People

By Josh Tyrangiel

WHERE WOULD HE POSSIBLY KEEP A SECRET?

That-a LUCIANO PAVAROTTI, he's-a so crazy! At a London press conference to announce a charity concert in Hyde Park, the tenor revealed that he hopes to duet with some special guests--more special even than Placido Domingo and that other tenor guy. "I have spoken to MADONNA and Paul McCartney," said Pavarotti, 65. "I would love to sing with them, as they are the best--and I'm not bad myself--but we don't know yet if that will happen. Madonna has a very clear idea. She promised she would come if we could sing together Caro Mio Ben. [But] don't make a big story," he told the abundant press corps. "She told me in confidence." A Madonna rep had no official comment. As for Madonna's rumored duet with Britney Spears, Spears was a relative model of restraint when she told a Swedish magazine, "There never were any clear plans, only lots of talk. But I'd really love to do it." Back to Pavarotti: "I have asked Madonna, but she has been busy. First she makes the baby, and then, I don't know."

No! Liberace Too?

Very rarely does the Wall Street Journal get to talk about matters of the heart. So when it got the chance, the chronicler of high finance went for it with a tabloid's hunger for gossipy detail. The subject: LEONA HELMSLEY, 80. The hotelier and ex-convict had been telling confidants that she was dating her real estate empire's vice chairman, Patrick Ward, 45, and that the two were considering marriage. Apparently, she was totally unaware, until an associate told her, that Ward is gay. Ward left the company in late January but only after purchasing a 60-unit New York City apartment complex from Helmsley for less than $1 million--a seriously deep discount. So was Helmsley swindled or was she just oblivious? "He could not have made it more clear in his public and private statements that he had no romantic interest in Mrs. Helmsley," claims Ward's attorney.

HE KEEPS CUSTODY OF THE NICKNAME

The media may not be able to call an election correctly, but when it comes to the really important things, we don't mess around. Untold hours of due diligence the past few weeks indicated that SEAN (PUFFY) COMBS and Jennifer Lopez were no longer together. The couple issued denials, but finally Combs admitted what those of us in the fourth estate already knew. "He and his love Jennifer Lopez have, in fact, broken up," read a statement released by a Puffy publicist on--ouch!--Valentine's Day. It wasn't exactly Combs' best week. In addition to losing Lopez, he suffered a major blow at his ongoing weapons' possession and bribery trial when his driver, Wardell Fenderson, testified that Combs offered him $50,000 to take the rap after shots rang out at a New York City nightclub. On the brighter side, Combs could see Lopez again soon, albeit under the less-than-glamorous lighting of a witness box.

BUT HE WAS FIRST IN THEIR HEARTS

When the Grammy Awards went looking for a host this year, they tried Rosie O'Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg and Jim Carrey. But JON STEWART, who agreed to play host to the show a full seven days before the live Wednesday night telecast, was almost definitely their fourth choice. "At a certain point," says Stewart, "I think they're literally like 'Can we do this without a host?'" As of Friday, Stewart still hadn't written a single joke, though he didn't seem concerned about finding material. "Right now I'm driving to a Virgin MegaStore, and I'm just gonna sit there for a while, put the headphones on and go, 'Ahh, I like this Beck. Hmmm...the Radiohead is quirky.' Luckily, this year you have such a large story with Eminem that you have to address it off the top. And given my style of bludgeoning humor, I'll just keep addressing it until they pull me offstage."