Brace yourselves for real “Leo” mania. “Titanic,” starring teen heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio, shared top billing in weekend box office receipts with newcomer “The Man in The Iron Mask,” which co-stars DiCaprio, at an estimated $17.5 mil. This was the first time in 12 weeks “Titanic,” which this weekend became the all-time moneymaker, didn’t enjoy domination.
More Leo: So, parents, if you’re DiCaprio-challenged, but your 13-year-old daughter is nuts over the guy, INC. took 10 minutes to read the 23-year-old’s just-out biography (soft cover, 95 pages, big print, lots of pictures) to pass on these nuggets:
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– Says he grew up poor in “Hollywood’s ghettos”;
– German-born mom Irmelin’s pediatrician was Paul Fleiss–as in Heidi’s dad.
– Wheels: BMW silver coupe;
– Favorite drink: lemonade;
– Favorite song: Otis Redding’s “Sitting On the Dock of the Bay.”
– Birth date: Nov. 11, 1974.
NYPD blue: In a show of solidarity with Chicago cops, about 20 of New York’s finest were in Chicago this weekend to march in both St. Patrick’s Day parades–though, judging by names on their badges, not all of them were Irish.
Parade rest: No one can call the Dems’ Dan Hynes, 29-year-old Illinois comptroller candidate, an interloper in Sunday’s South Side St. Patrick’s Day parade. As the son of Tom Hynes, czar of the ward where the parade is held, he’s been marching in it since he could walk. “I think I missed one, but I had a good excuse,” Dan told us. “I was on spring break in college.” More parade: Cook County Board Prez John Stroger (or O’Stroger) was among favored Dems accorded front-row status Sunday. So, rival Cal Sutker, an unwanted challenger, compensated by walking on the sidewalk parallel to Stroger, passing out leaflets and shaking hands. . . . Illinois Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan was the only prominent Republican we noticed. . . . Dem guv candidate Glenn Poshard was in the opening ranks of pols, while John Schmidt rode with State’s Atty. Dick Devine near the rear. Secretary of state candidate Tim McCarthy rode with treasurer candidate Dan McLachlan. . . . The Shannon Rovers, who’ve been everywhere over the weekend, pop up Tuesday–the real St. Patrick’s Day–for an hour in the Palm, where they’ll be on parade.
Club seen: Dennis Rodman and MTVer Carmen Electra, cozy here at Drink and his Illusions nightclub, made the tabloids when they were spotted together on the Bulls’ last trip to New York. She used to be a favorite of Prince. . . . Judging by the turnout for Friday’s farewell party, too bad for Shelter folks they can’t keep their West Side nightclub open. Organizer Lori White says about 500 people were on hand–many for the first time. There were lines till 2 a.m.
Monday birthdays: Isabelle Huppert, 43; Nancy Wilson, 44; Kate Nelligan, 47; Erik Estrada, 49; Bernardo Bertolucci, 58; and Jerry Lewis, 72.
Synergy: Remember when cops from NBC’s two programs “Law & Order” and “Homicide: Life on the Street” combined to solve a crime? Now, CBS’ two set-in-Chicago shows–“Early Edition” and “Chicago Hope”–share a spotlight April 4 when the “Early” cast ends up in “Hope’s” hospital. Fine, but here’s the show we want to see: Medics from NBC’s “ER” and CBS’ “Chicago Hope” docs to be jointly pressed into duty for a calamity.
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“I hate to say it, but sexual promiscuity has always been the medication of choice for the chief executive of the United States. What would you rather have him do–take drugs?”
Actor Alec Baldwin, defending President Clinton in the N.Y. Daily News