The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 61

LOS ANGELES TIMES MONDAY. NOVEMBER 7, 1994 E5 One Role Model That Really Produces Finding a Place of Life in the Shadow of Death ALAN BERLINER Berliner Studios Newly minted role model Kathleen Kennedy finds something funny with her husband's former college roommate, Michael Ovitz. Quoted: "I know the studio is a very exciting thing for the industry, but a lot of us hope he keeps directing," said Kennedy of Spielberg's new business venture after watching clips from their mutual films. Overheard: As Robert Shapiro, O.J. Simpson's attorney, and his wife, Linette, dashed into the V.I.P.

room one woman rolled her eyes and said, "He goes to the opening of every bleep )-ing door. He was even at the Stones concert. You wonder why someone working on such a high-profile case would want to do that?" ChOW: Tortellini salad, chicken and purple baked Alaska, possibly an allusion to "The Color Purple." Dress Mode: The "no tie" request was embraced by this crowd, which came in variations on minis, jeans, combat boots and Armani blazers. They made a striking contrast to another, event at the hotel that night, the Assembly Ball. There, men wore white ties and tails and women wrapped furs over their floor-length dresses.

living wills by which hopelessly moribund residents can speed their escape. Finally, however, he himself is undone by John Taggart, head of the Palms empire of retirement homes, who tapes his threats against Zorn and the Palms. Meanwhile, Betsy Cawthorne is progressing miraculously under a wizard therapist, Bernard Yancey, who has her fitted with artificial legs and soon has her walking. Betsy decides to make her "maiden flight" in the rehab gym before her father, Yancey and Zorn. "Then with her confidence bolstered, she took a series of steps that were miraculously normal." Zorn is dumbfounded, as is everyone else, but the reader has no doubt that this is the climax.

Zorn's fate is sealed. Later Betsy invites Zorn to her apartment and, after a couple of drinks, leads him to her bedroom. The reader is not introduced to the mechanics of their lovemaking, but has no doubt it was accomplished. There is love between other couples as well, even when one has been afflicted with Alzheimer's, a disease that Michener explores in grim detail. Berta Umlauf, who had the beastly job of caring for both her mother-in-law and her husband after they were stricken by Alzheimer's, says, "I can tell you better than anyone else that each of them approached death with no inner courage to make it a natural part of life, and no concern for those they would leave behind.

I can only say that they died miserably and in ways that terrified both them and me." When young Reed, the basketball star, lies dying of AIDS, he tells his doctor, "I've lost the battle. I've thrown my life away, and I want no aid, no sympathy. I just want to die." "Jaqmeel," the doctor replies, "I respect you and I understand what you're saying. But you must remember that in this brutal game, we're on opposite sides: you try to die, and I try to keep you alive." Obviously, "Recessional" is not the stuff of musical comedy. Its purpose evidently is to secure for the hopelessly afflicted the right to die, at the same time celebrating the miracles of modern medicine, as in the case of Betsy, At the age of 87, James Michener seems preoccupied with the riddles of life and death.

The Palms is a place of life, but it lies under death's shadow. We miss Miche-ner's boundless zest for life in his earlier works. Miraculously, like the Tertulia, he has built a cumbersome airplane, but it flies. Jack Smith's weekly column appears Monday in Life Style. BOOK REVIEW NOVEL RECESSIONAL by James A.

Michener Random House $25, 400 pages By JACK SMITH SPECIAL TO THE TIMES lecessional" is about life among the elderly resi-i dents, living and dying, at the Palms, a Florida retirement home. Andy Zorn, a young obstetrician who has lost his license in a scurrilous lawsuit, is hired to manage it, with an eye to increasing profits. He elects to drive from Chicago to Tampa in icy weather and near Chattanooga he is involved in a horrible multivehicle accident in which a young woman's legs are amputated below the knees. Moved by his humane instincts, Zorn aids Betsy Cawthorne and probably not only saves the young woman's life but also her chance of walking again. This encounter leads to romance when she comes to the Palms for rehabilitation.

The Palms has three sectors: the Gateway, a residential home; Assisted Living, for residents who need daily care; and Extended Care, for those in need of around-the-clock care. The intellectual core of the Palms is a group of four men who call themselves the Tertulia, which is Spanish for a salon-type gathering. They are a former senator, a Colombian editor, a diplomat and a college president. The Tertulia amuse themselves and prove their daring and skills by building an full-scale airplane in their quarters, fitting it with an engine and successfully test flying it over the extensive grounds. Zorn is ably assisted in his effort to make the Palms successful by his second-in-command, Ken Kre-nek, who knows the ropes and isn't ambitious to be the boss, and by Nora Varney, a huge nurse who uses her Alabama accent only when she wants to.

Zorn is doing well until he is challenged by Clarence Hassel-brook, a sinister agent for Life Is Sacred, a nationwide organization that opposes euthanasia. Hassel-brook has the ear of the press; he moves into the Palms to keep an eye on Zorn, and threatens to ruin him with a lawsuit for assisting in the suicide of Jaqmeel Reed, a terminally ill athlete. Hasselbrook also threatens to hang the nickname Murder Mansion on Extended Care. He uses legal action to invalidate RSV? IOTOTHENIGPIT By BETTY GOODWIN SPECIAL TO THE TIMES The Scene: While her well-known mentor Steven Spielberg is usually the one on the receiving end of tributes, tables were turned when Steven Spielberg presented producer Kathleen Kennedy as in "E.T.," "The Color Purple," "Back to the Future" II and III, "Jurassic Park," and "Schindler's List" with the Big Sisters Guild of Los Angeles Sterling Award on Friday night at the Beverly Hilton. No one doubted the 41 -year-old powerhouse would make an inspiring role model.

"She's effective, she's a nice person and she has a private life," said Michael Crichton, whose novel, "Congo," Kennedy is producing as a film. Who Was There: The Ambiin alumni club and other entertainment industry honchos including Whoopi Goldberg, at top form as emcee; Susan and Jonathan Dol- ADS Continued from E3 cast of "Baywatch," but what about the rest of us the debt-ridden, dumpling-shaped, ill-tempered, middle-aged masses? Fortunately, Tips No. 2 through 20 seem specially designed to spin-control Tip No. 1. Huff, who describes herself in personal-ad lingo as "tall, bright, blond, fabulous 40s, sparkly, kind and easy to talk to," says you must be honest, "but in your honesty, don't have a false modesty." After all, this is an advertisement, not a tax return.

Instead of "middle-aged," Huff recommends rounding off to the nearest decade For "dumpling-shaped," she offers a' whole smorgasbord of alternatives "stately," "large and lovable" She even puts a spin on poverty life's simple divorce and bereavement single dad' will pull a lot of maternal heartstrings," she writes). In addition to the tips, you get admonishments don't say 'no fats, no that's Off end Pedaling Times Staff Writer David Lamb is biking across the country. He left his home in Alexandria, on Sept. 2 en route to Santa Monica. Photo by Sandy Northrop For The Times '-A I Postmark: for a young director named Steven Spielberg.

Trainor married director Robert Zemeckis. Kennedy married producer-director Frank Marshall. Marshall and Michael Ovitz were college roommates. Kennedy, Marshall and Spielberg produced Zemeckis' movies. Zemeckis and Marshall are best friends.

Kennedy was Spielberg's receptionist when Kate Capshaw, his future wife, came to meet him for a role in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." Spielberg gave Whoopi Golberg her first shot at acting in "The Color Purple." And so on. Huff sells her booklet for $6.97. And she promises that if you don't "get a date, make a new friend or start a relationship" within six months of following her advice, she'll send your money back. So far, no one has asked for a refund. "I had one sweet old lady write to me from Kansas City and tell me that I should put the price on the cover of the booklet," Huff said.

"She wrote to me on the back of the refund certificate, so I guess it was working out." It's working out for Charlie Willis, too. Willis separated from his wife on Valentine's Day this year. Several months went by before the 47-year-old ex-Marine could even think about dating again. When he came across Huff's book, he decided to give the personal ads a shot. "I'm no Fabio or nothing.

The best I can say for myself is, I've got most of my hair," he said. "I haven't had a date in 14 years, but now I've got all these chicks calling me up." Willis never wrote an ad for himself, but used Huff's tips about reading between the lines to answer ads placed by single women. BIKE Continued from El that is old-fashioned, hard-working, trusting and not at all concerned with how many grams of fat are in a blueberry muffin. When I told a man I met on the old Route 66 in Seligman, that I might not get home until Thanksgiving, he was shocked. "How are you going to vote!" he demanded.

"You'll miss the elections." To him, such an abrogation of duty was unfathomable. Although some yahoo did throw a beer bottle at me from his pickup back in Virginia, it would perhaps surprise people in urban America to know that I crossed the country from the Potomac to the Pacific without encountering a single harrowing moment or a major mishap. Only loneliness and isolation gave me cause for concern. My American-made bike a Trek 520 proved as roadworthy as the most expensive Mercedes-Benz, and it strikes me as remarkable that such a simple contraption gen, Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison, Ron Meyer, Kate Cap-shaw, Michael and Judy Ovitz, John Williams, Barry London, Mary Ellen Trainor and Robert Zemeckis, as well as Big Sister supporters Diane Lander-Simon and husband Neil, Sherry Lansing, Carole Little, Sarah Purcell, Karen Kane, Tichi Wilkerson Kassel and event chairwoman Marcia Hurwitz. YOU Should Know: Mary Ellen Trainor was Kennedy's college roommate and alerted Kennedy to a job opening as receptionist hurtful to some pep talks to be outrageous.

Have and needlings why is it so many of you request someone young enough to be your Most of all, Huff stresses the importance of conveying a sense of your personality. In the back of the booklet is an alphabetized checklist of 196 words from adaptable to zesty to help you out in this department, if articulate isn't one of your characteristics. "When you create a well-written ad, you're creating a hopeful fantasy in the mind of your readers," Huff said. "With a few well-chosen words, they can already picture themselves riding bicycles under the oak trees." When you're looking for love, it's just as important to be able to read the personal ads as write one, Huff said. "You've got to be able to read between the lines," she said.

"A guy that will start his ad out with 'Herpes Simplex' at least you know he's very honest and very courageous, though maybe not the brightest. At least you know that if he's got something bad to say, he'll say it right out." Los Angeles Times Executive Leather Desk Chairs Executive Leather Desk Chair Culver City 310837-8775 La iiefiegaj 711, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 SwmflMm A DICKENS' VILLAGE WE STOCK ALL DEPT. 56 VILLAGES ACCESSORIES! ALLIED MODEL. TRAINS Deooftmertc Next, he's going on his first date with Marci arts, fishing, lace and jeans, roses and and he's also going to go out with Carolyn hair, green-eyed, tan country Rosie, the redheaded hairdresser, will have to wait her turn. "This is the way to go," Willis said with obvious delight.

"My phone never stops ringing." Somewhere between all those calls, Willis managed to call Huff and thank her for helping him turn around his social life. "He said I was pretty smart for a girl," she recalled with a laugh. "But he said it in a really cute way; it wasn't offensive at all. Then he asked if I was single." She isn't she and her husband, Bob, reunited in January, though Huff hasn't lost her obsession with the personals. "I think he got worried because there he is sitting next to me reading the paper and the personal ads are the first thing I grab," Huff said.

To order "20 Tips to a Dynamite Personal Ad," send $6.97 to New Sharon Ventures, 16345 W. Dixie Suite 308, North Miami Beach, Fla. 33160. was capable of carrying me so far without extracting a single penny for fuel, oil or mechanical repairs. To most adult Americans, the bicycle is no more than a toy, but as our city streets clog with traffic, it is worth noting that this affordable machine is still the prime source of transportation for the majority of the world's people and remains the most efficient means of self-propulsion ever invented.

That said, I should admit that I am taking the short way back to Virginia. My bike is being prepared for shipment at a Wilshire Boulevard shop and this continental crossing on United Airlines will take us only six hours. I'm wise enough to know when it's time to go home. There is, after all, an election to vote in, and besides, I have been on the lam long enough. Retrace the Route All five parts of David 'Lamb's series, "Prom the Potomac to the Pacific," are available on Times-Link, the new on-line service.

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