ON THE COVER 70
The sexiest star in showbiz is also one of the most reluctant; with Mrs. Soffel, The River and another Mad Max epic behind him, Mel Gibson plans to chuck his white-hot career for a year of living anonymously
UP FRONT 26
In an exclusive pre-inaugural interview, Ronald Reagan talks about prayer, grandchildren, Irving Berlin and how he once foiled an armed robbery
For Ron and Nancy—and for Caspar, Armand, Liz and nearly everybody who's anybody in Washington or Hollywood—the inauguration was a party to remember
Gloria Steinem, Douglas Kennedy, Sen. Lowell Weicker and dozens of others are arrested while protesting South Africa's racial policies
Twenty-one months after a bizarre abduction, 13-year-old Bobby Smith returns home to his parents in Long Beach, Calif.
COPING 39
After open heart surgery, the only thing actor Robby Benson has to fear is fear itself
SCREEN 43
In The Killing Fields, neophyte actor Dr. Haing S. Ngor draws upon his own suffering in Cambodia and comes away a potential Oscar nominee
IN HIS OWN WORDS 48
Novelist Evan Connell looks back on the loser America has never forgotten: Gen. George Armstrong Custer
TO THE TOP 53
Mr. Blackwell targets Cher and Joan Collins on his Worst Dressed List, but underneath his crusty veneer is a man with a heart, albeit a small one
IN THE MONEY 57
Cleaning woman Theresa Lang rakes in big bucks as she scours Dallas
SEQUEL 79
Art Clokey revels in the new popularity of Gumby, his earthy, 30-year-old superstar
ON THE MOVE 85
Though faced with almost certain defeat, all is not lost for Soviet challenger Gary Kasparov in the world chess championship
TUBE 88
After a week in mid-labor limbo, TV mom Meredith Baxter Birney gives birth in a Family Ties episode that is expected to deliver big ratings for NBC
HERO 92
With one artificial leg but courage to spare, Jeff Keith is about to complete an astonishing run across the country
TROUBLED 99
A judge says that champion show dog King Boots must pay his debt to society
WINNERS 103
The Far Side, Gary Larson's offbeat cartoon, is a hit in 200 newspapers and four best-selling books
MAIL 4
PICKS & PANS 11
Mario Thomas and Martin Sheen grapple with a gay son in ABC's Consenting Adult and PBS presents a spectacular spy story in Man From Moscow
Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn play friends who sell U.S intelligence secrets to the Soviet Union in The Falcon and the Snowman
Want to read about the lives of Prince, Liv Ullmann, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler? Check out the latest in celebrity biographies
The rockers from Foreigner get aggressive on Agent Provocateur
TAKE ONE 25
STAR TRACKS 63
The Queen Mum greets a dogged soldier
Matthew Broderick is into leather
Clint Eastwood flirts with a robot
Robert De Niro flies with a wing, a prayer and an instructor
Dustin Hoffman's tyke Max flies faster than the speed of sound
PEOPLE PUZZLE 96
CHATTER 106
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