Fraudsuit

The Oscar-winning songwriter behind “You Light Up My Life” says his former fiancee did just that to him—but hid the fact that she already was married.

Joseph Brooks, 71, filed a fraud suit seeking at least $2

million in damages and the return of a $550,000 bank account, a $60,000 engagement ring and other expensive presents he says he gave to Joaly Gomez, who was 21 when they met.

The lawsuit marks a new legal entanglement for Brooks, who pleaded not guilty in June to raping 11 women seeking film roles. A court date in the rape case has been set for Tuesday.

According to the lawsuit, Brooks met Gomez more than 18 months ago and grew close to her after suffering a stroke in April 2008.

Told she was a student with no money, Brooks gave her more than $1 million worth of designer clothes and jewelry, the lawsuit said, adding a 1.38-carat diamond-and-platinum Tiffany’s engagement ring, and more than $1 million in deposits into her bank account, the suit said. Gomez later returned about half the money but kept $550,000, according to the lawsuit.

The “complete shock” came Oct. 2, when he peered in her open handbag and discovered a 2007 marriage certificate listing her as another man’s wife, the suit said.

Sendaktribute

This could start a wild rumpus.

The week the movie version of “Where the Wild Things Are”—directed by SpikeJonze and produced by Tom Hanks— had its star-studded premiere, New York City renamed two streets Wednesday to honor Maurice Sendak.

The Greenwich Village streets will temporarily be called “Maurice Sendak Way” and “Wild Things Way.”

Sendak, 81, who grew up in Brooklyn, wrote the beloved children’s tale “Where the Wild Things Are” while living in Greenwich Village.

Tables turned

Mandy Patinkin is returning to CBS—and he’s bringing a personal story with him.

The network says the former “Criminal Minds” star will make a guest appearance on the medical drama “Three Rivers,” playing an aspiring organ donor.

In real life, Patinkin is an organ recipient. He received corneal implants, donated by the families of a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, to correct a disease that distorts the shape of the cornea and severely impairs vision.

The 56-year-old actor asked to be released from his role as FBI profiler Jason Gideon on CBS’ “Criminal Minds” in 2007, citing creative differences.

“Three Rivers,” which airs on Sundays, explores the lives of organ donors, recipients and surgeons.

Not funny

Harry Connick Jr. says he did the right thing by expressing his outrage at a blackface skit poking fun at the Jackson Five in Australia last week.

“I’m pleased with the way I handled the situation,” the 42-year-old singer and actor said in Hong Kong, where he was promoting his new album “Your Songs.”

“I handled it in exactly the manner I thought was appropriate,” he said.

The skit was featured on a live Australian TV variety show where Connick was a guest judge. Four men in blackface, wearing Afro wigs, sang and danced behind a Michael Jackson impersonator wearing white makeup. Connick gave the performance a zero score. The host of “Hey Hey It’s Saturday,” Daryl Sommers, apologized to Connick at the end of the live broadcast.

Connick said in response, “I just want to say, on behalf of my country, I know it was done humorously, but we’ve spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons, that when we see something like that we take it really to heart.”