People in the news for Sept. 19,1996

Thursday, Sept. 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

And they're off! Sprinting out to a quick lead in today's Foot-in-Mouth Derby, it's Bob Dole, who on Wednesday again enlivened his campaign with a little telepathic film criticism. Although he hasn't actually seen either "Pulp Fiction" or "Trainspotting," as a practitioner of the "I don't have to get hit by a Mack truck to know I wouldn't like it" school of movie reviewing he just knows they're tawdry examples of Godless movie people glamorizing drug use. Harrumphed "Pulp" auteur Quentin Tarantino, "I've never seen a politician so consistently give opinions about issues he knows nothing about." Pay much attention to politics, Quentin? Meanwhile, nipping Dole at the Derby's finish line is a red-faced David Letterman. He recently poked fun at a statue of grieving women at Rutgers University -- "The New York Giants saluted their fans last week by unveiling this sculpture" -- before learning it was a monument to those killed in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am plane over Scotland. He apologized the next day. Nice race, Dave.

Hair apparent

One of the occupational hazards of the People in the News biz is that one occasionally has to care about Dan Rather's hair color. Today is such a day. His hair has been noticeably graying lately, reviving speculation that he used to dye it. "Clint Eastwood is my role model," Rather says, in what's apparently a quip about aging gracefully. Just a few years ago, however, he got very tight-lipped when Phil Donahue broached the dye subject. "Tacky, Phil," he said. "Tacky."

Ad follies

Advertising is a tricky business. For instance, how was Kmart to know, when they enlisted Rosie O'Donnell to flack their stores, that she would would say those awful things about Bob Dole at President Clinton's 50th birthday bash? Customers have complained, in particular about her comment that "Dole sucks." Kmart, showing more backbone than you'd expect, said "the company has a lot of respect for officeholders such as Dole ... but we defend Rosie's right to have her own opinions." Forget that Dole's no longer an officeholder -- at least the company hasn't dumped O'Donnell. Meanwhile, Trans World Airlines is smarting over a controversial newspaper ad urging travelers to book warm-weather flights to avoid "pasty white thighs" -- a mocking reference to a jogging-shorts-wearing Clinton. Tacky, TWA. Tacky. But effective -- bookings have soared.

Compiled by Scott Dickensheets