After a run of celebrity grand marshals, an American hero led the Rose Parade yesterday in Pasadena, Calif.

Onlookers stood and cheered as airline Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III rode down Colorado Boulevard in a vintage 1928 Pierce Arrow with his wife and two daughters.

"It's really an American institution, a celebration of American values," he said after the parade. "I think people see those in me, and I'm glad."

Paradegoer Hilda Roy held a hand-painted, fluorescent sign that read, "We love you Sully!" She was thrilled when Sullenberger waved back. "He's a real hero, not just a celebrity," said Roy, 48, "and a real person, too."

KATHY GRIFFIN GOES BLEEP AGAIN ON CNN

For the second straight year, Kathy Griffin ushered in the new year by saying something vulgar on CNN.

During the live New Year's Eve broadcast from Times Square, while joking with co-host Anderson Cooper about how to pronounce the first name of "balloon boy" Falcon Heene, the comedian mumbled something that sounded a little like "Falcon" and a lot like the F-word.

During the same show a year ago, Griffin made a joke about a heckler in the crowd, implying that he performed gay sex acts for a living.

ITALY'S PREMIER A SONGWRITER AT HEART

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has returned to an old passion while recovering from being attacked at a rally: writing Neapolitan love songs, news reports said.

La Stampa and other newspapers said the 73-year-old Berlusconi is working on a new CD of love songs with Neapolitan composer Mariano Apicella.

Berlusconi also made his first public appearance since the Dec. 13 attack that broke his nose and two teeth, going to a shopping mall close to his Milan villa.

SHE NO LONGER LIGHTS UP COMPOSER'S LIFE

The Oscar-winning songwriter of "You Light Up My Life" has ended his six-figure fight with a former fiancee he accused of conning him out of cash and pricey gifts by hiding the fact that she was already married.

A Manhattan judge last week approved a settlement between composer Joseph Brooks and 23-year-old Joaly Gomez, who said Brooks knew she wasn't single.

Brooks, 71, is awaiting trial on an alleged series of casting-couch rapes. He's accused of sexually assaulting 11 women who came to his Manhattan apartment to audition for supposed movie roles.

Brooks won the best song Oscar for "You Light Up My Life." He also wrote and directed the 1977 comedy.