BEEN THERE: If you don’t quite see...

BEEN THERE: If you don’t quite see British actor Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon in the new Oliver Stone movie, “Nixon,” to some across the Atlantic it comes as no surprise. After all, says William Cash for London’s Daily Telegraph, Hopkins played the evil Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs.” . . . Cash adds: “The real reason Brits play villains with so much polished style is that we are used to decay--we can step back and satirise our condition.” . . . Stone returned to the United States for an actor to play Nixon chief of staff H.R. Haldeman: James Woods, with a crew cut.

GETTING AWARE: It doesn’t substitute for a doctor if you need one, but Anaheim Memorial Hospital has a new health information line called WellAware--(800) 562-3338. You can call for quick information on 1,000 medical problems. . . . The recorded information tells you how to punch up all of them. . . . What do callers want to know about? Spokeswoman Louri Puragganan says impotence and back pain head the list.

DOUBLE EDGES: The popularity of Cal State Fullerton art professor Frank E. Cummings III is documented by the many turned away when his classes fill up. Now Cummings finds his efforts appreciated in Washington. . . . He was a recent guest at the White House after the Clintons asked to keep one of his sculpture pieces on display there. Also: Cummings’ “On the Edge Naturally,” a self-portrait carved in 18K gold, recently went on display at the Smithsonian Institution. He sold it for $25,000.

AFTER ITO: By day, Kitty Felde covers the O.J. Simpson trial for Santa Monica radio station KCRW (89.9 FM). But after hours, the 1976 UC Irvine drama graduate is a playwright. Felde’s latest work: “Bum’s Rush”--a musical based on the Dodgers’ move to Los Angeles. Sunday and Monday nights, a reading of the work will be staged at Theater of N.O.T.E. in Hollywood. It was started in 1981 by Felde and one of her UC Irvine drama classmates, Kevin Carr.