PEOPLE

By Belinda Luscombe

JIM CARRIES HER AWAY

After a relationship that was on and then off and then maybe on maybe off, JIM CARREY and LAUREN HOLLY have decided to wed. Carrey, 34, whose previous amours include Linda Ronstadt and ex-wife Melissa Womer, proposed on July 21 to Holly, 32, who was in Dumb & Dumber with him and was formerly married to Danny Quinn, Anthony's son. "Despite the sometimes mind-boggling excitement I now face on a day-to-day basis, I am striving to live a loving and honorable life," says the unusually straight-faced actor. "Lauren is my proof and my reward."

IS THAT YOU, GEORGE?

JASON ALEXANDER, right, has made a career of doing things most people fear would make them look ridiculous. His resume includes the "Pretzel Boy" commercials and Seinfeld's George, the most morally vacuous character on TV. So it's no big deal to squeeze into a tutu with a bunch of other guys, including JOHN GLOVER, and pretend to dance Swan Lake. (Except that tutus are "very uncomfortable and no outfit for a pretty girl," says Alexander.) The film version of Terrence McNally's Love! Valour! Compassion!, a play that deals with life, aids and death, is a departure from Alexander's more family-oriented work. "I look for one moment I have to play," says Alexander of his roles. "A couple of lines or an exchange. This film happens to have a lot of them."

DOES BRANDY KNOW ABOUT THIS?

In a country that likes its teen singing stars mass-produced, KYOKO DATE is unique. The perky Japanese teenager sings, speaks several languages and works 24 hours a day. Months before her debut, she was besieged with requests for interviews and TV appearances. "The surge of interest in an unknown talent is unprecedented," says manager Yoshitaka Hori. But Date isn't superhuman. In fact, she isn't human at all. A Tokyo talent agency created her, using all the characteristics its departments wanted in a star, plus some computer wizardry. When the computer graphics are finished, she'll release her first CD. Then she'll star in video and computer games. After that, pick your own scandal.

SEEN & HEARD

It was a gray week for Primary Colors author and Newsweek columnist Joe Klein. First the magazine told the former Anonymous to give (temporarily) his writing fingers a rest. Then, sensing a little resentment over at CBS, Klein quit as political commentator. Said Klein in his resignation letter: "I feel a strong need to simplify my life at this point."

Tracey Brown has learned a lot about her late father, Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, since she started writing his biography. "Everyone's jumping in with anecdotes," says Brown, a deputy D.A. in Los Angeles. That includes Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. So far, it's all been good, which suits her. "It's a tribute," she says. "I'm not going to dog him out."