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REPUBLIC FINAL REPUBLIC FINAL THE ARICYREPUBLIC Tom Selleck a Bud The make fading Angela celebrity TV in the star's Wilkinson's Lansbury appearances boost CBS in of Magnum, the on prime-time column, Murder, fall P.I, each as She C9. series, lineup, other's Selleck Wrote will which and shows. get is Noble effort Royal memories fueled novel depicting fall of Imperial Russia By JULIE AMPARANO awful to discuss. It had a definite effect SAN FRANCISCO Natasha Borovsky wasn't born when Imperial Russia fell, but the cataclysmic events that hurled her parents from the royal court cast a pall over her childhood and left a lasting impression. Her father, Alexander Borovsky, had been an internationally known concert pianist, a favorite of the court and a former 1 music tutor to the nephews of Czar Nicholas II.

Her mother, Maria Sila-Noricki, came from a noble family dating to 10th century Russia and 12th century Poland. They had everything until Imperial Russia fell. At the height of the Revolution, both fled to Paris, where they met, married and gave birth to Natasha in 1924. Growing up in Paris did not foster charming memories. Borovsky, 61, said her world was clouded with a "deep, dark, ominous shadow" that hung over her childhood.

In A Daughter of the Nobility, (Holt, Rinehart Winston, Borovsky combines history, personal memory and fiction in a chronicle of the final days and the aftermath of Imperial Russia. She was haunted by her parents' memories of the Russian Revolution, the Bolshevik seizure of power, the civil war and their dangerous escape from Russia. Her grandfather was murdered by deserters in 1917, an uncle was forced to spend the rest of his life in a Soviet prison, and other relatives died fighting in the revolution. "My entire childhood was clouded by these terrible events," she said. "It really was never discussed while I was around.

But there was the presence. It was like a dark shadow of some horrible event that had happened and was too Tuesday, June 17, 1986 Calendar Television C9 Cinemafare C6 takes I1, who fired Iacocca in 1978, reportedly saying: "I just don't like you." Ford and his wife still have a home in the area but spend most of their time in Britain. Ford's father, Edsel Ford, bought the house for him in 1940, and he and his wife lived there for seven years. The price of the new horne for Iacocca and his new bride, Peggy, was not revealed, but it is estimated at between $800,000 and $1.5 million. LOVE POTION Producer Richard Denton, who spent 21 months in the Soviet Union making the highly acclaimed BBC series Comrades (debuting on PBS' Frontline July 1), found romance behind the Iron Curtain.

He met his future wife, Valentina, a Soviet actress, during the filming. It wasn't love at first sight, however; more like a blind date set up by friends who didn't think Denton was learning to speak Russian fast enough or well enough. "We were not very impressed with one another at first," Denton joked. "But vodka helped." SHORT SORTIES WHAT'S HAPPENING TELEVISION TONIGHT 1986 (9 p.m., KPNX, Channel 12) Tom Brokaw anchors a special report on last year's hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, during which an elderly American man was slain. Included in the report will be more of NBC's controversial interview with Palestinian terrorist Abul Abwho has been accused of Brokaw bas, plotting the hijacking.

Also at 9 p.m., KAET (Channel 8) offers Assault on Affirmative Action, a Frontline report on the fate of programs once widely accepted as an antidote for job discrimination. NEWS BRIEFS IN TRIBUTE Broadway pays tribute to lyricist Alan Jay Lerner by dimming the lights along the Great White Way tonight for one minute. Lerner died Saturday of cancer in New York at 67. Another giant of the arts, Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, will be honored with a place in Plainpalais cemetery in Geneva. Borges, 86, also died Saturday, months after moving back to Geneva, where he SIX, had wanted to spend his final days.

(Related commentary on page C8.) LADY DIANA COOPER DIES A silent film star and whirlwind British socialite of the Roaring Twenties who was admired worldwide for her classic beauty, Lady Diana Cooper died Monday at the age of 93 in London. The youngest daughter of the eighth Duke of Rutland, Cooper was the silent star of The Miracle, with which she toured two continents for 12 years. In the 1930s, she was mentioned as a possible bride for the Prince of Wales, who married Wallis Simpson. CHATTER MOVING ON Lee lacocca's new home has personal as well as historical significance to the Chrysler chairman and best-selling autobiographer. The seven-bedroom, Georgian-style home in Grosse Pointe Farms, once belonged to Henry Ford DENZEL WASHINGTON of television's St.

Elsewhere has nabbed the title role in Sir Richard Attenborough's $22 million movie about South African black leader Steven Biko, who died in police custody in 1977. Biko Asking for Trouble is scheduled to start shooting July 14 in Zimbabwe, with Kevin Kline Washington co-starring. OUR DAILY QUOTE "I don't want any more information from 19-year-olds who can't think straight. I've done all that myself, and they can't teach me anything." Singer-actor David Bowie, 39, in Us magazine. Republic Services Best sellers Los Angeles Times The rankings for hardcover books in the Los Angeles area as reported by selected bookstores: FICTION 1.

Take Manhattan, by Judith Krantz. 2. You're Only Old Oncel A Book for Obsolete Children, Theodore Geisel Seuss. 3. Last of the Breed, by Louis L'Amour.

4. A Perfect Spy, by John le Carre. 5. The Eighth Commandment, by Lawrence Sanders. 6.

The Bourne Supremacy, by Robert Ludlum. 7. Barrier Island, by John D. MacDonald. 8.

The Garden of Eden, by Ernest' Hemingway. 9. The Mammoth Hunters, by Jean M. Auel. 10.

The Enemy Within, Mission Earth Vol. Three, by L. Ron Hubbard. NONFICTION 1. Fatherhood, by Bill Cosby.

2. Fit for Life, by Harvey Diamond and Marilyn Diamond. 3. The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed, by David Stockman. 4.

James Herriot's Dog Stories, by James Herriot. 5. The Rotation Diet, by Marta Katahn. 6. Enter Talking, by Joan Rivers with Richard Meryman.

7. A Cast of Killers, by Sidney Kirkpatrick. 8. Callanetics: 10 Years Younger in 10 Hours, by Callan Pinckney. 9.

When All You Ever Wanted Isn't Enough, by Harold S. Kushner. 10. Manhunt, by Peter Maas. Associated Press on my life." She says she chose to write a fictional view of the era because a true account.

could jeopardize the lives of those who' didn't make it out of the Soviet Union. The novel, which was awarded the Columbus Foundation's American Book Award for fiction in May, paints a vivid picture of a class system in Russia and a way of life that was doomed. It centers on Princess Tatyana Silomirskaya, the daughter of an adviser to Czar Nicholas II and a playmate of the czar's two elder daughters. Tatyana sees her world collapse, loses the people she loves the most and tries to realize her dream of becoming a doctor. Like Tatyana, Borovsky saw her own life crumbling when, at 16, she witnessed the fall of France to the Nazis in 1940.

With her mother, Borovsky sought refuge in the United States. Settling in New York, she enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College and found work at the CBS Listening Post as a foreign news translator and editor. Her mother returned to Europe. Borovsky said she remembers when she was just 10 years old, showing a novel she had written to her mother, who had married a second husband, literary critic Count Giacomo Antonino. "They took my story and showed it to all their literary friends," she said.

"Here I was, just a child, and they critiqued it and took it apart. I was devastated." Even so, while attending school in Germany, France and Switzerland, she continued to concentrate on her writing. While her novel centers on political and social change in Russia, Borovsky says it's really about freedom and how historical events can drastically alter a person's life. AP The Russian Revolution had a profound impact on Natasha Borovsky's life. Certifiable 'Loonies' meet to exchange ideas Salon for funny folks supports performers, artists in California LAURA CASTANEDA Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO They could pass for businessmen on a "networking" safari as they stride into the restaurant clutching portfolios in one hand and business cards in the other.

But the restaurant is a pizza and beer joint, the portfolios are as big as suitcases, the business cards are post card-size, and each person is a certifiable Loonie. "Loonies" is a group of about 350 cartoonists, humorists, performers and other artists who have been meeting regularly for eight years in San Francisco. "We're not quite bankers, but we're not weirdos either," said Loonie Trina Robbins, a San Francisco cartoonist, explaining the group's conservative appearance. Loonies founder Barry Gantt said he modeled the meetings after the salons of author Gertrude Stein, whose Paris apartment became a gathering place for artists, writers and musicians eager to exchange ideas in the early 19008. "I've always billed it as a salon for funny folks," said Gantt, who also calls himself "Bull Goose Loonie" after the Randle McMurphy character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

"There's no real formal agenda," he said. "There's no drunken shriners, no people dancing with lampshades or anything. People just show up, and it's human contact. That's the way people like it. It's very informal." Channel 3 news By BUD WILKINSON Arizona Republic Staff Television station KTVK (Channel 3) gave its news programs a face lift Monday, introducing a new set and changing the name to NewsChannel 3 from Eyewitness News.

The overhaul precedes the arrival of two new weekday anchors hired by the ABC affiliate: Cameron Harper, who arrives July 1 from WTHR-TV in Indianapolis; and Rosemary Collins, who is under contract through August at Denver's KCNC-TV, where she anchors AP Loonies founder Barry Gantt, left, and Roger May examine a 3-D cartoon during a group meeting. The meetings are held every couple of months. Admission and pizza are free, and anyone who wants to share portfolios and meet other artists is welcome. Although there are other organizations for cartoonists, such as the Comic Art Professional Society in southern California, and the Northern California Cartoon and Humor Association, Gantt said the Loonies is the first informal group of its kind in the United States. In addition to acting as a support group for artists, Loonies is keeping alive the spirit that made San Francisco the nation's center for underground unveils name 6 a.m.

and noon newscasts weekdays. Channel 3 News Director Phil Alvidrez said Monday that neither Harper nor Collins has been given a specific weekday assignment, although he said Collins will not appear on the 5 p.m. edition of NewsChannel 3. Both Harper and Heidi Foglesong, who is being promoted from weekends, will handle two shows, and Collins will work one. Frank Robertson and Mary Jo West, currently the station's lead anchors, are leaving.

With Foglesong and Collins as Chan- forum for people to get together and exchange ideas," Gantt said. "So I just got the notion of throwing a salon." The first gathering had about 20 people, but meetings now average about 100 Loonies, with three times that many on the mailing list. "It's a true salon where people make both social and business contacts. In our society, we really don't have that anymore. We're so fragmented," Gantt said.

"Also, because of the nature of our particular labors writers and artists we're isolated. We all work in our own little spaces. There's no chance to really cross-pollinate or exchange ideas. This provides that forum." Most meetings are quiet affairs, with Loonies sitting around tables, either talking or studying each others' work. A Loonie from Cotati, named "Phred," for example, is a gray-haired, bespectacled, soft-spoken man.

However, his cartoons include such offbeat characters as a slam-dancing Buddha and Jesus. Phred said he joined the Loonies a cartoonists with such counterculture heroes as Zippy the Pinhead, Mr. Natural and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Gantt, 40, came to San Francisco from N.Y., in 1969 and was a high school English teacher before trying stand-up comedy and cartooning. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, Playboy, Cosmopolitan and other magazines.

He came up with the idea for the Loonies in 1978. "At the time I had a number of friends who were both writers and cartoonists, and I found there was no change, nel 3's lead female talent, the station's current 5 p.m. -anchor, Sue Breding, is left without a prime weekday show. Alvidrez said Breding has been offered a reporting position as well as backup anchor duties. He also said the station has not decided whether Tom Olson will continue 5 p.m.

news duties. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the status of KTVK's sports department continues. Alvidrez has been interviewing and speculation centers on sportscaster Rock Rote of WTLV-TV in Jacksonville, and David Sparks, host of the year ago to keep up with what other area cartoonists were doing. "There really aren't many of us in' Cotati," he said. "People in the group tend to operate without much ego.

Most of the people seem genuinely interested in helping out those who are just beginning." "The Loonies really are a bunch of the nicest cartoonists I've ever met," said Robbins, the first woman to draw Wonder Woman and one of the most successful cartoonists working today. "We definitely support each other and give each other suggestions. Every now and then, we can even get (other artists) a job." fresh set design syndicated game show Crosswits. What will happen to 6 and 10 p.m. sportscaster Ron Swoboda is unclear.

Swoboda's contract expires in early January. A transfer appears likely for 5 p.m. sportscaster Bill Mosley. "He is going to do more than sports; he will be doing features as well. We have talked to him about the possibility of moving off sports," Alvidrez said.

Both Swoboda and Mosley said nothing has been decided..