DATE: Wednesday, July 23, 1997              TAG: 9707230046

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: BONKO IN HOLLYWOOD

SOURCE: LARRY BONKO

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                       LENGTH:  121 lines

WHAT THE STARS OF FALL TV SHOWS ARE SAYING ABOUT THEMSELVES

THIS IS THE time of year in the land of a million tummy tucks when there are famous faces behind every palm tree, VIPs in every stretch limo. The signs on the freeways say to watch out for falling stardust.

The television networks are showing off their new fall programs and the people who are in them.

Hello, Jenny McCarthy. Will you please stick out your tongue for the photographers one more time?

At this semi-annual gathering of TV writers, we've been schmoozing with Elton John, tossing questions at Garth Brooks, listening to Goldie Hawn giggle and digging out Brooke Shields' little fashion secrets.

She actually buys dresses right off the rack. Aren't you shocked?

When not munching on chunky guacamole or sipping iced strawberry tea smoothies, your humble columnist has been taking note of what the Beautiful People are saying.

Here are 25 quotable notables:

Garth Brooks, who will appear in concert live on Home Box Office Aug. 7 from Central Park, commenting on his fluctuating weight: ``I'm starting a diet and conditioning program tomorrow. I say that every day. As the concert approaches, I'll crash. Lose weight fast. After it's over, I'll be up to 700 pounds again.''

Elton John, who will appear in a documentary about his life (``Tantrums & Tiaras'') as part of the Cinemax ``Reel Life'' series: ``I've been clean and sober for seven years. For the first time in my life, I have peace and balance. I believe I've made amends to everyone I hurt when I was doing drugs.''

Goldie Hawn, an Academy Award-winning actress who is directing her first film, ``Hope,'' for Turner Broadcasting: ``I was a very realistic child. I never believed I could be anything bigger in the world than a dance teacher.''

Jane Pauley of NBC's ``Dateline'' on Jane Pauley: ``I've always been a straight arrow. I'm the one who wouldn't dare go up the ``down'' staircase.''

Bob Newhart, who will appear in his fourth sitcom, ``George & Leo,'' on CBS, on why he's returning to TV: ``I missed coming to work on Mondays. I tried golf. At the end of the day, all I'd have to show for it was a score of 84. I'd go nuts if all I had to do with my life is play golf.''

Jenny McCarthy, who moves from MTV to NBC to star in ``Jenny,'' a Sunday night sitcom: ``My aim in life is not to be the sex symbol of the world, somebody men think is the hottest thing. I just want to be one of the girls.''

Bill Bradley, former U.S. senator who will co-host a special, ``Biography Presents: Uncommon Americans,'' for A&E: ``I don't worry about my technique before the camera. I don't worry about how I project or what mannerisms I use. I just allow what's inside me to come out.''

Wolf Blitzer, CNN White House correspondent, on why he's refused offers to play himself in a motion picture: ``I don't want to confuse what I do for a living, which is standing on the north lawn of the White House reporting real news, with being in a full-screen motion picture reporting something that is not real news.''

Comic Andrew Dice Clay, who will appear in the sitcom, ``Hitz,'' on UPN: ``I've based my stage persona on Elvis. That includes the leather jackets. He had the incredible charisma to take command of a crowd of 20,000 and make the people go berserk.''

Janet Leigh, appearing for the American Movie Classics film preservation campaign, on her brief but memorable role in ``Psycho'' directed by Alfred Hitchcock: ``It didn't matter to me if I was in all of the picture or if I had just two lines. I was grateful he chose me. When he shot the shower scene from a camera angle way up there, over my head, I had no idea the impact it would have.''

David Schwimmer of ``Friends'' and an HBO film about cosmetic plastic surgery, on the state of co-star Matthew Perry, who has been reported taking part in drug re-hab: ``I spoke to him recently. He's doing great. He had me on the phone for an hour. We laughed so much I was in tears. Matthew is back on top.''

Quincy Jones, executive producer of ``Vibe,'' a new late-night show that premieres in syndication in August: ``There's a void out there. There's a need for a looser, hipper, broad-minded, multi-cultural show after 11. Our show will pull in an audience that hasn't been watching late-night television.''

Kirstie Alley, star of ``Veronica's Closet,'' a new sitcom on NBC: ``My strength as an actor has been my ability to portray dumbness very well.''

Gregory Hines, star of a new CBS sitcom on his feelings about appearing on Friday night, which is considered the black hole of network schedules: ``When I think of all the people who are trying to get on TV - all the pilots that are shot every year but never make it to television - I'm very happy to be on CBS at nine o'clock on Friday night. There's a huge disparity between the number of pilots that are produced and the number that get on the air.''

Richard Dean Anderson of ``MacGyver,'' returning to TV in ``Stargate SG-1,'' a sci-fi series for Showtime: ``I'm not a Trekkie. I didn't connect with the `Star Wars' trilogy. I've never been attracted to science-fiction. I don't know much about the genre. But I'm willing to take a chance on this show.''

Rachel Blanchard, starring as fashion slave Cher in the UPN sitcom, ``Clueless'': ``If Cher saw the way I dress in real life, she'd lock me up. She'd order a makeover for me. The clothes I wear on the show are fun to look at but not fun to act in. They're not practical. They're uncomfortable.''

Molly Shannon, who was hired for ``Saturday Night Live'' three years after she first auditioned: ``When I was a 12-year-old babysitter growing in Cleveland, I watched John Belushi and Gilda Radner on `Saturday night Live,' and told my girlfriend that some day I'd be on that show. When I finally made it to Studio 8H at NBC in New York City where we do the show, I wanted to fall down on the stage and hug it. I struggled for such a long time to get there.''

Terry Bradshaw, an All-Pro quarterback, football analyst on Fox, and soon to be host of the syndicated ``Home Team with Terry Bradshaw'': ``I relish the idea of doing a daytime talk show simply for the fact that many people don't think I can do it. Deep down inside of me has always been a yearning to be more than a football player.''

Leslie Moonves, president of CBS Entertainment, on how it feels to cancel a series: ``I agonize over pulling any show. It's never a snap decision. I'm not heartless. It's a decision that involves millions of dollars. When you yank a show, you put more than a hundred people out of work.''

Kelsey Grammer of ``Frasier'' on what being a TV star has meant in his life: ``I get sued more. If I had never played this strange Frasier character, I would probably be living my life quite comfortably without any kind of notoriety.''

Fred Savage, a junior at Stanford majoring in English, on why he dropped out of school to do a sitcom (``Working'') for NBC: ``It would have been silly to pass up something like this. It's my first opportunity to play a grown-up guy on television.''

David Hyde Pierce of ``Frasier'' on beating out Kelsey Grammer, Drew Carey, Garry Shandling and Jerry Seinfeld for the TV critics' 1997 achievment in comedy award: ``This must be a clerical mistake.''

Look this way, Miss McCarthy. We need one more shot. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

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