PEOPLE

By Belinda Luscombe

DAN'S HARD-HITTING NEWS

One of the freakiest mysteries in the history of celebrity stalking may have been solved. Back in 1986, DAN RATHER told of an attack by a man who kept asking, "Kenneth, what's the frequency?" Some doubted it. Others thought his stalker was a KGB agent. Still others, notably the band R.E.M., which had a hit with What's the Frequency, Kenneth?, saw the incident as a cry of alienation. The New York Daily News, working on a tip from a psychiatrist, suggested that the assailant was William Tager, a disturbed man who believed the media were beaming messages at him. If so, Rather has reason to be thankful. Tager is in prison for a 1994 shooting of an NBC stagehand.

COSBY WOULD RATHER TALK

Can it be only a year ago that BILL COSBY's primary public persona was as a pitchman for Jell-O? Revelations that would have been shocking then have come to seem sadly irrelevant. While still grieving over the murder of his only son, Cosby had to deal with an alleged extortion attempt by a woman who claims to be his daughter and wanted $24 million to keep quiet. She was arrested and then released on bail, but the episode seemed to provoke Cosby to talk. He called Dan Rather. During their 2 1/2-hour interview Cosby said he felt that his slain son Ennis wanted him to return to work. "His spirit from there wouldn't allow us to walk off and be anything other than he wants," said Cosby. He conceded that he'd had an affair with the woman whose daughter was trying to blackmail him, but said he didn't think he was the father.

PETTINESS OR PIRACY?

In its day, Carolco Pictures was the producer of such juggernauts as Basic Instinct and a brace of Rambos. Now it's scrounging around for old props. After the huge, expensive stinkball Cutthroat Island was wrapped, some items weremissing. Oddly enough, a cannon, some maps, a peg leg and one of GEENA DAVIS' outfits turned up in Planet Hollywood Helsinki, co-owned by the movie's director and Davis' spouse RENNY HARLIN (the one with longer hair than MATTHEW MODINE's). Carolco says they were removed from the set without permission. Harlin's people say the props were given to the director because they were damaged and Carolco knows it. Gentlemen, draw your swords.

SEEN & HEARD

A yard sale on the grounds of Kensington Palace was pretty much out of the question, so Christie's is auctioning off, for charity, 65 frocks from Princess Diana's H.R.H. days. Perfect for those who liked British fashion in the '80s. Her wedding dress will not be among the items up for sale. She's giving that little confection to a museum.

Speaking of clotheshorses, Arnold Scaasi is getting a lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Winners pick their presenters, and Scaasi chose that well-known fashion icon Barbara Bush. "The two are old friends," says Bush's spokeswoman. "Mrs. Bush is very excited about it."

THE TOMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'

It used to be that people had to be famous for a reasonably long time before anyone would want to read a book by them. But in the go-go '90s, the period between appearing on TV and getting a fat book deal is evanescing. Last week DREW CAREY signed a contract with Hyperion publishers allegedly worth seven figures. (It's probably just coincidence that Disney owns both Hyperion and ABC, which airs Carey's 1 1/2-year-old sitcom.) JENNY MCCARTHY had been on MTV for just two years when her book was announced. JON STEWART's talk show was canceled, yet he too will be between covers. But don't start making room on your bookshelf just yet for all these would-be TV authors. Remember Rosie O'Donnell's reportedly $3 million book deal? Jamie Raab of Warner Books (owned by Time Warner, as is her show) says her opus, which was due out this fall, remains in an "embryonic" stage. And the deal John Tesh signed in 1995 for a memoir is off. "Right now," says a William Morrow spokesman, "John wants to concentrate on his music."

BOWE TRIES MARINE LIFE

Although his motto is more Semper Fight than Semper Fi, boxer RIDDICK BOWE has joined the Marine Corps Reserve. "It's something I always wanted to do," says Bowe, "and I thought I'd do it before I got too old." The 29-year-old almost didn't make it. The Marines had to waive the enlistment-age limit of 28 to admit him. He won't be the first Marine who was a boxing champ (Gene Tunney, Leon Spinks and Ken Norton served on active duty), but he is one of a very few multimillionaires ever to join the corps. According to his manager, Bowe has grossed more than $100 million from endorsements, purses and investments. After the champ reports for boot camp on Feb. 10, his take will drop to about $1,200 a month. And he will have to eat Marine Corps chow. That's one way to drop a weight class.

MUSIC TO RAVE TO

Grunge, you may have heard, is dead. And New Country isn't feeling too spry either. What, then, is the music to listen to now? A lot of people, including many who are paid to know these things, say it's techno, particularly as practiced by the Chemical Brothers, TOM ROWLANDS and ED SIMONS. Techno, one of the names for music that's made by feeding rhythms, samples of prerecorded music and other sound effects through a synthesizer, has mostly been the domain of dance clubs and all-night raves. But MTV has now put the Brothers' Setting Sun video into heavy rotation. Techno-types don't sing, so Oasis' Noel Gallagher, a fellow Brit, is guest vocalist on the track. Says Rowlands: "We don't even take a microphone on tour."