NEWS & NOTES : LETTERMAN'S MAKEUP COMMENT NOT INTENDED TO HURT CRAWFORD.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

``Late Show'' host David Letterman says he didn't realize last October that when joking about supermodel Cindy Crawford's eye makeup he would upset her, and realizes now that his comments were misguided, but he makes no apologies for the joke, either.

Crawford, wearing particularly dark eye shadow, was on the show that night promoting her makeup book when Letterman asked when the bruises would go away. Crawford was reportedly in tears afterward and vowed not to appear on the telecast again.

``I made fun of her makeup,'' Letterman says in TV Guide. ``But I didn't think that it would hurt her feelings. Then, later, I find out that her eye makeup wasn't silly at all; that's the way people are wearing it. I shouldn't be let out of the house.''

On another front, Letterman, asked about his former NBC bosses, says, ``I get a kick out of them. Here's (NBC Entertainment president) Warren Littlefield running around being a programming genius. I knew him when he had `Nurses' on Saturday night and nobody was watching. And (NBC West Coast president) Don Ohlmeyer - if you ever need somebody to help you pick out cuff links, he's the guy.''

`Private Parts' goes public: Howard Stern's promotional machine for his upcoming film ``Private Parts'' will get a late-night boost on Feb. 22 when he appears on NBC's ``Saturday Night Live.''

The radio motormouth mentioned the gig Friday during his morning show while talking with former ``SNL'' cast member David Spade.

It'll be Stern's first appearance on ``SNL,'' a show he's sometimes praised and often panned. No word on a host or musical guest that night.

Stern's ``SNL'' visit comes just days before the Feb. 27 premiere party for ``Private Parts,'' which will be held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Martha on the move: How-to guru Martha Stewart admits leaving NBC's ``Today'' show after five years was difficult, but says she did it because it was the best thing to do for her company.

Today, she starts making weekly appearances on CBS' ``This Morning.'' With an eye toward Friday, her first segment will be about baking treats for Valentine's Day.

The morning move to CBS, ``as a business decision,'' she said late last week, ``was terribly important.''

That's because for all her other TV endeavors, CBS is home. She has a deal with CBS for prime-time specials, and her syndicated series, ``Martha Stewart Living,'' is distributed by EyeMark Entertainment, a CBS subsidiary.

In addition, starting this fall, ``Martha Stewart Living'' will begin airing daily on CBS stations around the country.

Through her books, magazine and TV ventures and triumphs, Stewart has become a household name - and the brunt of some parodies. In fact, earlier this season, NBC's ``Saturday Night Live'' did a spoof involving a topless Martha.

``Of course I saw it,'' she said, laughing. ``I thought it was in terrible taste.''