People

By Michele Orecklin

FORTUNATELY, SHE CAN STILL ACT

The hills of Switzerland may still be alive with the sound of music, but, unfortunately, it's coming from the Ricola guys. Last week director Blake Edwards revealed that his wife JULIE ANDREWS, 63, will most likely never be able to sing again following throat surgery last year to remove noncancerous nodules. The star of The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Victor, Victoria was assured that her singing ability would return within six weeks of the operation. Eighteen months later, her husband told Parade magazine, "If you heard [her voice], you'd weep." Edwards says he is developing a Broadway project for his wife, but if she cannot speak, the show won't go on.

IN SICKNESS, HEALTH AND DRAG

She undresses for wages. He cross-dresses for pleasure. So why were the happy nuptials of CARMEN ELECTRA and DENNIS RODMAN last week so tangled in controversy? A recap:

SATURDAY, NOV. 14 Electra and Rodman wed at a Las Vegas chapel.

MONDAY, NOV. 16 Rodman's agent, Dwight Manley, says Rodman "was intoxicated to the point that [he] couldn't speak" at the wedding and accuses Electra of taking advantage of him. But the marriage survives.

TUESDAY, NOV. 17 Electra's publicist issues a handwritten note, penned by Rodman, saying that he loves Electra and is "proud to be married to her." (And they're still married.)

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18 ESPN website posts poll results showing 61% of respondents believe the N.B.A. lockout will last longer than the Rodman-Electra union. The newlyweds ignore them.

FRIDAY, NOV. 20 Manley is still Rodman's agent. And the marriage is intact.

MARY BONO'S FIRST 200 DAYS

Her Husband Skied into a Tree, so She Took His Job, Changed Her Hair and Tried to Impeach the President. This hypothetical song title may sound crass, but don't be surprised if it's the next hit for country star Brian Prout, of the band Diamond Rio, Congresswoman MARY BONO's new boyfriend. For a person with no prior political experience, Bono has generated some of D.C.'s juiciest headlines. Her latest jaw dropper comes from an interview she granted political rag TV Guide, in which she claims her late husband's addiction to prescription pain killers led to his fatal skiing accident. (The autopsy showed no evidence of drugs or alcohol.) In addition to commenting on her dating and hairstyles (above at last week's impeachment hearings and below in March), reporters noted that Bono last month urged her political mentor Newt Gingrich to resign. What ever happened to Stand by Your Man?

CELEBRITY COURTHOUSE

If he had a hammer... A woman who sat in front of BOB VILA on an airline flight is seeking $127,000 from the world's most famous handyman for pain and mental anguish. Carol Berger claims that Vila, host of Home Again, took a break from pounding dry wall to pound the back of her seat with his foot and fist during a flight from Denver to Eugene, Ore. She didn't mention why. Vila issued a statement calling the allegation "baseless" and says he has never met Berger. Maybe he was just annoyed that her seat and tray table were not in a fully upright position.

Who says Brits are dour? A London judge denied opera singer JESSYE NORMAN's request to sue Classic CD magazine, which reported in 1994 that Norman got wedged in a door and upon being advised to turn sideways, retorted, "Honey, I ain't got no sideways." Norman denies making the remark, the language of which she said was a "degrading racist stereotype of a person of African-American heritage." Lord Justice Gibson described the account as "gentle fun" and lamented that Norman's "remarkable voice" did not come with an "engaging sense of humor."