"I'm all for being spoiled, and that car is a treat to ride around in," allowed Actor Ben Gazzara after driving to the Chicago premiere of Capone in Big Al's own Cadillac limousine. The six-ton, bulletproof car, built in 1928 and later used by President Franklin Roosevelt, had been specially shipped in for the premiere from its permanent display place in Niagara Falls, Canada. "I'd love to have it for city driving," quipped Gazzara, who came to the screening decked out in a Capone-style pin-stripe suit, full-length rabbit coat, and half of the extra 20 lbs. he had put on for his role. The fans seemed more interested in the limo than the leading man; after giving Gazzara a polite moment of applause, they quickly crowded round for a close look at the $150,000 mobstermobile.

He may be playing second fiddle in Britain's Conservative Party these days, but former Prime Minister Edward Heath still calls the tune occasionally. Heath, who was ousted as head of the Conservatives in February, made his continental debut as a symphony conductor last week before sellout audiences in Bonn and Cologne. At the invitation of Maestro Andre Previn, Heath led the London Symphony Orchestra through a 15-minute performance of Elgar's Cockaigne overture while West German TV cameras recorded the event. "Scintillating," applauded Bonn's General-Anzeiger. "Heath probably took Richard

Strauss's advice that economy of gesture can be more effective than the manners of the grand dompteur," praised Die Welt. Heath, who won an organ scholarship at Oxford in the 1930s, had a ready explanation for his greater success as conductor than Conservative Party leader. "The orchestra has 120 musicians," he observed, "and Conservatives in the House of Commons number 276."

Helping launch the nation's Bicentennial bash, President Gerald Ford took part in ceremonies in Boston's Old

North Church and at Lexington and Concord, Mass., where 200 years ago the Minutemen drove off the redcoats with the shots heard round the world. Fifes shrilled, drums rolled and the sharp crackle of musket fire sounded across the New England towns as the skirmishes were re-enacted for the benefit of 150,000 spectators. The President reviewed an honor guard of Minutemen on the Lexington Battle Green and placed wreaths to honor both the American and British dead at Concord. He told the celebrators that they had given him "a new spirit and a new strength about our country." Said Ford: "The finest tribute that may ever be paid this nation is that we provided a home for freedom."

"From my experience and that of others, I can say that kidnaping today is a real, solidly based industry." Italian Jeweler Gianni Bulgari knew what he was talking about. He had just spent 31 days as a captive after his abduction during a traffic jam near Rome's Via Veneto. Last week Bulgari, 40, lighter by 20 lbs. and a little over $2 million in ransom, was found tied hand and foot in a stolen Fiat less than 500 yds. from his home in the luxurious Parioli district. He had spent the past month locked in a 6-ft. square cell, he told police, and could not identify his captors. After two days of seclusion, the gaunt businessman emerged to correct reports that his ransom had been a record $16 million. "The astronomical sums reported in the press only provide free advertising and promotion for this new kind of economic enterprise," he said. Bachelor Bulgari, an occasional escort of Gina Lollobrigida and Candice Bergen, then added: "Even if I am wealthy, that doesn't mean to say I am as rich as many have written." Not any more, at least.

"I never thought of it being my fifth Masters title--not until it was over and I was slipping on the green coat," declared Golfer Jack Nicklaus, 35, who collected $40,000 in prize money and one more winner's jacket at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga. Others were more acutely aware of Nicklaus' achievement. "I can't say how I feel," said an anguished Tom Weiskopf, who lost the lead and eventually finished second (for the fourth time), in a tie with Johnny Miller. "How do you describe pain?" For Nicklaus, the tournament's most exhilarating moment came on the 16th green, where the Golden Bear sank a meandering 40-ft. birdie putt, then bounded into a victory dance. Miller, playing one hole behind, was later asked if he had seen his rival's moment of glory. "See it?" he asked. "I had to walk through the bear prints."

For Canada's Pierre Trudeau, the trip to Mont Saint-Gregoire east of Montreal had all the look of the Prime Minister's baby-holding, mama-kissing campaign days. While some 1,000 guests of the Mont Royal Liberal Association picnicked on French Canadian baked beans, crepes and oreilles de krist, Trudeau mixed with the voters, then gulped down a mouthful of the day's specialty --snow-hardened maple syrup. The political party lingered through the day, but Trudeau left early for the return trip to Ottawa and Wife Margaret, who, the Prime Minister's office later revealed, would be giving birth to a new constituent in October.

Portland Trail Blazer Bill Walton has done more dribbling at the mouth than on the court lately, and Oregon basketball fans are fed up. Walton, who had been questioned by the FBI about Fugitive Patty Hearst, appeared at a press conference to denounce the bureau and call for support in "rejection of the United States Government." Later he elaborated: "I meant that people who don't agree with the way the Government does things shouldn't cooperate with it. I don't intend to break the law, but I'm just not going to cooperate with agencies like the FBI when they ask me questions about my friends." Such comments drew some quick foul calls by phone, hundreds of letters, and a few cancellations by season-ticket holders. The $400,000-a-year center "has reaped extraordinary benefits from this system," said team officials in their own public statement. Portland Television Sportscaster Doug Lamear urged the Blazers to exchange one famous vegetarian for another by trading Walton "for Euell Gibbons and a six-pack of carrot juice." That just might be a good deal. Walton, who missed 47 of the Blazers' 82 games this season because of a foot injury, tore ligaments in his left ankle during a pickup basketball game last week and was reassigned to a cast for the offseason.

"I need a lot of money. Not for myself, but for my dancers, so they can look to a future that is not barren." With that, Modern Dance Doyenne Martha Graham, 80, announced a New York benefit in June to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her revolutionary dance company. For the occasion, Graham plans a new work called Lucifer. The fallen angel will be played by Rudolf Nureyev. "It's a little typecasting," observed Graham. "I think Nureyev is a God of Light." His longtime partner, Margot Fonteyn, is also scheduled to make her first appearance with a modern dance company in a smaller role. With tickets starting at $50 and climbing to a robust $10,000 a seat, Graham has persuaded a former student, First Lady Betty Ford, to act as honorary chairperson of the event. "I hope it will succeed," said Graham. "But if it is a failure, I hope it is a big one, a scandal. I don't believe in little failures."

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