PEOPLE

By Belinda Luscombe

FROM SIR, WITH LOVE

He has been everything from a longshoreman to a film director and has played everyone from Thurgood Marshall to Simon of Cyrene, so SIDNEY POITIER's new role shouldn't be that much of a stretch. The actor has been named the Bahamian ambassador to Japan. Poitier has dual American-Bahamian citizenship (his parents were Bahamian tomato farmers who sold their produce in Florida, where he was born). The job does not come with an embassy in Tokyo, and Poitier will practice his diplomacy from the comfort of his own home. But he did pay a visit to Emperor Akihito to present his credentials, and he will get diplomatic immunity while in Japan, so he need never worry about parking tickets. His appointment could spark a new game in Tokyo diplomatic circles: Guess which ambassador is coming to dinner?

THE DAUGHTER ALSO RISES

At 25, her dad was sending girls into fits of hysteria. At 25, her mum was photographing celebrities. At the same tender age, STELLA MCCARTNEY, daughter of Paul and Linda, is taking over from Karl Lagerfeld at the House of Chloe. McCartney had her own fledgling biz, but will work exclusively for the French label. It's not just her famous surname that got her the job. She studied fashion at London's Central St. Martin's College, which is where John Galliano (Christian Dior) and Alexander McQueen (Givenchy) learned their stripes.

SEEN & HEARD

Fame is a fickle dame. Nick Matzorkis, who helped discover the bodies of the Heaven's Gate cult members and finagled that into a TV development deal with ABC, now has to cope with her nastier side. Matzorkis was jailed last week for an alleged probation violation for auto theft in Cleveland. Ohio authorities recognized him on TV. His publicist told the Los Angeles Times that the TV deal would not be affected.

Kindheartedness isn't the most renowned idiosyncrasy of New York City cabdrivers, but Placido Domingo lucked out when he left his briefcase in the back of a Gotham taxi. Driver Kobina Wood turned in the case, which contained family pictures, copies of the prayers Domingo says before each performance and the score of the show he's currently performing. The tenor sent the cabby tickets. Another opera fan is born.

BOLTON'S SECRET VICES REVEALED!

Exactly how badass and hard-rocking a dude is MICHAEL BOLTON? After a sweaty, gut-wrenching, hair-flinging concert, what does he like to knock back? A Red Zinger or Lemon Zinger tea, apparently. Or Cherry 7-Up and Raspberry Ginger Ale. And when he gets a hankering for something harder, he pops peanut M&Ms. We know this courtesy of Australian concert promoter Michael Coppel, who's suing Bolton for allegedly backing out of a deal to tour that country for $1.2 million, and who thoughtfully included a list of Bolton's backstage demands in his court papers. "His management said, 'The dates that you're doing aren't going to sell out, and we can't deal with him playing less than sold-out shows. His ego is too hard to handle,'" says Coppel. Bolton's management denies this and says the lawsuit is "frivolous and has no merit, and will be dismissed by the court." But this cloud might have a silver, New Agey-type lining. According to his publicist, the makers of Bolton's preferred brew, Celestial Seasonings, have already inquired about an endorsement deal.

THIS WEEK IN...CELEBRITY DIVORCES!

Ah, the season. Daffodils are in bloom. Spring--and divorce--is in the air. And last week brought a bumper crop of celebrity splits for divorce lawyers.

HIM Billy Bob Thornton, Oscar-winning screenwriter, as well as director and actor

HER Pietra Thornton, his fourth spouse

PRODUCT William, 3, and Harry James, 2

RUNNING TIME Four years

NATURE OF DENOUEMENT Nasty. She got a restraining order, claiming he hit her and was a manic depressive

OFFICIAL BLURB "Our marriage wasn't perfect, but I never exhibited the behavior she's accusing me of."

[HIM] Vince Gill, country singer

[HER] Janis Gill, singer in the duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo

[PRODUCT] Jenny, 14, plus several hit songs written by him after they'd squabbled

[RUNNING TIME] 17 years

[NATURE OF DENOUEMENT] Difficult. The status of the union has been tabloid fodder before

[OFFICIAL BLURB] "This is a private and personal matter," says Vince. "I would like to keep it that way."

[HIM] John Singleton, director, most recently, of Rosewood

[HER] Akosua Busia, actress, author and daughter of former P.M. of Ghana

[PRODUCT] Hadar, 12 days old at time of divorce filing

[RUNNING TIME] Five months, exactly

[NATURE OF DENOUEMENT] Friendly, or so it seems

[OFFICIAL BLURB] "They're in love with each other but saw no future for the marriage."

BRAVE HEART

Pumping iron he could do. Pumping blood was another matter. Not long after Maria Shriver was discharged from the hospital (she had hyperemesis, a pregnancy-related ailment), her hubby ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER checked himself in for voluntary heart surgery. He had a congenital defect in his aortic valve--the valve that stops blood from going back into the heart. Don't fret about those pecs, though. He's fine, and doctors say the scar will be barely noticeable.

BYE-BYE TO THE BUNDYS

MARRIED...WITH CHILDREN, the show that did for TV comedy what Velveeta did for cheese, is ending its long and profound run. Having hung its dirty laundry in public for 11 seasons, the Bundy family will bicker no more after May 5. Married, which got an early publicity break when housewife Terry Rakolta launched a national boycott against it for being "antifamily," drew more than 18 million viewers in its heyday but garners less than half that now. And for those who crave dysfunction, there's always The Honeymooners reruns.