Fran Drescher on Michael Douglas' Cancer Fight – The Joy Behar Show

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Actress Fran Drescher, cancer survivor and founder of the Cancer Schmancer Movement, discusses Michael Douglas' fight with cancer. Please be sure to watch the "Stand Up To Cancer" telethon tonight at 8 pm ET.

Don't Laugh! Actress and Queens Native Fran Drescher Wants Hillary Clinton's Senate Seat - CNN via NY Daily News

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Actress Fran Drescher has expressed interest in being appointed to the U.S. Senate seat that New York's Hillary Clinton is giving up to become secretary of state, a spokesman for the actress said.

No, seriously.

Photo Caption: Actress Fran Drescher is serious about wanting Hillary's seat. Sussman/Getty

"Fran Drescher, actress, women's health advocate and public diplomacy envoy for the U.S. State Department, announced that she is throwing her hat into the ring of contenders for the senate seat being vacated by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton," Drescher spokesman Jordan Brown told CNN in a written statement late Monday.

Drescher, 51, is best known for her starring role in the 1990s television comedy "The Nanny" and an adenoidal voice that could strip the rust off an engine block — a talent that might come in handy during a Senate filibuster.

But since a bout with uterine cancer, she has become an activist for better health care for women and was named a State Department public envoy on the issue in September. Drescher recently toured Eastern European countries to raise awareness of the issue on behalf of the State Department.

New York Gov. David Paterson will appoint a successor for Clinton, who still must be confirmed by her Senate colleagues for the Cabinet post. That successor would face voters in a special election in 2010.

A spokesman for Patterson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning.

Speculation over Paterson's choice reached a frenzy over the weekend after reports that Caroline Kennedy, daughter of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, had phoned to discuss the position.

Paterson said Monday that Kennedy had called him and "asked a few questions," but dismissed other reports as "gossip."

"And frankly, this is a serious issue which I think is starting to be treated as some sort of reality TV show," he added.

A senior adviser to Clinton, Philippe Reines, said she would not comment on her possible successors.

"This is entirely Governor Patterson's decision and we're respecting the privacy of his process," Reines said.

NY Daily News: She Thinks Congress May Need a 'Nanny' by Nicholas Hirshon...

The star of "The Nanny" wouldn't mind playing the title role in "The Representative" someday - but right now she's too busy telling women about the importance of early cancer detection.

Fran Drescher yesterday admitted she's interested in running for elected office, though she won't be announcing a 2008 congressional run tomorrow during a cancer survivors celebration in Lake Success.

"I do see myself getting involved in politics in that way down the road, becoming an elected official, but right now the big thing I'm climbing is the 'Cancer Schmancer Movement,'" the Queens-born star told the Daily News.

Appearing tomorrow afternoon at the North-Shore LIJ Cancer Center, the liberal-leaning actress will give a keynote lecture about her 2000 diagnosis with uterine cancer and her successful struggle against the disease.

But her appearance in front of a positive audience on Long Island fueled speculation she might also announce a run against Republican Rep. Peter King.

"If she's going in 2008 and she's going after King's seat, you do it at an event in King's district," said Baruch College Prof. Doug Muzzio, a political expert. "You declare war on enemy turf."

Drescher denied the possibility of such an announcement, even if she has thought about having a career in Washington down the line.

"If I had my druthers, I'd rather be a senator" than a representative, she said. "But that doesn't mean that's necessarily where I'd start."

Drescher already has a fan in Dr. Vincent Vinciguerra, the chief of North Shore-LIJ's division of oncology and hematology, who figured that as an elected official, the 39-year-old actress could get funds for cancer research.

"If she is interested and she gets elected, that would be wonderful," he said.

But Drescher stressed she wouldn't be a one-issue candidate - arts, the environment and public education are also on her agenda.

"For the moment, I'm really putting all my eggs in one basket, which you really can't do when you're representing all the people," she said.

Ellen Simon, a 57-year-old leukemia survivor who is planning to attend tomorrow's event, said she hopes to speak to Drescher after her lecture.

"I'm all excited that she's coming," said Simon, who lives in Bayside, Queens. "I know just what she went through."