People in the News for Oct. 3, 1996

Thursday, Oct. 31, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Is there a psychiatrist, therapist or off-duty school counselor in the house? Woody Harrelson is having problems with his ego boundaries. He has issues. He appears to be identifying a little too strongly with one of his recent movie characters, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt. In a Kentucky courtroom Wednesday to face his much-hyped hemp planting charge -- a publicity stunt on behalf of struggling farmers banned from growing industrial hemp by the state's marijuana laws -- Woody compared himself to the Hustler hustler. "I never would have probably tried some of this if it hadn't been for the influence of playing him," he said. I'm just doing what Larry Flynt would do -- a stirring rally cry, to be sure. Woody admires the way Flynt crusaded behind the First Amendment. "His was about freedom of the press," the crusading hempcat says. "This is about freedom for the farmers." Which amendment would that be, Woody? A judge will rule on Woody's charges within 30 days, by which time Woody will no doubt be living through a different movie character.

Dan's still the man

Today is Dan Rather's 65th birthday, and while he's not ready to hang up his Official Foreign Correspondent's Safari Jacket for good, TV land is aswirl with whispers that his tenure in the CBS anchor chair is shaky. His "Evening News" trails ABC and NBC, and the gripevine has it that CBS is wooing Diane Sawyer or Bryant Gumbel to replace him. Well, pshaw! "Go back and look at the tapes. I'm demonstrably better at my job than I was 15 years ago," Rather says, adding, in what he must have thought was a quip, "In another 15 years, I should pretty much have the hang of it."

Someone phone 'ET'!

The Clooney Rebellion spreads! Hunkish "Lois and Clark" star Dean Cain canceled a Wednesday interview with "Entertainment Tonight" to support hunkish "ER" star George Clooney's boycott against the show. (Clooney, you'll recall, is actually mad at "ET's" sister show, "Hard Copy," and its rat pack of paparazzi.) Rosie O'Donnell gave Clooney a rousing "You go, George!" on her talk show. And seven of Clooney's "ER" cronies sent a letter to "Entertainment Tonight": "Based solely on your association with 'Hard Copy,"' the group "will no longer be participating with you in any form." Those poor paparazzi -- who will step forward to be their Larry Flynt, their Woody Harrelson?

Compiled by Scott Dickensheets