People

By Joel Stein

Q & A TOMMY HILFIGER

Tommy Hilfiger just got a blimp. We went up with him immediately.

Q: Doesn't a blimp seem kind of '70s?

A: That's what I like about it. It's classic. I also love the equipment that goes with it: all those trucks, buses, people in uniform.

Q: We're going to die, aren't we?

A: I don't think you have to worry about it. For some reason, I trust the pilots.

Q: Even though they're drinking?

A: They haven't started yet. The champagne isn't open yet.

Q: Would you ever use your blimp for evil?

A: Never.

Q: Have you gotten blimpsick?

A: I may be verging on it now.

Q: Are you in with the rappers?

A: What does that mean?

Q: Are you tight with Puff Daddy?

A: Oh, sure. I'm a friend of Puff Daddy's.

Q: Master P?

A: Never met him.

Q: Snoop?

A: I've met him once.

Q: Mase?

A: Never met him.

Q: You ever rap?

A: No. I like rock 'n' roll. I like the Stones and the Who and a lot of the classic English rock.

Q: You're embracing this whole '70s thing. You worked for Jordache in the '70s. Did you wear them tight?

A: Actually, I wore Levi's. I thought Jordache jeans were maybe a little too trendy at the time. Have you read my book?

Q: I didn't know you had a book.

A: Before you write the article, you have to read the book.

Q: Is it long?

A: Not really. You can look at the pictures. It's a big picture book with a lot of captions.

Q: Dude, you're flying the blimp.

A: I didn't realize it's one of the most difficult machines to fly. It's more difficult than an airplane or a space shuttle.

Q: You've driven space shuttles?

A: Airplanes, but not space shuttles. It was frightening. You said we were going to die. I believed you.

BREAKUP BUT WHAT WILL RUMER AND SCOUT DO?

No one likes to see a Hollywood marriage break up. Actually, we love to see Hollywood marriages break up. It makes us feel better to know the stars' glamorous lives are actually empty, solipsistic nightmares. So when BRUCE WILLIS and DEMI MOORE announced the end of their 10-year marriage, we couldn't help enjoying a jolt of schadenfreude. The couple, who wed after dating only three months, had spent the past few years denying rumors of their breakup; they even sued the Star for a June 1997 article that predicted a nasty divorce. As the ripples of this disunion wafted through Hollywood last week, Wall Street received a tremor: Planet Hollywood, the publicly held company partly owned by Willis and Moore, fell 1/16 of a point on the day after the couple's announcement, even though the Dow was up. GO MAGIC!

Magic Johnson's talk show has been on for three weeks--that's 15 episodes!--and the A-list guests are still accepting bookings. In just three more weeks he'll pass the mark set by Chevy Chase's talk show. His next hurdle: Dennis Miller, who aired 24 weeks strong. Can he make it? Stay tuned.

Magic Johnson 15 EDISODES Chevy Chase 30 EDISODES Dennis Miller 120 EDISODES

BUT WILL IT LAST?

Larry Flynt, 55, married his former nurse, Elizabeth Barrios, last weekend. Will it last?

PRO

--Codependency between patient and nurse is a proven bonding agent

--The seven-year courtship indicates the marriage was well thought out

--According to the film about his life, Flynt was a devoted husband to his last wife, Althea

--Flynt's riches paid for a new $365,000 Bentley and a honeymoon in St. Martin

CON

--The classic nurse-patient sexual fantasy is pretty much tapped out

--Flynt said, "Marriage is more important to women than to men. I could have done without it."

--Flynt ran a magazine spread of a woman in a meat grinder

--Flynt's riches come from magazines like Busty Beauties and Barely Legal

PREDICTION: Yes! Love is stronger than smut!