PEOPLE WATCHNo ‘Margaritaville’ There: Singer Jimmy Buffett’s...

PEOPLE WATCH

No ‘Margaritaville’ There: Singer Jimmy Buffett’s seaplane was shot at Tuesday by Jamaican police who apparently thought drug traffickers were landing in the sea off the Caribbean nation’s west coast. Commissioner Col. Trevor MacMillan said Wednesday that police opened fire after receiving an anonymous tip. Buffett had left the aircraft before the shooting, and no one was injured, MacMillan said, adding: “Aircraft come in here regularly on ganja [marijuana] missions. Thank God no one was hurt. It was an incident we regret most sincerely.”

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Flu Can’t Erase Birthday Humor: Sidelined by the flu, George Burns missed his 100th birthday bash at Beverly Hills’ Four Seasons Hotel Tuesday night. But the dinner went on, and Burns issued a statement in lieu of attending: “As this big day came closer and closer, people kept asking me what I would like for my 100th birthday. What do you give a man who’s been so blessed? Another 100 years? A night with Sharon Stone?” The comedian actually turns 100 on Saturday, and to mark the occasion, the Laurence Network Corp. (1-800-300-0706) has minted a limited edition 24-karat gold-plated medallion featuring a relief of the cigar-smoking centenarian along with his signature.

TV & VIDEO

Dirty Donald?: Did the beloved Disney character Donald Duck quack up an expletive in the cartoon “Clock Cleaners,” which appears on the Walt Disney Cartoon Classics series’ video “Fun on the Job”? The Walmart retail chain thinks so and has pulled the video from its stores nationwide. Meanwhile, Walmart is currently working with Buena Vista Home Video to determine what Donald is actually uttering in one scene. Donald E. Wildmon, president of the conservative media watchdog group, the American Family Assn., also believes Donald utters the “F-word” and has asked Disney to pull the video from circulation. Disney declined to comment Wednesday.

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Hidden ‘Late Shift’: According to Washington Post TV Critic Tom Shales, you had to get up pretty early to see the unofficial premiere of “The Late Shift,” HBO’s new movie about the battle between David Letterman and Jay Leno to succeed Johnny Carson as host of “The Tonight Show.” The film, based on a book by Bill Carter, is technically scheduled to debut on HBO on Feb. 24. But during the last week of 1995, the film showed up twice on HBO’s two other networks, HBO 2 and HBO 3, which are available only on large-capacity cable systems. Both airings occurred around 4 a.m., under the listing, “To Be Announced.” An HBO executive said the reason for the premature premiere had to do with accounting; HBO wanted to charge the film off under 1995 expenses.

POP/ROCK

Pop Chart: The long struggle by the British rock band Oasis to duplicate its superstar status in the United States may finally be bearing fruit. The band’s album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”--fueled by the saturation radio airplay of its “Wonderwall” single--broke into the U.S. Top 10 last week. The album sold 64,000 copies, placing it No. 9. Meanwhile, the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack sold 174,000 copies last week and tops the album sales chart for the second week in a row.

QUICK TAKES

Actor Kirk Douglas and animator Chuck Jones have been voted honorary Oscars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors. Douglas, a three-time best actor nominee, will be honored for his “50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community,” while Jones will be recognized for “the creation of classic . . . cartoon characters [including Bugs Bunny] whose animated lives have brought joy to our real ones for more than half a century.” Both will receive their awards during the March 25 Oscar telecast. . . . After a 29-year run, Phil Donahue decided Wednesday to call it quits on his daily talk show at the end of this season. The move was not unexpected: “Donahue” has fallen in the ratings over the past few years and had lost some key stations, including KNBC-TV Channel 4, which plans to drop it in the next few months. Multimedia Entertainment, which syndicates the program, said that Donahue will be doing a variety of specials and some new projects in both broadcasting and cable. . . . Christopher Reeve, paralyzed since a horseback riding accident last May, was being treated Wednesday for Autonomic Dyrseflexia, a condition that causes blood pressure to swing from high to low and if not treated can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Reeve was taken by ambulance Tuesday to New Jersey’s Northern Westchester Medical Center; a hospital spokeswoman said Reeve was in stable condition Wednesday and that the ambulance was used only for transportation, not because of any emergency situation. . . . The San Diego Symphony has delayed filing for bankruptcy until next week, still hoping to find donors to bail out the destitute orchestra, the city’s oldest performing arts institution. The board last week had voted to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy Jan. 16 unless $3 million in donations were received.