• December 20, 1999
• Vol. 52
• No. 24

Scoop

Toy Stories, Too
Some stars win statuettes; some also are statuettes. Here's who's big among the small

Anyone who has tried it knows how difficult it can be to get a real celebrity boxed, wrapped and underneath the tree in time for Christmas. Luckily, there's another option: lookalike celebrity dolls, now lining the shelves at your local toy store. Though much smaller than actual stars, the dolls eat less, and there's no costly entourage upkeep. Witness a Scoop selection of the more popular doppelgängers available this year. Prices may vary.

Brandy
You're a fine girl, selling for $18.99. If the doll's measurements were proportional to those of the real-life star of Moesha, Brandy's waistline would make Kate Moss look chunky.

Johnny Depp
At $12.99, in a Sleepy Hollow costume, Depp is popular with adult collectors, Also available: a Christopher Walken doll to scare the Depp doll.

Sarah Michelle Gellar
Hours of playtime fun dueling with the undead. For $15.99, you get Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, a cross and a stake. BYO garlic.

Rosie O'Donnell
Think of the times you'll have with a $21.99 Rosie debating a G.I. Joe (not included) about gun control.

Britney Spears
Li'l Britney retails for a whopping $43.99, but the maker must think parents will pay the freight. "She is what's hot right now, and the little girls love her," says an FAO Schwarz spokesman.

D.C.'S Night of Wonder

Much of the talk before the luncheon for Kennedy Center medal recipients centered on honoree Stevie Wonder's interest in a new surgical procedure, intraocular retinal prosthesis, that sometimes restores sight. So he had the perfect line to explain his tardy arrival: "I'm sorry I was late," Wonder said. "I had the operation this morning." He was joking, unfortunately. Wonder had met with a doctor at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, but the university said the surgery was not likely to benefit him. Still, Wonder told Scoop, "if ever it is possible, I will do it. I have faith that someday it will be possible."

At a reception the next night, President Clinton honored Wonder, along with Sean Connery, Jason Robards, Victor Borge and Judith Jamison. Clinton declared Scotsman Connery, the original James Bond, an honorary American citizen, saying, "We couldn't have won the Cold War without you."

Charmed No More
Apparently no magic spell could save Alyssa Milano's marriage. Citing "irreconcilable differences," Milano, 27, who plays a witch on The WB series Charmed, filed for divorce from her husband, Cinjun Tate, 27, a singer and guitarist for the fledgling rock band Remy Zero, Dec. 1 in Los Angeles Superior Court. In court papers, Milano asked that she not be held liable for paying Tate alimony. The couple wed in January. Since then, her 14-hour days on the Charmed set and his constant touring may have led to strains on their marriage. A colleague thinks Milano, the onetime child star of the series Who's the Boss?, will rebound quickly. "She likes something, and she goes with it full force," says Boss costar Dan Pintauro. "If it doesn't work she deals with the consequences later."

Not Benign About Benigni
That wild-and-crazy-guy act of Roberto Benigni's—you know, stepping over the seats at the Oscars, hugging President Bill Clinton at a summit of world leaders—is wearing thin with some members of the Italian press. Avertnire, a conservative paper, criticized the Italian government for promoting the Life Is Beautiful star as an example of the national personality. Il Manifesto, a liberal daily, and Il Foglio, also conservative, got on his case, with Il Foglio writing, "Dear Bob, do you finally understand that life isn't always beautiful?" Benigni didn't respond.

Waiting at the Finnish Line
The last time Pamela Anderson Lee's distant relatives in Finland invited her to a family reunion, back in 1995, she gave them the cold Nordic shoulder. But there are no hard feelings, says Eila Karvimen, a jewelry maker and member of Anderson Lee's extended family. "It would be very exciting if she came this time." This time being next July, when some 600 assorted Hyytiäinen cousins, aunts, uncles and siblings will gather in Saarijärvi (pop. 15,000) to eat, dance, talk genealogy and maybe view an old Baywatch episode or two. Anderson Lee's great-grandfather Juho Hyytiäinen left the area in 1908 and emigrated to Canada, where "I guess he changed his name to Anderson because the locals could not pronounce Hyytiäinen," said Terttu Suopellonmaki, another relative. Anderson Lee, 32, had no comment on whether she will attend.

B'way Kathie Lee

No sweatshops. No scandals. For once, Kathie Lee Gifford is making news on her own terms, following her Broadway debut Dec. 7 in the Stephen Sondheim review Putting It Together. She'll sub once a week for Carol Burnett while continuing as cohost, with Regis Philbin, of ABC's Live with Regis & Kathie Lee. Gifford, 46, took a few moments to discuss the new gig with Scoop. (First, she had to ask her son Cody, 9, to stop practicing piano so she could talk.)

How did you rehearse?

In a very different way than most people would prepare. I'm doing gang-busters on my treadmill. I sing the music while I do four miles! My attitude is, if I can do it running, then doing it standing still will be a piece of pie.

Will this hurt your TV chores?

The thing with Regis and me is that we just have the show down to such a rhythm. Nowadays, I usually don't know until I get there who's on the show. If there's an album, I listen to it. Or if there's a book, I take that home to read. Sometimes, it's somebody we've interviewed 10 or 15 times before. You get into a comfortable place, and it's wonderful and frustrating.

So that's why you did theater?

I'm feeling an adrenaline and creative rush I haven't felt in years. It reminds me of why I went into this business.

Is Carol Burnett cool with you subbing for her?

Carol sent me flowers and said, "God bless you. You'll be fabulous." I wrote her back and said, "I'm just happy to breathe the same air as you!"

Favorite Broadway shows?

The ones I saw as a kid. Hello, Dolly!, Annie Get Your Gun, The Sound of Music.

Favorite song?

"Somewhere," from West Side Story.

Will Regis hit Broadway next?

He's been there, done that. He saved the network. He's on top of the world.

Elton Merits Badgering?
Brave? Check. Cheerful? Check. Reverent? Er, maybe not. Six men in Scout uniforms joined Elton John at a recent gay charity benefit in London. The "troop" then stripped down to their skivvies. Derek Twine, CEO of Britain's Scouts Association, protested; John's spokesman defended the show as "high camp"—putting the Scouts in the odd position of protesting camp.

ON THE BLOCK

A KENNEDY CO-OP
In 1993, shortly before his mother died, John F. Kennedy Jr. purchased a ninth-floor loft in the heart of Manhattan's chic Tribeca neighborhood for a reported $700,000. The 2,400-sq.-ft. home offered 12-ft.-high ceilings, views of New York City and at least one famous neighbor—Robert De Niro, whose offices and restaurants (Tribeca Grill, Nobu) are nearby. Following the death of Kennedy, 38, and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, 33, in a July 16 plane crash, ownership passed to a trust set up for the three children of his sister, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, which is now selling the apartment. The price? At least $2.5 million, and perhaps through bids as high as $4 million.

• Contributors:
• Larry Sutton,
• Mike Neill,
• Erik Meers,
• Eric Gardner,
• Michelle Caruso,
• Sona Charaipotra,
• Sarah Delaney,
• Linda Killian,
• Kevin Kwong,
• Elizabeth McNeil,
• Bob Meadows,
• Lee Wohlfert,
• Paula Yoo.

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