PASSAGES: Mel Gives to Good Cause

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/05/2002 at 11:22 AM EDT

DONATED: Mel Gibson, 46, gave a $10,000 college savings bond to Kayla March, 13, the stepdaughter of a Los Angeles sheriff's deputy, David March, 33, who was slain in the line of duty on April 29, reports the Associated Press. "My heart goes out to the people . . . the families of the men who are killed while actually doing their job," said the "Lethal Weapon" star, according to the AP. "They put their lives on the line every single day" . . .ANNOUNCED: HBO will launch the new season of "Sex and the City," starring Sarah Jessica Parker, on July 21, the network said. (HBO, like PEOPLE, is part of AOL Time Warner.) The eight-episode season - shortened because of Parker's pregnancy -- is due to wrap up on Sept. 8. The following Sunday, Sept. 15, the new season of "The Sopranos," starring James Gandolfini, will debut . . . DIED: The $10 million Broadway musical, "Sweet Smell of Success," starring John Lithgow, 56, who last Sunday won the best actor Tony for his leading role, will close June 15, its producers, who are losing their entire investment, announced Tuesday. Critics thought the show stunk. Meanwhile, a sparkling Tony-winning revival of Noel Coward's "Private Lives," starring onetime "Die Hard" villain Alan Rickman and Tony-winning actress Lindsay Duncan, has extended its limited run, to Sept. 1 . . . LIT: On Tuesday night, the top deck of New York's Empire State Building was illuminated in shades of purple and gold -- the royal colors, in honor of England's Queen Elizabeth, 76, and her 50 years on the throne. Top of the world, Mum.