A BIT OF A FIT OVER PITT SPLIT
Just when it seemed like BRAD PITT and GWYNETH PALTROW were moving so smoothly into becoming one flesh that they even had the same haircut, they abruptly called it all off. His publicist released a statement confirming that one of the most publicly doting and doted upon couples was a twosome no more. "They've been split up for three weeks," says the spokeswoman. "Brad told me it wasn't over any one thing." What split the Pitts became the week's favorite guessing game, with answers ranging from new co-stars (Pitt is currently in New York City making Meet Joe Black) to suggestions that it's all a ploy designed to distract the press from what would have been the year's most ogled nuptials. Pitt already faced one unwelcome torrent of attention this month when it was revealed that Heinrich Harrer, the character he plays in Seven Years in Tibet, who is meant to be a good guy, went on to serve the Third Reich in real life. As for Duets, in which he was supposed to star with Paltrow and be directed by her dad Bruce--awkward as it sounds--his publicist says he will fulfill his obligations. After all, the show must go on.
SUNSET RIDER
RONALD REAGAN faced down his share of opponents, both foreign and domestic, onscreen and off, but there are some fights that even the strongest men can't win. While age and Alzheimer's are chipping away at the former President's mind and body, his spirit still responds to one of his first loves: horses. Perhaps taking heed of his own oft-quoted advice, "There's nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse," Reagan, 86, recently made a rare public appearance at a polo match between Santa Monica and Brentwood, played at Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades, Calif. And although he had to be guided around by helpers, it was clear from the warm greetings he received that no matter what, nobody had forgotten him.
DAD HAS HIS DAY
Its popularity has critics baffled, but Butterfly Kisses is all set to become the Macarena of 1997. The song, a tribute from a father, BOB CARLISLE, to his daughter BROOKE on her 16th birthday, may be syrupy enough to serve with waffles, but it has touched enough people's hearts that the album has bounded up to the top position on the SoundScan album charts, where one normally expects to find discs by deceased hip-hop artists and Beatles anthologies. Carlisle, a Christian musician whose records have sold respectably for 20 years, has paid off his mortgage and bought a nicer vehicle. "As wonderful as this is," he says, "my life does not revolve around having a hit record. If it all went away, I'd sniffle for a couple of days, but that's all." Carlisle is now planning to write a song for his son Evan, 10. "We joke that I'll call it, Get Down off of That," he says.
SPIES LIKE THEM, AGAIN