In his book on the Mercury Project, Author Tom Wolfe contended that John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, had plenty of the "right stuff." Though Glenn eventually traded his g-suit for a wardrobe more befitting a Democratic Senator from Ohio, he accepted an invitation from the U.S. Marines for a test spin in an AV-8A Harrier at Quantico, Va. A former test pilot, Glenn took the jet up to speed, made a couple of race-track turns and a few takeoffs and landings. Clearly, enough of the right stuff is left.

Steve Martin is just wild and crazy over a new portrait of his girlfriend and Jerk co-star Bernadette Peters. The painting, on the cover of Peters' new album Gee Whiz, was done by Illustrator Alberto Varga, 84, who stirred the fantasies of two generations of young men with his soft drawings of semi-nude seductresses for, among others, Esquire and Playboy. Varga retired from painting beauties five years ago, but when Peters, 32, approached him, he just had to give her the brush. Said he: "Yes, you are a Varga Girl." Peters, who wore a camisole for her sittings and bared her shoulders and little else, couldn't have agreed more: "I feel that I look like those ladies from the '20s, '30s and '40s. That's why I wanted him to paint me."

It looks as if Washington is in for another McCarthy era. "I'm taking the kids' back to the Smithsonian later this month," says Frances Bergen, referring to her late husband Edgar Bergen's famous splinter group, Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd and Effie Klinker. The treesome threesome will star at the Smithsonian's puppet exhibit opening in June. Dimwitted Snerd and spry old Klinker will return to California once the show ends on Labor Day, but in keeping with the late ventriloquist's wishes, Charlie McCarthy will remain at the Smithsonian to become part of the treasured woodwork.

There comes a time when even the grittiest cowboy must hang up his spurs. Last week Dallas' Roger Staubach, 38, ranked by the National Football League as the top quarterback in its history, did just that. After five trips to the Super Bowl, four seasons as the league's leading passer, and five concussions last season, he called it quits. In an emotional press conference at Texas Stadiumhe paused several times to hold back the tearshe said he wanted to spend more time with his family but did not rule out a future career as a TV football announcer. Dallas Coach Tom Landry, whom Staubach called "the man on the sidelines with the funny hats," indicated that the Cowboys' corral will remain open for Staubach this season just in case the quarterback changes his mind.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.