People in the News for July 2, 1996

Tuesday, July 2, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

You're Brian Austin Green, and you've labored for years in the limelight-obscuring shadows of fellow "Beverly Hills, 90210" pretty boys Luke Perry and Jason Priestley, with little to show for it but some cool earrings and laughable plot twists. You want to stand out, but how? Green's answer: white-boy rap. Yes, Green is coming out with an album, "One Stop Carnival." "It's 100 percent me," he says, words sure to pack the kids into record stores everywhere. And just to prove he's a white punk who's dope, that he's down, that he's street, Green's album features ... bad words! Lyrics about sex and violence! "I didn't want to beat around the bush lyrically and not say what I truly felt," says Kool Moe Green. So look for tough tales of the hard life with his homies on the fake streets of Southern California TV lots. Gritty! Authentic! Watch your back, Vanilla Ice!

Courting John

The Colorado Supreme Court didn't beat around the bush, saying what it truly felt about John Denver: that he should stand trial for his 1994 drunken driving incident in Aspen. At a subsequent administrative hearing, Denver's 0.128-percent blood-alcohol test was dismissed on a technicality. Denver argued that since he was "cleared" in the hearing,

to further prosecute him would subject him to double jeopardy. On Monday, the Colorado high court disagreed, sending the matter back to court and into Final Jeopardy -- category: Rocky Mountain highballs -- where Denver faces a mandatory jail sentence if convicted.

Scalp problems

Aside from middling TV actors moonlighting as musicians, is there a greater problem plaguing pop music than ticket scaplers? Well, sure, Michael Bolton. And Mariah Carey. OK, and that song about God being one of us. Still, everyone agrees that scalpers are bad, bad people, and Hootie is striking a Blowfish against them. The band voided front row tickets to a pair of upcoming New York City shows after learning they had been scalped, some for up to $150 each. Those tickets will be reissued Wednesday. It seems that a pair of box office employees, working in cahooties with scalpers, secured the first 10 rows of both sold-out concerts. People with scalped tickets can get a refund -- for the face value of $25. Take notes, Brian Austin Green; rampant ticket scalping is sure to be a big problem for you, too.

Compiled by Scott Dickensheets