Lord Snowdon would prefer to be known as a photographer rather than as the man who had such a tough go of it with Princess Margaret. Over the years, Rudolf Nureyev has been one of his most fascinating subjects, so when Gentlemen's Quarterly asked him to photograph Nureyev on the set of Valentino, Snowdon enthusiastically complied. Recalls Nureyev: "For three days of filming he followed us, from the makeup session at 6 a.m. until the end of the shooting. He virtually sank into the background with the technicians and cameramen." More to Snowdon's liking, it seems, than sinking into the background of the Queen's court.

You remember the fairy tale: the beautiful American movie star marries a European prince and devotes her life to motherhood, good works and society balls. That's why NBC is calling the life story of Princess Grace Once Upon a Time Is Now. The 90-minute special airing May 22 is a melange of old movie clips, photographs, and interviews with Grace, 47, Prince Rainier, Alfred Hitchcock (who directed three of her films) and William Holden and James Stewart, two of her costars. Hostess and narrator of the show is Lee Grant. "Princess Grace is not a cardboard personality," insists Lee. "The public image of her sailing off into a glowing sunset to live happily ever after is nonsense."

Margaux Hemingway was there, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Husband Mick and 150 or so other of Bianca Jogger's friends and loved ones. The occasion was her birthday (27 by her count, 32 by others), and Manhattan's Studio 54 discotheque was festooned with balloons and ballasted with artificial snow. A twin-towered, castle-shaped cake awaited Bianca, who pranced around on a white stallion. Said she: "It was the most marvelous party I have ever had."

"I don't know why I stayed away so long," said Andrew Wyeth, 59, on his first trip to Europe. The artist flew to Paris on the Concorde, caught the floor show at the Lido and strolled around the city. "The intricacy of the buildings fascinates me," he reflected. "It's such a contrast to New England with its simplicity." With the help of Sons Nicholas and Jamie, Wyeth readied himself for the real reason for his visit: his induction into the prestigious Academic des Beaux-Arts. Only the second American painter to receive the honor--the first was John Singer Sargent--Wyeth gamely spruced up in the member's uniform, a style decreed by Napoleon: a dress suit richly embroidered with gold. "Splendid," beamed the artist, tucking the traditional bicorne under his arm. "I'll wear it to every dinner party."

One good Cowboy is worth four of anything else. The Dallas team traded four choices in the N.F.L. draft last week for the rights to the University of Pittsburgh's halfback Tony Dorsett. Flying down to whoop it up in Texas, he did not seem bothered in the least that Southern California's Ricky Bell, 22, who will go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, beat him out as the No. 1 draft choice. After all, Dorsett, 22, had squeezed out Bell six months ago to win the Heisman Trophy. "I don't care what Bell gets, and I hope people won't compare us," says the Pittsburgh streak, happy to be on a team with a shot at the Super Bowl. Dorsett is still negotiating his contract, but he is already planning what to do with the money: buy a house for his parents in Aliquippa, Pa., and set up a trust fund for his son Anthony, 3 1/2.

Grammy Award Winner Olivia Newton-John, 28, has had three platinum albums and flies to concerts in a Learjet. Her latest foray was to a hoe-down at Manhattan's Metropolitan Opera House, where she belted out her slick country pop to a sold-out audience. But the Met is not enough. Like many superstar singers, Olivia wants to move on--to the movies, of course. She has even mapped out her dream role: starring in a musical comedy western in period costumes. "Twenty years ago, they were making plenty of movies like that," she sighs. "I guess I was born in the wrong era."

"Swathe me in silk," commanded Actress Jacqueline Bisset. Designer Halston draped her instantly in a shimmering apricot sheath. The two were having a little tete-`a-tete last week over sketches for Jackie's costumes in her next film, The Greek Tycoon. Halston agreed to take on the job, he says, because "Jackie plays a very fashionable character, the affluent public-figure type. I know that woman. I dress her." Could "that woman" possibly be Jacqueline Onassis? "My character is fictional," deadpans Bisset. "She is married to a Senator and she later becomes First Lady. She loses her husband and remarries a Greek tycoon." Any reference to persons living or dead, as they say, is strictly coincidental.

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