By E. Graydon Carter

No, Dan Pastorini, 33, is not filling in for U.S.C.'s Trojan mascot. But it's a thought. The former pro quarterback, late of the Houston Oilers, the Oakland Raiders and the Los Angeles Rams, will be a guest star this fall as Spartacus on Voyagers!, NBC's Sunday-night entry in its onetime Walt Disney time slot. In his previous off-the-field forays, Pastorini has racked up headlines for reckless driving, posing seminude for Playgirl magazine, having a couple of run-ins with a

Houston reporter about half his size, and losing control of a speedboat that killed two bystanders. The bulk of Pastorini's talents will no doubt be strained to the utmost, along with his pectorals, by his role in Voyagers!, a man-lost-in-time rehash. It will require him to look mean and wield a big sword. Is it possible to typecast an actor so early in his career?

For a while now, Diana, Princess of Wales, has known that some day her prints would come, and lo, last week, on the first anniversary of her wedding to Prince Charles, the first official photographs were released of five-week-old Prince William of Wales. They were indeed charming. Snuggled twixt the Princess, 21, and the Prince, 33, bright-eyed William Arthur Philip Louis appeared somewhat perplexed by his photo debut. But "Sweet William," as the London press has dubbed him, will probably get used to such attention. This week on another important family occasion, the 82nd birthday of his great-grandmum, the Queen Mother, the little Prince will have his christening at Buckingham Palace. But unlike many an event in his busy life to come, it will not be televised.

The $3.25 million price was the largest ever paid for an American painting. But what would no doubt please Painter Samuel F.B. Morse more is the fact that his canvas Gallery of the Louvre has been plucked from dusty storage at Syracuse University, and will now be displayed with due fanfare by its new owner, Daniel J. Terra, 71, at his two-year-old Terra Museum of American Art in Evanston, Ill. The painting was meant to be a sort of early-American effort at cultural packaging: 38 of the world's greatest masterpieces all on one canvas. Depicted, in remarkable detail, are the works of such artists as Da Vinci, Rubens, Raphael, Titian and Rembrandt. Conceived by Morse and Novelist James Fenimore Cooper (the creator along with Cooper and his family are the spectators in the work), Gallery was painted by Morse in 1832, about the same time he turned his inventive talents to the telegraph and Morse code. Terra, a chemical industry magnate who is President Reagan's ambassador-at-large for cultural affairs, bought the work (with his own money) in the hope of fulfilling Morse and Cooper's dream. Says the happy new owner: "Here you have these two great figures of their time trying to bring European culture to America. I hope it's a bit like my job."

Led by their lissome 5-ft. 8-in. ace, the Chinese tennis team scored an upset victory over the Japanese in the first round of the 32-nation Federation Cup in Santa Clara, Calif. In the second round, however, as expected, West Germany beat China. The team disappeared from the competition. And Hu Na, 19, disappeared from the team. She was, in fact, defecting to the U.S. For American immigration officials. Hu's decision put the ball in their court with a tricky bit of backspin, since approval of her request will imply a certain level of political persecution back home. Her attorneys dismiss speculation that her motives involve net financial gain. Still, Hu is considered by some to be one of the top 20 women players in the world. As a top pro manager points out, "It's difficult to judge from her past performances, but she may be able to play in the top ranks. Don't forget that the last player the circuit got after a defection was Martina Navratilova, who has made about $4 million since she defected in 1975."

--By E. Graydon Carter

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