NAMES IN THE NEWS : Goldie Hawn Looks to New Career

Goldie Hawn, the go-go dancer who turned a wide-eyed dumb blonde routine into a string of hit movies in the 1970s, is hoping to revitalize her career in the 1990s.

“I didn’t become a movie star because I made people cry or because I had some incredible romantic persona,” Hawn said in an interview in the May issue of Fame magazine. “I came on the scene with an effervescence and a lightness and an ability to elevate spirits, which, by the way, I do not sell short.”

After success with “Cactus Flower,” “Shampoo,” “Butterflies Are Free” and “Private Benjamin,” she starred in a series of movies--”Swing Shift,” “Overboard” and others--that she admits were disappointing.

But Hawn, 44, has a slew of projects in the works, including a comedy with Mel Gibson, “Bird on a Wire,” which opens next month, and a seven-film deal with Disney’s Hollywood Pictures.