‘Rocky’s’ Next Ring Saga Is a Wedding Ceremony

UNROCKY WEDDING--Sylvester Stallone will indeed wed the beauteous Brigitte Nielsen sometime soon--at least before the wedding reception Dec. 15. Details of the ceremony are unknown, but the black-tie reception is being hosted by his good friends Irwin and Margo Winkler and Ron and Ellen Meyer at the Winklers’ Beverly Hills manse. (Winkler produced the “Rocky” saga and Meyer is Stallone’s agent.)

But, puleeze, if you’re lucky enough to be invited, don’t bring a gift. Invitations included instructions to contribute instead to the Stallone Fund for Autism Research--behind which ex-wife Sasha is the moving force.

EVALUATIONS--UCLA has three or four drug trials under way with AIDS patients and it is preliminary to what will be started on a larger scale in January with “seven big drug protocols.” UC Regent Sheldon Andelson said that the $7 million-plus allocated by the state was being processed quickly through the university system--”Considering the large amount of money involved and considering the general slowness of bureaucracy, this is moving very quickly.” Andelson also said that one program is being considered that would involve UC San Diego and USC, and that AIDS patients were being evaluated currently for inclusion in all of these much larger programs.

MEDIA HAPPENINGS--The announcement went up on the board at Channel 4 on Tuesday that reporter Linda Douglass has found a home there. That must mean the station plans to increase its already strong political coverage headed by Saul Halpert. . . . At City News Service, Mike Qualls went off to be City Attorney Jimmy Hahn’s deputy. His place is being taken by Robert Lauffer, and Elaine Lafferty is now covering City Hall. . . .

WEARING OF THE BEV HILLS GREEN--Look who’s signed up as honorary grand marshals for the second annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade organized by restaurateur Jimmy Murphy. None other than President and Mrs. Reagan. No word yet on whether the First Couple actually will be on hand--but organizers are hopeful.

MORE MEDIA HAPPENINGS--The Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, held its 10th annual awards dinner Monday night. Honored: Bill Boyarsky, The Times’ city-county bureau chief, KABC’s Warren Olney and Times investigative reporter Bill Farr, who received the Freedom of Information Award. Perhaps the intros told it best: news anchor Kelly Lange called Farr “a great guy and a wonderful newspaperman”; longtime political writer Richard Bergholz gave Boyarsky a reporter’s highest compliment, saying many times he’d read a Boyarsky story and said, “I wish I had written that.” KABC’s John Babcock introduced Olney with “He brought dignity to TV news reporting.” Cable News Network’s Ted Turner spoke, warning that humanity was “the most endangered species,” then ending with “God bless you and let’s have a lot of fun with journalism.”

NO PLACE CARDS--At Speaker Willie Brown’s Sunday night Century Plaza fund-raiser, somebody made a little mistake with the table placements. At such political fund-raisers, there are always folks who pay but don’t want to sit through the evening. Tables for the expected no-shows are usually stuck on the side. But instead, political observers told us, when diners entered the ballroom, they came upon at least a half-dozen empty tables--tables that stayed empty all evening.

MORE WEDDING BELLS--Susan Pasternak, press aide to Councilwoman Joy Picus, gets wedded Dec. 29--but her hubby will no doubt be understanding of long hours on the political trail. He’s Larry Picus, son of the councilwoman and her husband, Dr. Gerald Picus.

CHICAGO ALERT--Mayor Tom Bradley this week declares Jan. 18 as Chicago Day, in Los Angeles. At least that’s what we hear from folks involved in the Chicago Day Event at the Park Plaza Hotel--all the proceeds of which benefit the City of Hope. Everyone who has ever lived or visited Chicago is invited--but we don’t know if that includes people who have been stuck between planes at O’Hare.

STARS AND STARS--The Thursday night Scopus Awards, benefiting the American Friends of Hebrew University and honoring Peter Ueberroth, will be star packed. Expected are Dinah Shore, Johnny Mathis, George Burns, Gregory Peck, Walter Matthau, James Caan, Rita Moreno and lots of Olympians. The tap is $1,200-a-couple, so they expect to earn quite a bit. . . . When producer-director Robert Greenwald’s daughter brought home a friend, a friend whose parents were alcoholics, the guest stayed six months and Greenwald got the idea for a film. “Shattered Spirits,” starring Martin Sheen, Melinda Dillon and Lukas Haas (the kid from “Witness”) premieres Dec. 13 at the Fox International Theater in Venice. Assemblyman Tom Hayden and wife Jane Fonda host, and folks like John Forsythe are expected.