People

By Michele Orecklin

YOUR PREMIERE OR MINE?

If perchance you overlooked the fact that actors MICHAEL DOUGLAS, 55, and CATHERINE ZETA-JONES, 30, are dating, it was not for lack of their public appearances. Political, musical, charity or movie event--count them in. Their itinerary just these past few weeks...

NOV. 1: Dinner for Al Gore, followed by party for The Insider, New York City

OCT. 26: Night of the Stars, a fashion party, N.Y.C.

OCT. 22: Millennium party at the British embassy, Washington

OCT. 21: GQ Men of the Year party, N.Y.C.

OCT. 19: Tribute to Walter Cronkite, U.N., N.Y.C.

OCT. 9: NetAid concert, Geneva, Switzerland (Douglas came in person; Zeta-Jones turned up on video)

OCT. 6: Dunhill Cup Pro-Am at St. Andrew's Golf Course, Edinburgh, Scotland

Sept. 26: Saturday Night Live anniversary party, N.Y.C.

Sept. 25: Joint birthday party, Part 2, N.Y.C.

Sept. 24: Joint birthday party, Part 1, N.Y.C.

Sept. 22: Luncheon for Camilla Parker Bowles at Brooke Astor's home, N.Y.C.

WATCH YOUR BACK, FRANK MCCOURT

Many of our most celebrated authors have achieved success under noms de plume: Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain, Marian Evans as George Eliot and now MICK FOLEY as Mankind. This week Foley, a pro wrestler who has been known as Cactus Jack and Dude Love, will see his first book, Have a Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, hit No. 2 on the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list. In his memoir Foley relates how he overcame broken bones, a lost ear and a worthy opponent named "the Rock" to win the World Wrestling Federation belt last year. The book's swift sales--this is only its second week on the Times's list--offer incontrovertible proof that wrestling fans can read a work longer than a tattoo.

WHAT'S UP, DOCS?

As television's best-known shrinks, BOB NEWHART and KELSEY GRAMMER have treated their fair share of eccentrics. Now that the two have joined practices for a movie, they are playing somewhat neurotic characters themselves. In the upcoming Showtime film How Doc Waddems Finally Broke a 100, Newhart plays golf enthusiast Waddems, a mild-mannered orthodontist bent on shattering that score. He finds a hazard in partner Howard Greene (Grammer), an overly fastidious interpreter of the game's rules, and the good walk turns murderous. Newhart, an avid golfer, claims his game surpasses that of the character he plays. "I had to come up with a lousy swing to be believable in this film," he says. "There are a number of people I play with regularly whom I just copied." Asked to name names, Newhart demurs: "They know who they are."

FEUD OF THE WEEK

NAME: N.Y.C. cabbies OCCUPATION: Tolerating rude passengers FIRST PUNCH: Five taxi drivers sped past as Glover and his daughter tried to hail a cab in Harlem; a driver who did stop tried to prevent the 6-ft. 4-in. actor from sitting in the front seat, which has more legroom

NAME: Danny Glover OCCUPATION: Tolerating Mel Gibson COUNTERPUNCH: The Lethal Weapon star and onetime cabdriver filed a formal complaint with the city's taxi and limousine commission, charging discrimination, and proposed all taxi drivers take a course in diversity training

THE WINNER: Glover, because he can buy the rights to the movie