FIRST OFF . . .

Actor Timothy Bottoms won’t be charged with waving a pistol at a motorist because it can’t be proved the weapon was displayed in an improper manner, a prosecutor said Tuesday. “He did have a gun, but he didn’t display it in a rude, angry or threatening manner as required,” said Deputy District Attorney Don Grant. Bottoms was booked for investigation of brandishing a gun on a road, a felony, and carrying a loaded weapon, a misdemeanor, after a motorist told the California Highway Patrol he was confronted by the actor on U.S. 101 on May 10. “The case was rejected by our office for the reason that, based upon the facts in the case, we felt we couldn’t prove it,” Grant said. Bottoms had a .22-caliber pistol and ammunition in his station wagon when it was pulled over by CHP officers, but the weapon wasn’t loaded, Grant said. Bottoms, 37, made his film debut in 1971 in the movie “Johnny Got His Gun,” the same year he appeared in “The Last Picture Show.” His other films include “The Paper Chase” in 1973 and “Invaders From Mars” in 1986.