People

By Ellin Martens Sunday, Apr. 22, 2001
    • Beauty and the Bombshells
    Miss Israel, ILANIT LEVY, won't catch any flak in the Miss Universe competition May 11--though she may get some piercing stares from the other contestants in Puerto Rico. The blond 18-year-old from Haifa, a soldier in the Israeli army, plans to wear a bulletproof gown created by Tel Aviv designer Galit Levi. The silk animal-print dress, shown here on Levy, is covered with an Israeli army-issue flak jacket embroidered with diamonds and pearls for a "softer look." The designer wants to send a message that everyday life should go on despite the latest outbreaks of violence in the Middle East. Levi has created similar Miss Universe dresses. She adorned the gown of 1998's Miss Israel with the faces of Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton. Her 1999 effort--worn by the first Arab Miss Israel--featured a Star of David. The heavy-duty 2001 creation could also keep Miss Israel safe from the roving eye of pageant director Donald Trump.

    Psychedelic Wing
    The plot lines on the Emmy Award-winning West Wing have so far resembled depictions of politics straight out of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. But soon they may look more like Traffic. AARON SORKIN--the White House drama's creator, executive producer and writer--was arrested at a Burbank, Calif., airport-security checkpoint as he was about to board a plane to Las Vegas. Inside his carryon: "illicit mushrooms," according to officials, and not the kind you'd serve at a state dinner. Upon being searched, Sorkin fainted briefly; he was later released on $10,000 bond. To add to the chagrin of one of the most critically acclaimed men in Hollywood, just two months ago he'd been given an award for overcoming drug abuse and encouraging other addicts to do the same. Can Sorkin write his way out of this one?

    In Spring a Young Man's Thoughts Turn to Friends
    Just how desperate is Friends to win its ratings battle against Survivor? This Thursday two-time Oscar nominee WINONA RYDER guest stars as the former sorority sister of Rachel (played by JENNIFER ANISTON, Mrs. Brad Pitt). Seems these two have more in common than chunky blond highlights: their characters shared a collegiate (but not collegial) drunken kiss. Will they kiss again? Better question: Why is Ryder--ex-roommate of Gwyneth Paltrow, whose heart was broken by Pitt--now lip locking with Pitt's bride? Rumors have circulated that Ryder and Paltrow had an unpleasant falling out. Could Ryder have picked up ideas about tribal vengeance from Survivor?

    Al Gore's Post-Traumatic Stretch Disorder
    First you cry. Then you rip into the Scooter Pies. This, at least, seems to have been the case with AL GORE, the previously pumped-up Vice President. After the Supreme Court stood him up in December--for only the biggest date of his entire life--Al coddled his inner child with food, a behavioral trait that may explain why he won so much sympathy from women. Two months later, arriving for his new job at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in tweedy sartorial splendor, it was Hello Mr. Chips and glad to meet them Little Debbies. By semester's end it was clear that Professor Gore's girth was no longer in the balance. One student, noting the lack of a controlling eating authority, told the Daily News, "His suits are definitely at least two sizes too small. I'd say he's put on, like, 30 lbs." Another estimate put the tab at 40. And yet it's oddly comforting to see that the formerly lean, mean fighting machine is human after all.