Daily News from New York, New York • 1080

00 i fc ai ilUZi ARTURO MAM VATICAN PHOTO I'm a great believer." ONCE-CHASTISED SEX SYMBOL Brigitte Bardot meets Pope yesterday. She said, "It was unforgettable. Htm imtm Or Alison Steele Higtt EMT (does aft age 58 By RICHARD HUFF and STEPHEN McFARLAND Daily News Staff Writers Alison Steele, the soft-voiced, seductive "Night Bird" who transformed late-night rock radio and carved out a new place for women in the medium, died yesterday of stomach cancer at Lenox Hill Hospital. She was 58. "Alison was one of those pioneer women in radio," said Tom Chiusano, general manager at WXRK-FM.

"She was one of the most important women in radio. You hate to lose the pioneers." "She was the one who really blazed a trail for all women in radio," said Jo Maeder, a disc jockey known as the Rock 'n' Roll Madame who broadcasts onZlOO. The freckled, red-haired Steele, who grew up in New York, first made her mark in radio broadcasting in the 1950s with her then-husband on a show called "Ted Steele and the Her big break came when WNEW-FM hired her in 1966 for an all-woman lineup of disc jockeys. The novelty format was a flop and WNEW-FM was converted to progressive rock. But the station retained Steele.

On Janl 1, 1968, she broadcast her first show as "The Night Bird," and the combination of her throaty voice, intimate manner, poetic interludes and sure touch with new trends in rock made the program an instant and enduring success. Steele dominated late night rock in New York for years. At its height, her audience was estimated at more than 100.000, mainly men 18 to 34. "There are still millions of men in love with Alison-Steele," Maeder said. After Steele left WNEW-FM in the mid-1980s, she worked in radio and television, including a stint as an entertainment commentator on CNN.

She also opened a feline boutique called Just Cats on the upper East Side. She returned to her late-night roots in 1988 when she took over the 2 a.m.-to-6 a.m. slot on K-Rock, where she was on the air as recently as June. By CHARLES W. BELL Daily News Religion Editor VATICAN CITY Brigitte Bardot made one of the great comebacks of her career yesterday the Sex Kitten met the Pope.

The one-time R-rated French film star, once a frequent target of official Vatican condemnation, was received by Pope John Paul during his weekly general audience, and the meeting was cordial on his part, respectful on hers. She attended as part of a delegation representing the International Association for the Protection of Animals, meeting in Rome and invited to the papal audience for the feast day of St. Francis of As-sisi, patron of animals. "I've given everything I own to animals," she said be-fore the audience. "My health, my jewelry, my house.

They are my children." This was the Pope's first audience in two weeks because of his just-ended trip to Africa, and the last before he sets off next Wednesday for New York City, Newark, and Baltimore. Bardot, who turns 61 today, stooped to kiss the Pope's ring, and then they grasped both hands together, at the end of his audience with more than 2,500 pilgrims and tourists from as far away as Japan and Indonesia. "We talked of animals, of course," Bardot said, her lined face lighting up with her trademark radiant smile. "He told us he thought of them and they needed our help." Bardot, who said she had gone to the Vatican as a tourist once during her heyday but had never met a Pope, described the audience as "very profound." "It was an unforgettable experience," she said. "For me, the Pope represents God.

I'm a great believer." She said the conversation was in French. "I was so moved that I forgot all my Italian," she said. Bardot wore a snug, stylish brown pantsuit with a dark OoEiiiiiuniosi on IPoipe clliifty orange sweater for the occasion, with her hair in an upswept fashion. What was remarkable was that Bardot was received by any high-ranking Vatican official, much less the Pope, because of the Church's past stinging criticism of her films, including "And God Created Woman," "Act of Love" and "The Devil as a Woman." Bardot not only called on the Pope, but was seated in the first row, reserved for VIPs in the Pope Paul VI Hall, where audiences are held every Wednesday when the Pope is at home. The Pope, who is 75, moved slowly and during his remarks and greetings, delivered in 12 languages, including Danish and Croatian, he coughed several times.

Aides said he may have caught a cold in Africa. With News wire services By JOHN MARZULU and AL BAKER Daily News Staff Writers The Police Department is banning on-duty cops from receiving Holy Communion at Masses presided over by Pope John Paul. Chief of Department Louis Anemone said yesterday that cops protecting the Pope would create a security risk if they left assigned posts to take Communion. Officers who violate the edict face suspension. "They won't be able to partake in the Mass," Anemone said.

"The Church understands, and we're directing cops that they should understand because security is an important issue for us." Assistant Chief Robert Burke, Queens South borough commander, has already advised the Brooklyn Diocese of the ban on Communion, police said. Diocese spokesman Frank DeRosa said he would not "get the church embroiled" in an internal police decision. But. he added, "A priest will not turn anyone away at the Communion line." DeRosa said that cops assigned to papal security "are on call to protect the holy father, which is a calling in itself." Inspector Thomas Sweeney, president of the NYPD's Holy Name Society, a Catholic fraternal organization, agreed, saying it is a privilege to protect "the most important person in the world." Anemone said the NYPD has received permission from the Archdiocese of New York to allow cops to wear their hats and refrain from kneeling during Masses at Aqueduct Race Track and Central Park. in O) oo CM a.

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