By Guy D. Garcia

It seemed a simple enough stunt, so simple that Actress Kate Nelligan, 33, was determined to run the explosive course herself. On location in Spain, the actress was playing the title role in Eleni, the film of Nicholas Gage's book about his Greek mother (she was executed in 1948 by Communist rebels who had occupied her village after World War II). In the scene simulating an artillery attack by government forces, Nelligan "decided to liven it up with some clever falls I devised for myself, including somersaults when the mines and bullets were near misses." By the time the sequence had been reshot 15 times, however, the repeated falls had left her with a swollen ankle and hip. The scene ended with a soldier stealing a loaf of bread from Nelligan, who found herself nearly as worn out as her character might have been. "I was so bruised that every part of me hurt," says she. "They could have taken whatever they liked."

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"It's like a cool shower after the heat of the marathon." That is how Comedian-Actress Whoopi Goldberg, 34, describes her Cinderella-like transformation from obscure performance artist to star of her own one-woman Broadway show. Like the drug addicts, Valley Girls, cripples and others she portrays, Goldberg is no stranger to life's vicissitudes. "I am my show," she explains. "The characters I play on the stage have been on a long trek of self-discovery." A native New Yorker, she performed in small theaters on both coasts before being Great-White-Wayed by Mike Nichols, who oversaw the new production. Goldberg's natural sense of humor did not find much to laugh at or learn from negative critics "who have assessed my work in New York. There is nothing in their works that can help me improve my performance."

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"When special people ask me to do special things I do them," says Veronica Ali, 28, the third wife of former Heavyweight Champ Muhammad Ali. One of those special people is French Fashion Designer Andre Courreges, whose clothes she agreed to model for the opening of his boutique in New York City. In fact, she is getting asked to do more and more modeling and TV commercial work, including spots for Chrysler and Crystal Light diet drink. She is even taking acting lessons. Does her Black Muslim husband approve? "He knows I'm selective and he knows I'll make the right decision," says Ali, who adds that the current leader of the American Muslim Mission, Iman W. Deen Muhammad, "has given women a lot of freedom to go out and do things, not just stay at home. Now that the kids are no longer infants [they are six and seven], I have a lot of free time."

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Men have long envied his ability to complete a pass, but even though the enduringly eligible bachelor has finally been sacked, Joe Namath, 41, still managed to honeymoon in the fast lane. After their marriage in a private poolside ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he and his new bride, Actress Deborah Lynn Mays, 22, were off to do a recruiting film for the University of Alabama and watch his alma mater lose again. Next week they will be in New York City, where Namath unveils his own line of underwear. Well actually, it was Namath who was unveiled to pose for the ads, but he won't repeat that show during his personal appearances. "In the locker room I don't mind standing around in my underwear," says Namath. "But it's a little different when you're in public.''

--By Guy D. Garcia

On the Record

Bob Guccione, 53, Penthouse publisher: "I was very religious as a child. I even studied for the priesthood. But I soon overcame that."

Barber Conable, 62, retiring Republican U.S. Representative, on Congress: "We don't do anything unless there's a consensus out there that unless we do something, something very bad is going to happen."