For Some, This Auction Is A Royal Embarrassment

If you plan to purchase some of the Princess Diana’s cast-offs during her June 25 celebrity auction, don’t expect to win any fashion acclaim.

Especially among those who make up the Washington, D.C., social crowd.

Said socialite Blaine Trump, “There’s always some lady, from some part of the world who can’t WAIT to sashay around and tell everyone, ‘This is the princess’ dress.”’ Richard Martin, director of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, speculated that the average buyer “will be the millionaire in Tulsa wanting somehow to be associated with the British royal family.”

Author Leslie Field called the charity benefit “a vulgar affectation,” while Fran Lebowitz put her disdain a bit more eloquently. “When it comes to old clothes, provenance is beside the point,” she said. “It’s like old roast beef.”

Loose talk Scottish actor Ewan McGregor on spending three months in Utah on a film set (in the New York Post): “It was the most conservative, close-minded, uptight place I’ve ever been. If I never go back, it’ll be too soon.”

These days, he mostly just minds his Ps and Qs

Mr. T turns 45 today.

When the eyes don’t have it, a browbeating will follow

In Hollywood, everyone tries to be special. Robin Cosio, for example, is considered an expert on eyebrows. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise are clients and a book will soon be hawked on QVC. But, this being Hollywood, Cosio can’t avoid fashion putdowns, especially of non-clients such as Geena Davis (“ugly” eyebrows) and Helen Hunt (eyebrows that “look like sperm”).

There’s now a Mrs. Rambo to look over Baby Rambo

The speculation is over: Sylvester Stallone confirmed on Monday that he married girlfriend Jennifer Flavin over the weekend in London. “I have had two great things happen to me in the past year: the birth of our beautiful daughter, Sophia Rose, and now my marriage to Jennifer, who is a great mother and I know will be a wonderful wife,” Stallone said in a statement.

No word on how much the butts went for

Here’s an actual quote from an Associated Press story out of Los Angeles: “An ashtray from the bedroom where Marilyn Monroe was found dead sold for $4,000… at a Hollywood auction.” The auction, held by the company Profiles in History, was held Sunday.

Hey, isn’t that a quote from Hugh Grant?

What with all film companies suing actresses - Kim Basinger, Pamela Anderson Lee - over reneging on movie deals, Debra Winger is providing a change of pace. Winger is suing Cinefin Corp. for $1.5 mil. She accuses the company of reneging on a 1996 deal involving the movie “Divine Rapture,” which shut down after only two weeks of shooting.

In Hollywood, sink or swim takes on a whole different meaning

There’s still been no official word, but the July 2 opening date for James Cameron’s “Titanic” is extremely doubtful. Although Paramount is said to be reluctant to make an announcement, speculation is widespread that the $200 million film will be moved back to November or even December.

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Dan Webster