People in the News for June 4, 1997

Wednesday, June 4, 1997 | 10:33 a.m.

We here at People in the News don't need drugs to achieve our numb, narcotized demeanor -- we're low on life! "Friends" wiseacre Matthew Perry, on the other hand, is "in the early stages" of a dependency to prescription pain killers. He doesn't exactly have a monkey on his back -- he's not shooting heroin or anything -- no, it's more like, say, a marmoset on his butt. However, since no one but selected People in the News staffers actually enjoys having marmosets on their butts, Perry is seeking help. Here are the detailed details: He's voluntarily checked into an undisclosed treatment center to wean himself from unidentified medication he was taking for unspecified reasons. "Matthew and his family thank everyone for their concern and ask for his privacy to be respected while he completes this treatment," says the publicist Perry hired to tell the media about his desire for privacy.

Rocking president

John Sykes' White House memories: When the VH1 fluff technician went to Washington to interview the president for the special "Bill Clinton: Rock & Roll President," he noticed a helicopter hovering outside. Clinton, meanwhile, was loose and easygoing, chatting and flipping through a collection of old albums. Sykes finally asked about the chopper. Clinton's response: That it was probably for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who had been waiting to see him for more than an hour.

Pleading poverty

The marmoset of bankruptcy is all over the butt of director Peter Bogdanovich today. The director of "Mask" and "The Last Picture Show" filed for Chapter 7 protection after an L.A. court ordered him to pay $4.2 million to the owners of a Beverly Hills home he was buying for $1.9 million. Bogdanovich was to pay the owners, Aly and Barry Spencer, $6,000 a month, but it's been a long time since his last picture show, and he's claiming empty pockets. Friends such as John Ritter testified that he's fallen on hard times. The Spencers counter that he's frittered away his money on silly lifestyle enhancements like $250 haircuts, lavish vacations and Mercedes-Benzes. Their lawyer characterized the bankruptcy filing as "a pathetic attempt to avoid his responsibilities." No word on the next phase of the proceedings, but they'd better hurry -- Hosni Mubarak is waiting!

Compiled by Scott Dickensheets