Receding Proceeding
Toupee, or not toupee?
That was the only question that seemed to be on most observers’ minds last week when former junk-bond financier Michael Milken emerged publicly for the first time since going to prison for securities fraud to testify in a New York trial.
Milken did indeed show up without his hairpiece (banned by prison authorities), prompting gasps from the courtroom (at least according to one breathless account).
An artist’s drawing of the bald Milken has added a twist to a much-discussed question: Who will portray Milken should Hollywood ever make a film about him?
Based on what we saw, our vote goes to either actor Alan Rachins of the television series “L.A. Law” or “Dangerous Liaisons” film star John Malkovich.
Not the Real Thing
Coca-Cola last week sent out an announcement touting a 30-second diet Coke commercial to be released in tandem with the upcoming film “Batman Returns.” The ad, Coca-Cola said, features Batman and his nemesis, the Catwoman.
Warner Bros., the studio releasing the long-awaited sequel, didn’t like that. They prefer the word mysterious to describe the villainess. Before you could say “Holy white-out!,” Coca-Cola scrambled to substitute descriptions.
Explaining such mysterious corporate behavior, a spokesman for Coca-Cola said, “Warner is positioning Catwoman as mysterious, not as a nemesis, and we wanted to be consistent with that.”
Frank’s Place
Anyone interested in walking the boards once walked on by the chairman of the board has a chance Saturday when a former Frank Sinatra estate near Palm Desert goes on the block in a trustee-ordered auction.
Sinatra has long since given up ownership, having donated it years ago to Loyola Marymount University, which itself later sold the estate. Included is a main house, seven bedrooms, 12 1/2 baths, a guest house and a helipad (which for now can’t be used because the neighbors have an injunction preventing it).
According to the sellers and sales documents, the home was bought for $1.4 million in 1989 by a Japanese real estate executive with an obsession for Sinatra who never even visited the home, purportedly because of a fear of flying in airplanes. The businessman eventually defaulted on the first trust deed, they said, prompting foreclosure that led to the sale.
Those with a little less money to spend on celebrity-related investments can show at the Burbank Hilton this Sunday for an auction of the original Batman costume worn by Adam West’s stunt double in the 1960s television show.
No word on whether the costume of Batman’s mysterious nemesis will be auctioned off as well.
Briefly . . .
UCLA Extension is offering a seminar titled “Life After Debt” . . . Minnesota insurer St. Paul Cos. has grabbed the former “SPC” ticker symbol used by Security Pacific before its acquisition in April by BankAmerica . . . “King of Torts” Melvin Belli, criticizing Bank of America’s new policy of forcing customers to arbitrate disputes, said the bank “doesn’t believe in lawyers, judges or the legal system.”
