Did Anna Nicole Smith hatch a dastardly plot to kill stepson E. Pierce Marshall so she could snag the oil fortune left by his dad, J. Howard Marshall II? Père Marshall, worth $550 mil in '92, died at age 90 in August '95, just 14 months after he wed the then-26-year-old Smith. Within minutes, the Playboy Playmate and her ex-stepson were embroiled in a legal battle over the estate. Newly released documents reveal that in 2000, the FBI investigated allegations that Smith wanted to resolve the dispute by hiring a hitman. (Fils Marshall died in '06, at age 67, of natural causes.) The FBI, which took a 3½-inch knife and a .357-caliber gun from Smith's house, questioned her in July 2000, noting that she "began crying and denied making such plans."

Her sis, Donna Hogan, tells Inside Edition that rumors of a murder plot "wouldn't shock or surprise" her. The FBI never arrested Smith. In '06, the Supreme Court ruled she could pursue the fortune. Alas, she died in '07.

'Law & Order'. . . Gosselin style

E!Online reports that the Oct. 16 episode of the NBC cop staple Law & Order is ripped from the Gosselin headlines. Titled "Reality Bites" (nice!), it stars Jim Gaffigan as a Jon Gosselin-esque dude with a family of 10 adopted special-needs kids who discovers the dead body of his Kate Gosselin-esque wife.

L&O detectives, who consider the Jon-esque guy as their prime suspect, go on to uncover secret sex affairs, lucrative reality-show offers, and other dirty secrets.

Update: The Gosselin Fiasco

Montgomery County Family Court judge Arthur Tilson yesterday postponed a hearing in The Gosselin War because of a "family emergency," which TMZ.com described as a death in the family. Tilson was expected to rule on whether Jon would have to pay back the $230,000 that estranged wife Kate says he took from their joint account. The hearing is next week.

Museum to immortalize Tim Russert

The Newseum, a Washington museum dedicated to the news industry, will open an exhibit next month in memory of Meet the Press moderator and TV journalist Tim Russert.

The exhibit was assembled from Russert's actual office and decorated to look as it did on June 13, 2008, the day Russert died.

"After Tim's death, it became very clear to us that Tim really hit a nerve with a wider swath of people than you would ordinarily think for a journalist," Newseum chief exec Charles Overby told the Associated Press yesterday. He said Edward R. Murrow was the only other journalist with such a prominent exhibit.

"That shows the plateau on which we think Tim sits," he said. The show opens Nov. 20 and goes through 2010. Info: www.newseum.org.

Local heroine: No Botox for me!

Upper Darby native Tina Fey is Glamour mag's latest cover girl. The 30 Rock creative genius is asked, for the umpteenth time, about the little scar on her face. The scar, she says, stays: "You can point any kind of laser at my face, but I don't think Botox is for me. I think it is bad. People who have too much, they look like their faces are full of candles - a shiny, shiny face."

Dylan to stop in Philly

The nation's foremost poet-troubadour, Bob Dylan, will play an intimate show Nov. 6 at Temple University's Liacouras Center in support of his 46th album, Together Through Life. Tix cost $49.50 and go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. Info: 1-800-298-4200 or www.comcastTIX.com.

Good vibrations

A publishing executive calls it "a

weird dream come true": Former Beach Boy Brian Wilson has been authorized by the estate of George Gershwin to complete unfinished songs Gershwin left behind when he died in 1937. Wilson plans to finish and record at least two such pieces on an album of Gershwin music he hopes to release next year. Wilson, 67, described himself as "thrilled to death" and told the Los Angeles

Times, "Hopefully I'll be able to do them justice."

Tidbits 'n' pieces

A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday expunged Mel Gibson's conviction stemming from his infamous booze 'n' tirade-fueled 2006 DUI arrest since Gibson has successfuly completed terms of his plea deal, which included three years on probation.

Grammy- and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, 28, is returning to her hometown of Chicago to shoot the ABC special Jennifer Hudson: I'll Be Home for Christmas. It'll air in December.

Dick Cheney's daughter Mary Cheney tells online news site Trueslant.com she is pregnant with her second child. Mary and her partner, Heather Poe, made headlines in '06 when they announced they were having their first baby.

Stop calling J.Lo J.Lo, says J.Lo. Jennifer Lopez yesterday released her new song, "Fresh Out the Oven," and an online campaign (at www.whoislola.com/) to introduce her new nickname - Lola.

Usher sings "ready to sign them papers" in his new single, "Papers," says E!Online. The song's theme? The megastar's impending divorce from Tameka Foster.

Dressing Katie for a vampire feast

Mega-pest Tom Cruise's far better half, Katie Holmes, appears on the cover of Elle mag. She tells the mag she adores Tom's fashion sense.

"Sometimes I'll walk out and he'll say, 'I think that dress might be wearing you. You don't need that,' " Katie says. "Tom has great taste." Katie says she adores Ralph Lauren because "I feel like it's very American, and I'm pretty all-American, from Ohio."

It's not easy being Khloé

Khloé Kardashian tells Life & Style she's sick of being mocked because of her weight.

"Everyone criticizes me about my weight," says Khloé. (Where'd she buy that goofy accent mark? A circumflex - Khloê - or umlaut - Khloë - would go much better with her eyes.)

Khloé, who recently shed 25 pounds, has been called a "monster beast," "Kong" and "Bigfoot." But she is not bowed. "It's easy for me to be like some other girls in Hollywood - not eat and become anorexic," she says. "But . . . I am strong-willed and secure with myself.

Shields, Belushi in air foulup

People mag has revealed that a Cessna 421B airplane carrying Brooke Shields and Jim Belushi had a fender-bender with a parked SUV Friday at a private airstrip at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Calif. They were unharmed.

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Contact "Side Show" at sideshow@phillynews.com. This column contains information from Inquirer wire services.