we've been saying, Stern is a smart dude who knows his audience and when he should push the limits.

Bottom line -- AGT could become the biggest show on TV.

6:32 AM PST -- Howie Mandel is fired up about his new co-star ... telling TMZ, "I couldn't be happier. As my Mom always says, you can never have enough Howies."

As we previously reported, "America's Got Talent" recently aired a TV spot -- which accidentally displayed the YouPorn logo while showing footage of someone's browser history.

But according to a rep for YouPorn, this kind of thing happens more often than you'd think -- because the website gets over 12 million hits PER DAY.

The rep adds, "We'd like to thank our friend at NBC for visiting us, and we hope he comes again ..."

The promo aired during last Wednesday's episode -- and if you freeze the video just right, you can see YouPorn.com show up as the person types in YouTube.com.

According to our computer experts, the only way YouPorn would have shown up was if someone using the computer had visited the site in the past.

It was all for a new episode of "America's Got Talent" -- Howie and his crew rode around inside the over-sized farm bird, all while Howie had a little too much fun with the chicken's built-in PA system ... seriously, it sounds like he's squawking demons out of his soul.

According to his lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Finley claims his wife's death could have been prevented if the hotel would have done a better job of keeping out transients.

As TMZ first reported, Joe was questioned by cops after his wife's body was discovered in the staircase of the hotel back in October.

Cops have not officially identified the killer -- and the investigation is still open -- but in his lawsuit, Joe seems pretty confident a transient was responsible for the death.

In the docs, Joe claims the Biltmore was aware that there had been several recent disturbances inside the hotel by "transients and other uninvited third parties" ... including assaults and theft ... but the hotel failed to take proper security measures to keep their guests safe.

Joe claims there were several items in the staircase that suggest homeless people were even living in the building the night his wife was killed ... the items included, "Filthy clothing ... bottles full of urine ... and dirty blankets."

Joe is suing for unspecified damages. So far, no comment from the Biltmore.

Joe's lawyer, Sean Macias, tells us, "The tragic death of Laura Finely was preventable and The Biltmore failed to provide basic security measures and precautions."

As we previously reported, Laura Finley's body was found last month in a stairwell at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in L.A -- where her husband Joe was auditioning for "America's Got Talent."

One of Laura's close relatives tells us ... many family members believe Joe's "whole story is BS" ... adding, "There are too many gaping holes in his story for it to be true.”

As we previously reported, Joe told police Laura left their L.A. hotel room around 3:00 AM Saturday morning to get ice ... and never returned. Laura's body was found in a stairwell at the hotel around 8:00 AM ... while Joe was auditioning for "AGT," apparently unaware of his wife's fate.

The relative goes on to say, “The family knows Laura was murdered and that Joe was the last to see her. They're having a hard time believing that he went so long under those circumstances without being concerned about her whereabouts”

As for a motive -- we're told many family members say Laura had threatened to leave Joe after a pretty heated argument a few months before her death. They're also upset that Joe waited until Monday night to contact Laura's family.

Laura's family is so "disgusted" with the situation, they plan on holding their own "separate" memorial for her in the near future ... without Joe.

Several members of Joe's family have already contacted each other about the tragic death of Laura Finley -- and one rep for the group tells us, "We do not believe Joe would have done this ... but neither do we believe [Laura] accidentally died."

As we previously reported, Laura's body was found at the bottom of a stairwell at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday morning ... Joe was named a person of interest in the investigation.

But the rep tells us, "Joe and Laura had a relationship that many would admire. They were together for over 30 years ... We stand behind Joe 100%."

John McEntee, who claims he guided Fator's career after "Talent" and snagged him the plum Mirage job, was going after the puppet master, alleging he's owed 20% on the $100 mil, plus 20% of other gigs as well.

Our sources say Fator and McEntee just reached a settlement. McEntee will get his commission for the first 5 years of the Mirage deal -- which means McEntee just pocketed $10 mil.

Joe tells us he last saw his wife Laura Finley at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles at 3:00 AM Saturday morning ... after the two popped the drug ecstasy.

Laura was pronounced dead at 8:25 AM.

Joe was named a person of interest in the death -- but tells TMZ he did not murder his wife adding, "100% this was not an accident."

We just spoke to Finley about his wife Laura Finley's death at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel and his arrest for possession of ecstasy -- and he told us a really strange story.

Finley claims he had taken two ecstasy pills and Laura took one around 8:30PM on Friday before they went out partying. Finley says they eventually returned to their room at the hotel and went to bed. He claims he heard Laura get up at around 3AM and leave the room -- he says he assumes she was getting ice.

According to police, Finley was busted for possession of ecstasy. Cops took him into custody on Saturday night when they interviewed him about his wife Laura Finley's death. Finley tells TMZ he had three pills at the time.

Laura's body was found in a stairwell at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in L.A -- where Finley was auditioning for "America's Got Talent."

Finley was released on $10,000 bail early Sunday morning.

Laura Finley was found dead in a stairwell at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. The LAPD tells TMZ her husband, Joe Finley, is considered a person of interest in the case.

He was interviewed by police at length on Saturday.

We're told Joe knew his wife was missing before he auditioned, but her body hadn't been discovered.

A rep for Fremantle, the production company behind "America's Got Talent," tells TMZ, "We are fully cooperating with authorities to investigate this very unfortunate situation and have no further comment at this time."