NAMES IN THE NEWS : Joan Tries, but Phil Misses Cut

Joan Rivers is trying to use her clout to get fellow talk show host Phil Donahue into the country club of his choice. Rivers invited Donahue to the first live broadcast of her show Monday.

Then--on the air--she called the membership chairman of the Pequot Yacht Club in Southport, Conn., the club that nixed the application of Donahue and wife Marlo Thomas. According to a Rivers spokeswoman, the club official claimed that there’s no room for any more members. Said Joan to Phil: “I would take you into my club in a second.”