Faces to Watch in ’96 : The Year’s in Their Hands : Well, maybe not just theirs (notice we don’t list Jim Carrey). But these artists and entertainers--some you know, some you don’t--are most likely to make some kind of splash in ’96. Ready? Everybody into the pool. : RADIO : Don Buchwald

Don Buchwald is never heard on the air and there’s no picture of him in Howard Stern’s photo-filled bestseller “Miss America.” But he’s a growing presence in the media world as the agent who makes the deals for the most controversial guy in radio.

The publicity-shy Buchwald’s wheeling and dealing will play a pivotal role in 1996 as the raunchy comedian seeks to expand his media conquests beyond radio, books and the E! cable channel to movies and possibly late-night TV.

Stern describes Buchwald as “advisor, savior, business partner” and credits the agent with taking him “out of the gutter of radio with the dream that I could cross over and sit on the throne as the King of All Media.”

“When Howard walked into my office 12 years ago, I thought even then that he was an original who could have mainstream success,” Buchwald says. “He has the ability to attract attention, even from people who don’t like him.”

Buchwald, who is in his mid-50s, is known as a very tough negotiator. Other clients include Stern’s sidekick, Robin Quivers, syndicated radio talk-show host Tom Leykis and deejay-turned-actor Jay Thomas.