Whatever Oprah Winfrey’s favorite things are this year, she’s keeping it to herself.

Viewers may have seen the last of her ‘Favorite Things’ episodes, the Huffington Post reports.

During the annual Thanksgiving week show, which first aired seven years ago, Oprah sent audience members home with items she plugged as her “favorite things.” The gifts often were worth thousands of dollars – and the episodes became notorious for the weeping, screaming, hyperventilating frenzy into which they whipped the audience.

The show is absent from this week’s lineup, and a spokesperson for Oprah’s Harpo productions told the Huffington Post, “We have no plans this season for a ‘Favorite Things.’”

Goods given away during the episode ranged from camcorders to refrigerators to DVD collections, and, the Huffington Post reports, offered an enviable product-placement opportunity for brands Oprah tapped, often leading to a huge spike in sales.

Last year, in response to the turmoil roiling the economic landscape, Oprah switched things up and featured gifts that were homemade or cost “next to nothing” and were sensitive to a recessionary environment.

Oprah made headlines and prompted tears around the world last week when she announced plans to end her long-running daytime show in 2011.

Of her decision to bid the show farewell, she said “Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit.”

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No punches were thrown. And neither bit off the other’s ear.

Mutual praise and admiration dominated during a face-to-face meeting Friday between former world champion boxers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on a live episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

On June 28, 1997, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Tyson was disqualified after biting off part of Holyfield’s right ear during their WBA heavyweight title fight.

A respectful Tyson shook hands with his former rival several times during their encounter Friday – which he said was his first chance to speak at length with Holyfield since the ear chomp that made worldwide headlines. Tyson later met with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

Tyson told Winfrey earlier that an initial apology after the incident was insincere. But when she asked what he wanted to say to Holyfield, Tyson stopped short of apologizing again. He instead poured on the praise.

“This is a beautiful guy,” he said, holding Holyfield’s arm affectionately for several seconds. “I just want you to know it’s just been a pleasure … being acquainted with you.”

Asked by Winfrey if he was still missing part of his ear, Holyfield pointed to it and said, “Just a little bit.”

Holyfield also had a confession of sorts to make: He himself has bitten others, during childhood roughhousing with his siblings as a way to get out of headlocks.

“You talk about biting,” he said. “I’m the person that bit every brother in my family.”

Holyfield said one reason he wanted to appear with Tyson on television was to demonstrate to youth caught up in violence that reconciliation is always possible.

“We can come together,” he said. “We know you can come together.”

After sitting down with Winfrey, Tyson spent about 25 minutes meeting with Daley at his City Hall office.

Tyson had asked for the meet-and-greet with Daley and a spokeswoman said the mayor was interested in the chance to talk to the boxer about the problem of youth violence.

Chicago has been in the national spotlight since a cell phone video captured the fatal beating of a high school honors student last month.

Tyson said he understands the pain some young people feel.

“I was one of them. I’m that guy,” he said.

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For the first time, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson talks to Oprah. This is not the “Iron Mike” you think you know.

When you grow to prominence for fighting, become notorious as a convicted rapist, and infamous for biting a piece of a man’s ear off, you’re not expected to be someone aware of his emotions.

But that’s just one of many revelations Mike Tyson shared during yesterday’s appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

The former heavyweight champion of the world appeared on Oprah’s stage to discuss his much discussed documentary, Tyson.

In recalling the first time he fought in response to bullies, Tyson told Oprah, “A big penalty if they violated my feelings. Even to this day I’m overly protective of my feelings.”

His feelings poured out throughout the interview. We saw a very visibly choked up Tyson talked about his trainer and father figure, Cus D’amato.

Tyson was also distraught while discussing the loss of his four-year-old daughter, Exodus. Tyson said he didn’t want to know what led to her death for fear of how his anger would go to the person held responsible.

As the interview went on, Tyson discussed desire to make his opponents in the ring fear him. That’s in part to him admittedly harboring fear himself before every fight. He also acknowledged that he grew up with a huge inferiority complex – which spawned his own God complex.

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Move over, Shakespeare – it was Oprah in the park causing all the commotion Friday.

Stars, sunshine and long lines of fans welcomed the queen of talk to Central Park, where she taped her television show.

Crowds began massing before dawn to get good seats and a good look at guests like “Wolverine” hunk Hugh Jackman and James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

The two leading men made a surprise appearance, welcoming Oprah Winfrey to the city while plugging their new show.

“Daniel and I are doing a play on Broadway,” Jackman told the swooning audience.

“We were just going for our morning jog around Central Park and we just wanted to come and say, ‘Hi.’”

They were followed by Mariah Carey, who sang a ballad from her new album and chatted about her upcoming movie, “Precious,” next to her husband, Nick Cannon.

Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa dashed across town after hosting “Live with Regis and Kelly” to sit beside Winfrey, and even Mayor Bloomberg showed up.

Winfrey, who chatted to fans during commercial breaks, revealed the latest entry in her wildly popular book club: a collection of short stories by Nigerian-born Jesuit priest Uwem Akpan, “Say You’re One of Them.” Free copies were given to the audience.

“It was wonderful. It makes me feel special she thought of doing her show in New York,” said MTA bus operator Dominique Turner, 43, of East New York, Brooklyn.

Turner finished work at 2 a.m. and was in line at the park’s SummerStage at 4 a.m. “It was better than I imagined,” she said.

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Lee Daniels has an Oscar-winning movie to his credit, but he still needed some big-time help to draw attention to his latest film about a girl who overcomes crushing abuse.

He got it from Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry: The two are executive producers of “Precious,” which had a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Winfrey said she was happy to help bring more attention to the film.

“Everyone needs someone to help them navigate,” the TV talk show host explained. “I had Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones, Sidney Poitier and Maya Angelou who I look to. You can’t do that on your own. Someone has to show it to you.”

Daniels produced “Monster’s Ball,” which won Halle Berry an Oscar for best actress in 2002. She adapted “Precious” from Sapphire’s novel “Push.” It tells the story of an illiterate black girl who manages to rise above poverty, sexual and mental abuse. The film, which stars Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton and others, won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and has been generating Oscar buzz.

Still, Daniels believes the cachet of Oprah and hit filmmaker Perry will help the film, which comes out on Nov. 6, build a greater audience.

Perry’s latest movie, the comedy “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” opened at the top of the box office this weekend. Besides directing and writing the film, based on his stage play of the same name, Perry co-stars as his brash, cross-dressing alter ego, Madea. Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail” also opened at No. 1 in February.

“My movies are art films. So many people don’t see art films. People do see Oprah and Tyler’s movies and they do hear Oprah’s word, so it is really good,” Daniels said.

Carey, Patton, and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the title role, gathered at a private cocktail reception prior to the movie’s Toronto premiere where they later joined Winfrey on the red carpet.

“I couldn’t wait to get here because I love it so much and I couldn’t wait to see it again. I am just really excited,” said Carey.

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Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour had quite the request for Oprah Winfrey.

Wintour had told the talk show host to drop 20 pounds to be on the cover of the fashion magazine back in 1998, the editor revealed during an unaired segment from her 60 Minutes interview on Sunday.

“It was a very gentle suggestion,” she said, laughing. “I went to Chicago to visit Oprah, and I suggested that it might be an idea that she lose a little bit of weight.”

She added: “I said simply that you might feel more comfortable. She was a trooper!”

Winfrey, 55, must have listened to the fashion legend. She was featured on the cover from more than 10 years ago with the tagline: “Oprah! A Major Movie, An Amazing Makeover.”

“She totally welcomed the idea, and she went on a very stringent diet,” Wintour said. “And it was one of our most successful covers ever.”

In the 60 Minutes interview, Wintour, 59, also defended the use of Photoshop to make people “look their best.”

“That’s one of the things that makes me rather angry, that I don’t understand,” she said. “That if you look wonderful, does that make you less important? Less powerful? Less serious?”

Although Vogue typically only covers stick-thin models within its pages, she said her magazine maintains an awareness of obesity.

“I’d just been on a trip to Minnesota, where I can only kindly describe most of the people I saw as little houses,” Wintour said. “There’s such an epidemic of obesity in the United States, and for some reason, everybody focuses on anorexia.”

Wintour, who commissioned a feature on the topic complete with illustrations, said that it was an important issue.

“We need to spend money time and education on teaching people to eat, exercise and take care of themselves in a healthier way,” she said. “It [has gotten people] provoked, which is really the point.”

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Oprah Winfrey’s in-house medical and health expert is leaving his spot as a regular on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” for his own syndicated program.

Winfrey will bid Dr. Mehmet (meh-MEHT’) Oz farewell on Tuesday’s episode of her talk show. His program, “The Dr. Oz Show,” is to debut Sept. 14.

Oz has been featured on Winfrey’s show for five years and 55 episodes. He would often offer diet tips or discuss life-threatening diseases.

Tuesday’s show ends with Oz and Winfrey raising a champagne toast.

According to Oz’s biography on Oprah.com, the best-selling author and heart surgeon is a surgery professor at Columbia University and directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

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Oprah Winfrey talked about courage, making wise choices and helping others during a commencement address Sunday at Duke University, which gave her an honorary degree.

During her 25-minute speech beneath overcast skies, the talk show host told the 4,400 graduates and their guests that “one of the best ways to enhance your own life is to enhance somebody else’s” and to “stand proudly in your own shoes while you help others stand in theirs.”

“How can I help somebody else move to higher ground? That is success. That’s it. That’s why we’re all alive,” she said.

She also emphasized the need to make wise choices daily, saying, “Each of us has to stand in our own shoes. Will you stand in them in humility and compassion and courage? Every day will give you a chance to make that choice.”

Duke President Richard H. Brodhead presented Winfrey with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

She also had a personal connection with the 2009 class at the Durham, N.C., school. Her godson, William Bumpus, son of her well-known friend, Gayle King, was among the graduates.

“Will never wants people to know he knows me,” Winfrey joked. “I’m like his crazy aunt that they let out at commencements.”

Preceding Winfrey was student speaker Robert Paul Jones, a 2002 graduate who returned to Duke to receive his medical degree. He teased her about her celebrity, and pretended to be interrupted by a cell phone call as he began his remarks.

“Ms. Winfrey, apparently your limousine is double-parked in front of the chapel,” Jones joked. “Duke Parking wanted me to let you know they won’t release your honorary degree until you pay your parking fine.”

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