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Even Guru Ma ha raj Ji, 17, Perfect Master of the Divine Light Mission and well-known lover of sports cars, cabin cruisers and good living, may soon face some economic problems. At least he will if a British Columbia court believes Michael Garson, 35, the guru's former financial analyst. Garson claims that the mission has been more than $240,000 in debt for over a year and its donations declining. He testified as a witness in a case seeking to prevent U.S. Heiress Darby McNeal, 31, now a British Columbia resident, from signing over an estimated $400,000 inheritance to the Divine Light Mission. Each week about $35,000 in donations and income flow into the mission's Denver headquarters, said Garson, and "approximately 60% of the gross receipts are directed to maintain the life-style of the Maharaj Ji and those close to him. So far as I could see, the whole function of the organization was to provide an opulent existence for the Maharaj Ji."
Hollywood nostalgia continues to flourish, this time in a movie about the real-life love affair between the glamour king and queen of the '30s: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. Last week Universal Pictures announced the signing of Actor James Brolin (of TV's Marcus Welby, M.D.) and Actress Jill Clayburgh (of Broadway's Pippin) for the title roles in Lombard and Gable. Director Sidney Furie spent five months interviewing 108 actors and actresses and watching over 100 film clips of would-be contenders before settling on his cast. "They dyed my hair blonde and cleaned my teeth, and now I'm ready to be a great and glamorous star," laughs Clayburgh. Brolin faces different problems. "Gable was a happy guy, worked strongly from his teeth, which were false, by the way. I'll work through my own teeth," he promised, "but they are going to put some plaster behind my ears to make them stick out a bit."