Quick Takes: George W. Bush’s memoir is a bestseller

The Decider has written a blockbuster.

Former President George W. Bush’s “Decision Points” sold 775,000 copies through its first week of release, Crown Publishers, an imprint of Random House Inc., said Tuesday. An initial print run of 1.5 million copies has been increased to 1.85 million. E-book sales have topped 100,000.

The memoir has received mixed reviews, but it topped the bestselling list on Amazon.com before publication and has remained No. 1 over the last week. In it, the two-term president discusses the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his decisions to send troops to Afghanistan and Iraq and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Although the former president likely will become a million-selling author, he still trails his predecessor, Bill Clinton, in the memoir sweepstakes. Clinton’s “My Life,” which came out in 2004, sold more than 900,000 copies in its first week.

—Associated Press

PBS edits out Sarah Palin jokes

On Nov. 9, Tina Fey was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor during a made-for-TV ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. But when PBS broadcast the event the following Sunday, part of Fey’s acceptance speech was missing — specifically, the part where Fey made fun of her favorite “Saturday Night Live” target, Sarah Palin.

Earlier during the night, Fey credited Palin for helping her win the prize, thanks to “my partial resemblance and her crazy voice.” Those comments made their way into the broadcast, but many of Fey’s Palin jokes did not, including one that concluded with her declaring that “the success of Sarah Palin and women like her” has been “a disaster.”

PBS said the decision was made not for political reasons but purely because of time constraints. “We had zero problems with anything she said,” executive producer Peter Kaminsky told the Washington Post. “We snipped from everyone.”

—Melissa Maerz

McCartney will play at Apollo

Paul McCartney will play Harlem’s fabled Apollo Theater for the first time in his career on Dec. 13 in an invitation-only performance for Sirius XM listeners, one that will be broadcast live to the satellite radio service’s subscribers.

Sirius XM also is launching a channel devoted to the new reissue of McCartney’s 1973 album “Band on the Run” for one month starting Nov. 29.

The focus on the ex-Beatle’s music is one facet of Sirius XM’s expectation of reaching 20 million subscribers before the end of this year. The service reported 19.9 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter of this year, a number station officials said was up by 1.3 million from one year earlier. Sirius XM is projecting 20.1 million listeners by the end of December.

—Randy Lewis

Dan Rather will sum up career

Dan Rather is in the mood for “Summing Up.”

The former CBS anchor and reporter has a deal with Grand Central Publishing for a memoir tentatively scheduled to come out in 2012. Grand Central announced Tuesday that “Summing Up” covers his long career in journalism, from the assassination of President Kennedy and Watergate to the Iraq War and his final years at CBS, when a disputed story about President George W. Bush’s military service led to Rather’s departure in 2006.

The 79-year-old Rather, known for a confrontational style and for being the object of unending criticism by conservatives, has also written a memoir about his childhood. “I Remember: Growing Up in Texas” was published in 1991. He currently produces an hour-long news program, “Dan Rather Reports,” for cable channel HDNet.

—Associated Press

Obamas to sit with Walters

ABC’s Barbara Walters will interview President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House for a network special to air the day after Thanksgiving.

The veteran newswoman has interviewed every president since Richard Nixon. It will be her second time sitting down with the Obamas, not counting a presidential visit to “The View.”

ABC said Tuesday that the interview will be conducted at the White House on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and air Friday at 10 p.m.

—Associated Press

Cate Blanchett tackles ‘Vanya’

After her raging success in Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” actress Cate Blanchett is tackling another formidable stage classic for her follow-up: Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” which opened this week at the Sydney Theatre Company in Australia.

Blanchett plays Yelena opposite Hugo Weaving as Astrov and Richard Roxburgh in the title role. The show runs through Jan. 1.

—David Ng