Two days after having a hole in his heart repaired by Dr. Shelly Goldberg at Hahnemann University Hospital, Jerry Blavat was back in action working a gig last night at the Philadelphia Park Casino.

Blavat, who'll be 68 in July, knew he had a hole in his heart for years, but only recently started experiencing symptoms associated with it. He didn't want to get his chest broken into, so Goldberg went into his heart through a groin artery. Blavat spent nine hours recuperating in a Hahnemann bed, the longest he has stayed still in years.

"I'm feeling wonderful," the Geator gushed yesterday. "It's not my time to stop playing my music and making people happy."

It's also important, the Geator notes, "that people know they don't have to open you up for heart surgery anymore."

On an unrelated note, the Geator, like Mayor Nutter, is now driving a hybrid. He can be seen zipping around in a Chevy Malibu hybrid that has his caricature on the sides, along with the words, "The Geatormobile: The Geator Goes Green."

Bergen fondly recalls DN cover

Penn dropout Candice Bergen gave a shout-out to a Daily News headline during a "Murphy Brown" cast reunion yesterday morning on NBC's "Today" show. Brown quoted the Daily News "Murphy has a baby, Quayle has a cow" headline of May 20, 1992, while discussing former Vice President Dan Quayle's famous attack on the fictional character's single motherhood.

"Murphy Brown" requested a copy of that People Paper, which the show used on a later episode of the series, but a mock-copy had to be made because Phillies infielder Dave Hollins, who was pictured on the real front page, wanted to be paid for the TV use. Former Daily News and Inqwaster publisher Bob Hall's mug was placed on the cover instead.

Christ will rise tomorrow at Bliss

Restaurateur Christ Dhimitri announced yesterday that he'll take over Bliss (224 S. Broad) tomorrow from chef/owner Francesco Martorella. An early partner was Comcast Spectacor's Ed Snider, whose former fiancee, Roseanne Martin, was also a part-owner for a few years.

Selling cookies, giving awards

Penn's president, Dr. Amy Gutmann, will receive the 2008 Juliette Gordon Low Leadership Award from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania at its 22nd annual Take the Lead awards ceremony Monday at the Four Seasons. Along with Gutmann, whose favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Thin Mint, other honorees include Philadelphia's first lady, Lisa Johnson Nutter, who also favors the Thin Mint, and Chestnut Hill-raised "West Wing" actress Melissa Fitzgerald. Her childhood fave also was the Thin Mint, but Fitzgerald told us yesterday that she now loves Caramel Delites equally.

'Simpsons' snippets

WHYY 91FM's Terry Gross will be heard, but, sadly, not pictured in animated form, on Sunday's episode of "The Simp-sons," airing at 8 p.m on Fox 29. The "Fresh Air" host will be heard in a scene in which Marge and Lisa Simpson are listening to her on the radio. Actor Topher Grace also lends his voice to the episode.

"Simpsons" writer Matt Selman, a 1993 Penn grad, finally got his wish of referencing his alma mater in an episode. In "That '90s Show," which aired last month, there was a flashback of Marge in college. In the background is Claes Oldenburg's "Split Button" sculpture that sits in front of Penn's Van Pelt library. Selman told us yesterday that he put the button in there as an inside reference for Penn alums.

We don't know if Selman's among them, but some daring Penn students have gotten it on underneath the sculpture. *

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