Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 103

Hie ortDD THE MARVDI HITMAN SHOW IN SHORT Les nose for news Photo by Carol Kttman Early to bed for Studio 54 owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager the proprietors of fashionable Studio 54 discotheque are to check into the nonexclusive confines of the Allenwood Federal Prison Camp near Williamsport Pa today to begin serving their 3-year sentences for income tax invasion The pair convicted of evading nearly $500000 in corporate and personal income taxes during the first year of the 3-year-old operation will be serving their time in a penal facility without bars or walls or armed guards Allenwood takes pride in its cattle and pig farms and its sports facilities which include courts for tennis basketball bocci and handball For two of New better-known night people Rubell 36 and Schrager 32 will be following a drastically different schedule including 6 AM wake-up 7:30 AM breakfast and an official lights-out at 10:30 PM which is several hours earlier than self-respecting Studio 54 habitues would make their entrances But they will be in an environment where celebrities are not unknown famous residents have included Gordon Liddy of Watergate fame among others Meanwhile back at as it is known to the in-crowd a spokesman said "it will be business as usual we There is some concern that without boyish enthusiasm setting the tone the club might lose some of its cachet (Schrager has always kept out of the spotlight) However the disco will be left in the experienced hands of head gatekeeper Mark Benecke general manager Michael Ovrington and accountant John Catano And there is to be a series of Thursday night "celebrity with such regulars as Andy Warhol Truman Capote and Hal-ston said to have already volunteered Rubell has indicated that he and Schrager will continue to stay on top of things They are allowed eight visits a month and inmates also get five-day furloughs every 90 days They can also make telephone calls already instructed our staff to accept their collect said Michael Al-pert the What was the mood of the disco owners on the eve of their jail terms? said Alnert "They betrayed any emotion tough Parker Richard Sanders (aka Les Nessman) One of the really big figures in broadcasting today is Loni Anderson She is receptionist possibly even one of the all-time great receptionists at WKRP in Cincinnati a mythical radio station in a fictitious town She was the first person I saw on the set of "WKRP in the smash CBS series (Monday nights at 8 Ch 2) that has been crushing "Laverne in the ratings (Who said ratings are always bad?) The poor woman seems to have some kind of back condition She always seems to be bending or leaning forward whenever a camera is near She could be poster girl (in the next March of Dimes campaign to wipe out poor posture) The sight of a pad and pencil also can make her wait with bated breath She is really into this publicity stuff Loni Anderson aka Jennifer Marlow looks to me like the girl-next-door if you happen to live in Los Angeles The average girl out there a recent survey found is a 26-year-old blonde who used to live with Rod Stewart Nick Nolte and in her wilder days the Sex Pistols A former actress she is now writing a novel exposing Beverly Hills She has 29 kids from previous marriages to Alice Cooper Samuel Plotkin and the Grateful Dead I read all about Loni in it was a caption I believe and had no real interest in pursuing my studies a journalism groupie Jane Tillman Irving of WCBS All-News Radio Roberta Altman of WYNY Sally Jean Raphael of WMCA Lester Smith of WOR Bob Weiner of WBLS Jim Saunders of WYFA in Patchogue Lou Adler of WCBS I had met all the greats But there was nothing to compare to the thrill of finally meeting Les Nessman and I had to leave Loni Anderson bated breath and all to meet him Les Nessman you recall is the news director and on-air news personality of WKRP in Cincinnati His name is prominently mentioned in the station slogan: "More Music and Les Laraine portrayals on "Saturday Night shaped a generation of TV newswomen and Richard portrayal of Les Nessman is molding next radio people Les Nessman in person was as incredible as he is on TV He took a break from studying the Ohio Valleyweather hog reports not only futures but pasts and the late world news Bangkok Paris London 7" Cincinnati 7 Wherever the news is breaking Les Nessman is there still pinching myself Les Nessman was first to do helicopter traffic reports inexpensively He beats his hands on his chest to simulate the chopper sound He originated "Eyewitness He goes to the window and actually witnesses the weather outside "I call it like I see said fearless Les probably noticed the Band-Aid on some part of his body in every episode It is what Les Nessman follower of Jon Delfin once a big name himself in Poughkeepsie radio calls "the Eternal Bandage of Les Les Nessman has a nose for news "Why are the Olympics being held in he alone was asking long before the issue came up "Do you think it might be because of the water? Are they trying to rig it? What about the water? Think of it People laughed at first They said Les really had a thing about the Russkies But paranoids can have real enemies Les is very much into pigs this year Hogs are specialty He is the winner of five Buckeye Newshawk awards for the best coverage of agriculture events And one Silver Sow He showed me the awards during a lull in the rehearsal in the old M-G-M studio in Culver City for episode He even let me cross the yellow line that marks off his private office on the floor of the newsroom set That day he was also working hard perfecting the latest improvement in his news writing: alliteration "The big news on WKRP by Les that afternoon was: "Cincinnati city council caucus convenes Carter-Kennedy kaffeeklatsch concludes Kansas confab But in Butte Bush Baker Brown blast bosses Big business boom breaks in Boston be right back after this brief trying to improve my Les confided in me "I talk to Harry Reasoner a Les Nessman is at a critical juncture in his career With episode Les Nessman officially becomes a sex symbol The show has him turned on when a female listener calls in and invites him to dinner Why has he become such a sex symbol? "Because he is the only person on American explained producer Hugh Wilson "who discusses I would like to see WKRP converted to an allnews station like WCBS880 a real funny place told with' Les Nessman playing Lou Adler or Art Athens Others close to the situation like Dr Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) took umbrage (a new kind of drug) at that suggestion Still others suggest what Les Nessman needs is psychiatric help He is far too interested in hogs for his own good And he is far too worried about the Commies taking over Cincy Wear a Band-Aid today if you want to show -'support for less music and more Les Nessman Talent search The Hampton Players are holding auditions for Woody Drink the at 8 PM Feb 7-8 at St Episcopal Church on Hampton Bays Eight male and six female parts will be cast Call Dan Robinson evenings at 728-9332 The Broadhollow Theater is auditioning for and "Sleeping at 8 tonight Bring photographs and resume to the theater 229 Rte 110 Farm-ingdale Call 752-1401 The Long Island Opera Company is auditioning singers for its spring series Instrumentalists are also required Auditions are held from 8 to 10 PM Mondays at Baldwin Junior High School on Pershing Boulevard Call 481-3246 after 6 PM The Singing Boys of Long Island are recruiting new members between the ages of 8 and 15 for the preparatory choir Those interested are invited to attend rehearsals 4-6 PM Tuesdays in Huntington and during the same hours Wednesdays in Hicksville For more details call 731-0298 A director for Neil "The Odd is being sought by the Carriage House Players of Stony Brook Call Frank Kelly at 751-5448 Part jjq.