• February 26, 1990
• Vol. 33
• No. 8

Passages

Georges de Mestral, the inventor of Velcro, died in Commugny, Switzerland, at age 82. De Mestral got stuck on his revolutionary idea for a better fastener in 1941 when, in a wood near Geneva, his clothing was snared by a patch of burrs. Seven years later he perfected Velcro, deriving the name for his nylon adhesive fasteners by melding the words velours and crochet, which means hook in French. He sold the patent, and became a wealthy man, in 1958. Possibly Velcro's most famous use came when David Letterman, above, on TV, used it to attach himself to a wall.

Rocker Billy Idol (right), 34. who broke his left forearm and suffered a compound fracture in his right leg in a Feb. 6 motorcycle accident (he reportedly ran a stop sign in Hollywood), underwent an operation to repair the muscles of his leg last week. Idol's first surgery, a seven-hour operation immediately following his accident, repaired the bone in his leg. Idol's doctors say the singer will have yet another operation (a skin graft) and will remain in the hospital through February. Idol's recovery will take several months, which could mean he'll have to forfeit his part as Jim Morrison's buddy in the still unnamed movie about the Doors lead singer that director Oliver Stone starts shooting in March. Ironically, Idol's newest album, due in April, is called Charmed Life, and he had a 1986 album called Whiplash Smile. Idol was not wearing a helmet when he crashed.

Playwright Neil Simon, 62, and actress Diane Lander, 38, remarried Feb. 10 at his Los Angeles home. They had previously been married for a year and a half before divorcing in 1988. Lander's daughter from her first marriage, Bryn (below), 6, was the flower girl. "It was short and simple but very romantic, with flowers and candlelight," a Simon rep says. The re-newlyweds won't go on a honeymoon until his next play, Jake's Women, opens on Broadway in April.

Stop us if this sounds familiar, but France's Johnny Hallyday, below, the 46-year-old Gallic Elvis Presley, will marry for the third time, on July 12 in St.-Tropez. His intended is 19-year-old Adeline Blondieu, a student at the Sorbonne in Paris. "I think it's normal for someone in show business, whose job is to seduce people, to live with someone young," said Hallyday. His bride-to-be is the daughter of one of his longtime buddies, so Hallyday says he has "watched [Adeline] grow up since she was a baby." As for Adeline, she says, "Our marriage is like a fairy tale, and I will be very surprised if I'm not happy." Hallyday was previously married to singer-actress Sylvie Vartan and model Babette Etienne and had a child out of wedlock with French movie star Nathalie Baye.