Julia and Lyle Leave It
Jaws dropped when LYLE LOVETT and a barefoot JULIA ROBERTS married secretly and suddenly in Marion, Indiana, in June 1993. Eyelids barely batted, however, when they announced their separation last week. "We remain close and in great support of one another," said the couple in a statement. The union between the country singer with the sharp lyrics and the Pretty Woman star with the big smile was regarded as unconventional at best and as doomed from the start by most. Though often publicly avowing their affection, the two spent little time together in recent months. No reason for the separation was given, but students of celebrity mismatches can look for clues in an early Lovett song: "If I were the man she wanted, I wouldn't be the man I am."
Giving Oscar a Charge
For all their benefits, American Express Gold Cards aren't very comfortable. Australian designer LIZZY GARDINER found that out when she wore a frock made of 254 of them to the Academy Awards, where she and TIM CHAPPEL won an Oscar for their costumes for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. "I'm broke, and I didn't have anything to wear," says Gardiner. "So I went through my list of past good ideas." Each card was in her name but had a digit missing, making it invalid. Still, the outfit may have a practical use. "I'm selling it," she says. "It's going to pay my rent for a few months."
SEEN & HEARD
When Argentine soccer star DIEGO MARADONA vanished for three days, President Carlos Saul Menem personally endorsed a search. Maradona turned up behind the locked door of a Buenos Aires hotel room, refusing to leave. He finally emerged after much pleading.
MAUREEN MCCORMICK'S debut album, When You Get a Little Lonely, is out this week. The former Marcia of TV's The Brady Bunch plans to tour but won't take any requests for TV themes.
O.K., Everyone, Say Cheesy
Even the most acrimonious of rifts can be put behind one for the right cause--pizza, for example. DONALD and IVANA TRUMP, showing a newfound maturity, have reunited for a Pizza Hut commercial. And for about $1 million, which they say will go to charity. The ad, which first aired last weekend, features Ivana asking her ex for a slice. "Actually, you're only entitled to half," he responds. Maalox, anyone?