To Charles Bronson, 53, a joint is something to smash, not smoke. "I go to a party, see them bringing the grass out, and," the actor harrumphs, "I leave." And unless his brood of six (three from wife Jill Ireland's previous marriage to David McCallum) has a death wish, they'll follow dad's example. "I'm training my kids to be individuals, to neither drink nor use dope," reports Bronson, who is even critical of Betty Ford for her tolerant views on the subject. "Her kids have probably tried it," he figures, "so she has to act like it isn't so bad."
Ella'sapoppin
In her first year in office, Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso kept a low, nigh on to no, national profile. But in this presidential year, she's suddenly accepting her first out-of-state speaking invitations, and is expected to become Connecticut's "favorite daughter" candidate to gain leverage at the Democratic Convention in July. Though she professes not to be jockeying for the No. 2 position on the ticket, Grasso does allow that "the country is ready for some Ella."
Charity Begins...
The Master Gunfighter has given Tom Laughlin blazing saddle sores at the box office (its first run barely earned back promotion, let alone production, costs), but his Billy Jack Enterprises has gamely slated seven new productions this year. He and wife Delores Taylor will star in two, and she alone in a third, but Laughlin is concerned about casting of late. "Some won't read a script for a star unless there's a million dollar check accompanying it," he claims. "It's absolutely crazy. No star in the world is worth a million except Steve McQueen and Delores."
Loves of a Blonde
When she divorced Cary Grant eight years ago, actress Dyan Cannon says she "went off men completely. I never thought I'd ever meet another man who'd really turn me on. Well, now I've met two. Loving two men, I tell you, it's weird." Cannon attributes her progress to the fact she's "through with drugs and therapy—and I was deep into both—and now I'm free. I enjoy sex and life and love as never before." And, at 38, Cannon is also appraising her amours as never before: "Once, I seemed to spend all my time around men of great affluence. Then I went into my poor period, when I was with men who were seekers after truth—usually in shabby coffee bars. Now, I realize a man can be a seeker after truth and own a jet plane as well."
Unimpeachable Witness
Perhaps confirming the suspicion that David Frost paid dearly for TV rights to very little, Charles Colson reports that Richard Nixon "still can't bring himself around to realizing the depth of his errors." Colson, once Nixon's most fervent acolyte who's now repenting Watergate by preaching Christian fellowship, says he keeps in frequent contact with the ex-President by phone. "He knows he made a mistake," says Colson, "but he still doesn't realize his downfall came from lying—he never understood that it had to catch up with him some time. He still asks, whenever we talk, 'Why did it all happen, Chuck?' "
Furthermore
•To the newly relandscaped greensward in front of 800 Whittier Drive in Beverly Hills has just been added one of the world's largest pet rocks, a life-size stone figure of a baby elephant, plus a sign that reads wordily: THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY. UNLESS YOU HAVE BUSINESS HERE DO NOT BE FOUND ON THIS PROPERTY. The author-owner: comic Buddy Hackett.
•Peter (Mission: Impossible) Graves and a camera crew flew all the way to Monaco to tape Prince Rainier's second annual circus for a Jan. 18 CBS special, but they missed the most startling act of all: a camel snatched a large bouquet of roses from Princess Grace's hand, swallowed it in a single gulp, and loudly burped.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
