Lying low in L.A.:Diane Sawyer’s recent TV...

Lying low in L.A.:

Diane Sawyer’s recent TV interview with Sammy “the Bull” Gravano was at a supposedly secret location identified only as “an inn in a remote valley in California.” After all, Gravano, whose testimony sent John Gotti to the Big House, is in hiding. One possible problem (at least from the Bull’s point of view)--as columnist Diane Bell reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, “sharp San Diego viewers could easily place Gravano . . . walking beside Balboa Park’s lily pond.”

Is it time to find a new home for Gravano? If so, why not in the L.A. area? There are numerous hideaway spots here. For instance, Gravano wouldn’t have to worry about running into people if he:

* Rode the Metro Green Line.

* Attended an Angels game at Anaheim Stadium.

* Went sight-seeing in downtown L.A. on a weekend.

* Drove in the diamond lane on any freeway.

* Boarded the Queen Mary.

* Parked in the Disney Concert Hall garage.

* Visited any theater showing “McHale’s Navy.”

SHOOT: John Walsh of Hollywood sent along an unusual notice his apartment received from the L.A. Film Office (see excerpt). It guaranteed only “minimal gunfire.” Would anyone in L.A. even notice?

Incidentally, we must congratulate Hollywood for its restraint--after all,

the movie makers waited almost seven weeks after the actual North Hollywood shootout to begin work on the

film version.

COOING--AND DUELING--EGOS: Brooke Shields, who married tennis star Andre Agassi the other day, is one of many actresses who have wed athletes. Some others (with the length of the marriage in parentheses):

* Debbie Allen: Lakers star Norm Nixon (1984-present)

* Halle Berry: Baseball player David Justice (1993-1996)

* Laraine Day: Baseball player/manager Leo Durocher (1947-1960)

* Robin Givens: Boxer Mike Tyson (1988-1989)

* Marilyn Monroe: Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio (1954; lasted nine months)

* Tatum O’Neal: Tennis player John McEnroe (1986-1993)

* Jane Russell: UCLA/Rams football star Bob Waterfield (1943-1968)

* Estelle Taylor: Boxer Jack Dempsey (1925-1931)

THE BIG MICROWAVE: Julian Myers of Century City feels the folks marketing “Volcano,” the movie about the big lava slide down Wilshire Boulevard, need to update their billboard proclamation to reflect eating trends. “The Coast Is Toast” should be dumped, he says. “Nowadays,” he explains, “the ads should read ‘The Coast Is Bagels.’ ”

miscelLAny

Among the vintage items featured in the 50th anniversary issue of the Park Labrea News was a 1963 ad for a new Ford that came “fully equipped” with such luxuries as a radio, side-view mirror and turn signals. Pretty primitive. On the other hand, try to find a 1998 model with volcano sensors.