People

By Michele Orecklin

YOU CALL HIM POPE; ROBBINS CALLS HIM "MY PUBLICIST"

On May 2 TOM ROBBINS released his new novel, Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, in which he speculates on the third secret of Fatima, a prophecy which is said to have been imparted to three Portuguese children through a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1917 and fiercely guarded by the Vatican ever since. Less than two weeks later, Pope John Paul II revealed the secret to the public. The Pope said it foretold the attempt on his life in 1981. Robbins had postulated a slightly different conclusion, namely, that "the salvation of mankind would come from a source other than the church." Robbins says he suspects his version may have hit a little too close to home, causing the Vatican to scramble for cover. "I'd hate to accuse the Pope of reading my book, but 10 days after it's published, they reveal a long-held secret as something pretty wimpy and innocuous." Cover-up or divine coincidence? You decide.

NOW THAT'S AN EVERLASTING LOVE

As an Oscar-winning actress, accomplished author and spiritually open-minded single woman, SHIRLEY MACLAINE would make an enviable date for any man. But potential suitors whose resumes have not included a stint as the leader of a European realm may find themselves out of luck. In her latest book, The Camino, MacLaine reveals that during a spiritual trek in Spain, she learned that in a former life she and the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne had been lovers. She describes the King of the Franks, who died in 814, as a "lusty" man who "loved to swim." As luck would have it, she says she met up with him again in this lifetime, reincarnated as the late Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme. She reports the two had an affair and though they "fit in every way," he was concerned about how the press would perceive their union. If journalists had known it was a relationship that had withstood 1,200 or so years, surely they would have been understanding.

DON'T BELIEVE THE TALK ABOUT JULIA AND ASSES

Where JULIA ROBERTS goes, controversy is sure to follow. Last week the actress joined co-star BRAD PITT in Real de Cortece, a remote Mexican village, to shoot location scenes for The Mexican, a film director Gore Verbinski describes as "a romantic comedy with a little Sam Peckinpah." The town is so small that the cast is bunking in the homes of locals and the crew had to install phone lines. But no town is tight knit enough to prevent rumors from escaping. Thus 48 hours after Julia's arrival the world was privy to the shocking news that a braying donkey had kept her awake all night and had to be forcibly removed by a security guard. "There are a lot of donkeys here," says Verbinski, "but the problem with that story is it really gives the shaft to the roosters, who are just as loud."

NEW PASSPORT, THEN?

It is a measure of creative people's achievement when their success allows them to be known by one name (Picasso, Yanni). But a musician from Minneapolis, Minn., did those titans one better, insisting that he be referred to only as an unpronounceable hieroglyphic. Since 1993, the man born PRINCE Rogers Nelson has refused to use his given name to protest the terms of his recording contract. Last week, however, the singer who has simply been referred to as The Artist announced that his contract has expired and his name has been emancipated. "I will now go back to using my name instead of the symbol I adopted to free myself from all undesirable relationships," he said at a press conference. Proving that he bristles at all forms of bondage, Prince also elucidated the nature of his annulled marriage to the woman simply referred to as Mayte: "She does her thing, I do my thing, and sometimes we do our thing together."