The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 82

F2 THE BOSTON GLOBE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 1997 NAM gf A BY SUSAN BICKELHAUPT AND MAUREEN DEZELL 4 You light up my sales We guess with a name like Paul Fireman, you have the right to set the smoking code. Well, for a night, anyway. The Reebok CEO held a private, cigar-laden bash Monday at the Hot Tin Roof in Edgartown, which is usually smoke-free. The party was a wrap-up for a weekend of fun, including fishing, golfing, and sailing on Martha's Vineyard as Fireman entertained about 150 of the country's top Reebok retailers. Carlos Fuente, president of Ar-turo Fuente Cigars, supplied cigars from the Dominican Republic, while South Shore band Bellevue Cadillac supplied the music.

Among the non-retail revelers were former Bruin Bobby Orr and comedian Lenny Clarke. Merger in Middleburg Louis Wellington Cabot the former chairman of the Cabot Corp. here, and Mabel "Muffle" Brandon were married last Saturday in Middleburg, Va. The bride, who is now director of corporate programming for the Ford Motor is the widow of Sunday Times of London foreign correspondent Henry Brandon. A grad- uate of Smith College, Mrs.

Cabot was the social secretary for Nancy Reagan, and broadcast a Washington public radio show in the early 1980s for WPLM in Plymouth, when her husband was working in D.C. as a correspondent Cabot, who received both a bachelor's and master's degree from Harvard, is former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston and chairman of the Brookings Institution in Washington. A Beatle does Boylston Yes, that was former Fab Four drummer Ringo Starr strolling down Boylston Street on Monday. He didn't have his drumsticks with him, but did have two young lovelies with him and shopping bags in each hand. Starr is in town to play at Harborlights tomorrow night in the limelight The buzz at Buckingham, Browne Nichols in Cambridge today won't just be about the commencement ceremony that's taking place.

Apparently, the school got word that it will be featured in the Aug. 18 People when the magazine profiles Nai Nan Ko, owner of Toyota of p. khA" and Cambridge's own Lenny Clarke, who will play a bartender. A Bridges to the past The Weston Playhouse in Weston, Vt, will have a very special guest next week when actor Uoyd Bridges returns to be honorary chair of the gala for its 61st seasoa Bridges has not been back to the Playhouse since he starred in productions there in 1937 and 1938. He will visit the area with his wife and daughter, and attend the party next Friday evening.

Rock fails on country No, your ears are not deceiving you: That is indeed rock station WAAF-FM broadcasting on WNFT-AM. American Radio Systems, which owns the FM and just bought the figured the simulcast "would be a fan segue until we decide what the new format will be," said Dave Pearlman of ARS. Fun, maybe, but probably a shock to listeners who had been hearing country music on the station. Hope and honor Comedian Bob Hope, who entertained US troops around the world for half a century, would become an honorary veteran of the US armed forces under a resolution adopted by the House yesterday. If the measure is approved by the Senate, he would be the first person ever to receive such an honor.

The voice vote for the resolution was the second honor Hope, who turned 94 last Thursday, has received in less than a week. On Friday, he received the 1997 Ronald Reagan Freedom Award from former first lady Nancy Reagan at a birthday celebration in Beverly Hills. Snagging Gifford ABC sportcaster Frank Gifford, whose hotel room encounter with another woman was videotaped by a tabloid newspaper, couldn't avoid reporters yesterday at an ABC affiliates meet ing in Orlando, Fla. As he left the convention hall through a kitchen delivery bay, he was asked how his marriage to Kathie Lee Gifford was doing. Smiling, Gifford replied, "It's good.

It's solid," and jumped into a waiting van. ABC broadcaster Barbara Walters said the Giffords and their two children were staying at a Disney resort hotel during the meeting. GLOBE STAFF PHOTO SUZANNE KREITER Wellesley and philanthropist to Specifically, Ko donated a Toyota Tercel that was raffled off at the school's annual auction last March. Ko's connection to the school? His daughter, Jessica, graduated from last spring; she now attends Barnard College. JULIA TO THE RESCUE Julia Child (right) filmed a public service announcement for the National Fire Protection Association yesterday' in Brighton.

With her are (left to right) Jim Tavares, Alyssa Yearwood, and Susan Boyce, who appear as "spots" (on a perhaps?) in the PSA. 1 AP PHOTO Celluloid Scituate The cameras will start rolling soon on the South Shore, for the movie "Somehow Scituate," written by Dedham native Michael Lewis. The star of the romantic comedy is Michael Landes, who was recently cast in a new James Burrows sitcom, "Union Square," to air on NBC this fall. Other cast members include Hedy Burress Dina Spybey Behaving Lane Smith and weekend. Witnesses told police they saw the singer get out of a limousine with a beer in hand and then slap Houston in the face as she got out of the vehicle Sunday morning.

Hous-' ton, who performed last week at Aloha Stadi- um, was heard screaming for help as the couple argued in the limo for about 10 minutes JbeV fore driving away from Kahala Mall. The en-, tertainers left Hawaii on Monday without com-. menting. i Names Faces can be reached by elec-i I tronk mail at namesgIobe.com. Material i from wire services and otlier sources was used in this column.

Perkins hospitalized Rockabilly legend Carl Perkins is in the hospital in Memphis with a blocked carotid artery, the main artery leading to the brain. The 65-year-old singer, famous for the hit "Blue Suede Shoes," was considering whether to undergo surgery, his son said Monday. Doctors told the family the condition could deplete the brain of oxygen if unattended. Police investigate Bobby Brown Police are checking into reports that Bobby Brown slapped Whitney Houston in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Honolulu over the COMMEMORATIVE STAMP The US Postal Service has issued this stamp honoring George C. Marshall and the 50th anniversary of what became known as the Marshall Plan to assist postwar Europe.

The stamp mil be introduced at a ceremony at Harvard, where Secretary of State Marshall delivered the commencement speech to graduates 50 years ago. Nazimova: forgotten star of stage, screen 4 TV By Robert Taylor GLOBE CORRESPONDENT Had a poll been taken at mid-century, asking "Who is the greatest actress on the American stage?" not Book a. few astute play 'J- Review goers wouia proo-ably have nominated Aiia Nazi- gotten. She was bisexual, though inclined more toward her own sex, and rumor swirled about her relations with Garbo, and Marlene not to mention Eva Le Gallienne, Katharine Cornell, and Lynn Fontanne. One of the attractive features of Gavin Lambert's intelligent biography, however, is its lack of sensationalism.

This is not a kiss-and-tell chronicle of antique amours but a neglected chapter of serious theatrical history. Nazimova was exploited by hangers-on and not least by herself, yet Lambert realizes that her importance lies in her art. Born Adelaida Leventon, she had a brutal upbringing in a poor Jewish family at the time of the pogroms in Mathis, and the set designer Nata-cha Rambova (later Mrs. Valentino) were a troika who exerted tangible if fleeting power in the movie industry. Lambert takes a judicious look at Nazimova's connection with Charles'" Bryant, a British actor whose chief, offstage role was posing as her husband, and at their Spanish-style" house on Sunset Boulevard, which' evolved into the hotel called the Gar-' den of Allah.

At 52, she starred 1931's "Mourning Becomes Electa," overcoming Eugene O'Neill's doubts: "She would be he', told the Theater Guild, "if she could be directed to act as she did in her first Ibsen productions and cut out. the ham mannerisms acquired lat-' er." She took his advice. Nearing her 60s, she still made a convincing' Hedda, but seldom found work. One of Nazimova's protegees (non-erotic) was Edith Luckett, a career woman with a sturdy sense of independence; they admired each other so much that Edith, then Mrs. Loyal Davis-of Chicago, afterward named Nazimova godmother of the baby who would become Nancy Davis Reagan.

Players, and an immediate five-year contract with the Shubert organization. The Shuberts wanted to launch her as a new Bernhardt; Nazimova held out for "Hedda Gabler" and "A Doll's House." The power of her acting in Ibsen and Chekhov was never matched by her overblown performances in si-. lent films. When she toured in her Ibsen repertory during the early 1900s, she earned the then-staggering sum of $5 million for the Shuberts. An offer to star in a vaudeville one-act pacifist melodrama, "War Brides," led to a film version and, after the collapse of her repertory season, to Metro, where she became the highest-paid ($13,000 a week) actress in Hollywood of the silent era.

Eager for prestige, the studio gave her control of director, script, and leading man; and four years later she formed her own film company. Probably the best-known aspect NAZIMOVA A Biography By Gavin Lambert Knopf, 420 illustrated, $32.50 Russia. Her father, a pharmacist, beat her, and when the family moved to Switzerland, Alia was farmed out to peasants in remote Alpine villages. Returning to Russia at the age of 17, she decided to become an actress; her arrival in Moscow in 1896 coincided with the innovations of Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, who sought to free Russian theater from the external tricks of "personality" acting. Nazimova's career really began with her Russian phase (hardships, touring companies, performing Chekhov for the playwright himself).

Then came her arrival via steerage in New York, a personal Manhattan triumph with the St. Petersburg mova. She inspired Eugene O'Neill, Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, Noel Coward, and Clifford Odets; she brought Henrik Ibsen, Konstantin Stanislavsky, and Anton Chekhov to the American theater; she became a romantic silent-movie star at the age of 40, writing, directing, and producing; and today, of course, she is almost completely for PHOTO GLESCA MARSHALL LIBRARY OF THEATRE ARTS In 1919's "The Red Lantern," Nazimova played half-sisters in love with the same man. of her Hollywood period was her association with Rudolph Valentino, though her lavish version of Oscar Wilde's "Salome" gave rise to the legend that it was performed by an all-gay cast. For a brief slice of the '20s, Nazimova (always referred to as the writer June HER DISAPPEARING ACT ISN'T ABOUT MAGIC-IT'S ABOUT SURVIVAL SHRDJIN NOMHN JSSy i i i i t' Mftif i i- mil- mnnrmmr-lii ill i i I I wi5j3uwiv.fcyi.4j,w'.!- ii iiv.uji-uin.i' jjjjjwJiw i i i jijw -Jim jw i mi iiniavaHPvini til ami nm 1H SH.1 II SHEAR MADNESS "Zany Merriment" UPI Now in Us 18th year I Tues-Fri (a 8PM Sat 6:3049:30 Charles Playhouse Warrenton Str.

"AN EVENING WITH PATSY CLINE" Sandy Martin's great tribute to a legend. Hear AFTER MIDNIGHT" and more. The Company Theatre Norwell MA. JUNE 5-8 617-871-2787. HELLO DOLLT Curtain 8pm Cocktail 7 Thurs.Fri Sal, Sun thru 629 tkts $15 Adults $8 Child, Fri is senior cit.

$12. Thurs is Bargain Night. All Adults $10 No Pert. 615 Tony Award winning musical comedy presented by Riverside Theatre Works 45 Fairmount Ave. Hyde Park 617-361-7024 THE BIG SLAM New Repertory Theatre-This is a wickedly funny take on the self-help" guru movement "Its blend of inanity ruthtessness becomes pretty combines new age flaki-ness Mamet Phoenix.

NOW -June 8. 54 Lincoln St Newton Highlands near Green Line. $27. 617-332-1646VTTY LIVE MUSIC CRUISES Blues Cruises every Wed. Boards 6:30 Sails 7-1 0PM 64 The Keith James Band 61 1 BBQ Bob Verallames 618 Evening Sun.

Rock Cruises Boards 7 Sails 65 City Pete Poiher 612 Bruce Marshall Band All tickets are $12 00 Departs 60 ROWES WHARF Gate Boston. MA For INFO or TICKETS Call 617-542-8000 A JANE WHITEFIELD NOVEL THOMAS PERRY BOSTON GAY MEN CHORUS Out on the town Guest star Cabaret diva Ann Hampton Callaway A pops concert for all great songs of the 30's through the 70's from Rodgers Hart to the Village Fri Sun June Biackman Aud at Northeastern U. For tickets call 617-373-2247 MAN AND SUPERMAN A Helluva production!" "Spectacular-Boston Globe Extended thru June 15! American Repertory Thtr 64 Brattle St Harvard Sq 617-547-8300 $20-50 SHOW BOAT Jerome Kem and Oscar Hammerstein H's SHOWBOAT Directed by Harold Prince "THE GREAT AMERICAN MUSICAL" -The New York Times Now Playing Through August 13. 1997, Onlyl THE WANG THEATRE 270 Tremont Street, Boston Call: (617) 931-2787 JUNEARTS FEST CELEBRATES Great way Composers in 2 concerts. 14 perfs.

SingersBand brings Mus. Theatre To Life. For tix call 508-462-7336. $11-16. COMPANY Huntington Theatre Co.

presents Stephen Sondheim's landmark musical about relationships. Book by George Furth. Starts May 16. Call 266-0800. BRIGADOON REAGLE PLATERS The Reagle Players Present BRIGADOON June 1 9-28, Featuring Broadway Guest Artists, Boston Ballet Dancing Agnus DeMilles Original Choreography, 40 Singers and a Full Orchestra.

Tickets $24 Adults, $12 Children Robinson Theatre 617 Lexington St. Waltham Call (617 691-5600 THE MUSIC MAN North Shore Music Theatre pres. this winner of five Tony Awards, in eluding Best Musical. The rousing Meredith Willson score has such favorites as "Seventy-six Trombones" and Trouble Starring Bob Walton of Broadway's City of Angels and Lee Merrill, star of Houston's Grand Opera June 2-21, Mon Sat. at 8pm.

Matinees available. 506-922-8500. TOM RUSH The Orpheum Theatre in Foxboro presents Folk music pioneer TOM RUSH one show only! June 6 at 6 p.m. Tickets are priced at $20,50 7,50 For tickets or info, call 868-ORPHEUM "Superb." Martha GrimsJ "The suspense is unrelenting." Kirkus Reviews "Delivers in full: enough suspense to keep the pages turning all day on the beach or late into the night." Publishers Weekly A Selection of The Literary Guild Also available as a Random House AudioBook FALSETTOS Funny moving musical at FlflEHOUSE CTR in NBPT. Fastpaced, Lively.

Sure to Entertain and Delight. Prices 11-18. Air-Cond. 508-462-7336 for tixinfo. THE WHO'S TOMMY at Seacoast Repertory Theatre tn Portsmouth NH June 6-July 20 See Me Hear Me Touch Me Feel Me at SRTI Call 603-433-4793 or 800-639 -7650 todayl A full service box office, Ticketmaster center and Boston's exclusive half price, day-of-show ticket outlet.

Visit BosTix at Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Copley Square. For info call 61 7-482-BTIX A service of.