People

By Michele Orecklin

JUS' DOING WHAT A WOMAN'S GOTTA DO

When LINDA LAY, wife of former Enron CEO Ken Lay, went on the TV in January and tearfully reported that the family had lost everything, she may have exaggerated slightly. The Lays still had a few spare houses. And now that they have sold them, the Lays have some spare furniture. So Linda and her daughter are opening a secondhand store in Houston, where the family lives in a high-rise, their remaining abode. In addition to their own possessions, the Lays will sell items from friends as well. The store is called Jus' Stuff, suggesting that things have got so bad for the Lays that they're running out of money for Ts.

CLOTHES CALL

WINONA RYDER is admired for her fashion sense, but it took an arrest for shoplifting to get her to really make a fashion statement. She agreed to sit for an interview with W magazine but on the advice of counsel declined to discuss her pending case (she has pleaded not guilty), letting her garments do the talking. She did knock down reports about another much-speculated-upon aspect of her life. "When I read about all these dates I have, it's like living vicariously through my own supposed life," she said. But she's not complaining. "I have been incredibly lucky with the guys I've been linked to."

HE SPEAKS. AND NOT JUST IN SWAHILI

JOHNNY CARSON claims that since retiring from The Tonight Show 10 years ago, he has not yet been tempted to return to television. That's one reason why Carson was one of the few major NBC stars who didn't attend the network's backslapping ode to its 75 years on the air, scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday. "There's no need for me to go back," he told Esquire magazine in his first interview since 1993. During his retirement, Carson has remained off the record and out of sight but not out of touch. He reads the newspaper voraciously and keeps up with TV; he is particularly amused by shows he calls "crap" like Survivor. ("There's a catering service. The crew has to eat. It's not like they're going to die out there in the jungle.") He also spends time on his boat and has learned to speak Swahili for his travels to Africa. He says the only time he felt frustrated not to have a televised monologue was during the Monica Lewinsky affair. He told a friend at the time, "I haven't seen such an abundance of material in my life."

They Can Call It OTV

Each season, MTV viewers excitedly tune in the newest installment of the reality series The Real World. By the time the season is over, however, they're usually happy to get those whiny, backstabbing camera hogs out of their living room. But when it comes to THE OSBOURNES, one season is not enough. The joy viewers get from peering into the profanity-laced lives of metal icon Ozzy and his brood has resulted in the highest ratings in MTV's history and a clamor for more. Not about to give up the foul-mouthed golden goose, MTV has reportedly offered the Osbournes $20 million to stick around. That's a lot of $#&* money.