People in the News for June 12, 1998

Friday, June 12, 1998 | 10:22 a.m.

Many have been the times when we here at People in the News, pursued by yet another pack of vampire paparazzi, were on the verge of cuffing the swine when a thought struck us: Go ahead, whack 'em! They're just photographers! That, however, was always followed by another thought: Wait -- let the Woody Harrelson case sort out the legal liabilities first! Good thing we stayed our fists -- a Boston judge ruled yesterday that Harrelson assaulted two photographers and unlawfully removed film from one of their cameras. Apparently, there's something wrong with that! The photogs started shooting Harrelson at the Martha's Vineyard Airport a few years ago. He asked them not to photograph his wife and children. When they did, he went after them. They sued. Now that the judge has ruled against Harrelson, a jury will decide on damages. Outside the court, the actor said, "Probably the most important thing is my daughter's rights are not being taken into consideration."

Commercial woes

There are eerie similarities between People in the News compiling and Maytag repairing, at least judging by the Maytag commercials. The guy sits around, sips coffee undoubtedly laced with booze, and doesn't do anything! If he occasionally typed mean things about celebrities, he'd be us! However, it's not as easy as it looks (playing the Maytag repairman, that is). You can bet actor Gordon Jump has some stories to tell, and if you don't get away in time, he might tell you all about, say, filming that commercial where the aliens remove his clothes in the middle of a field during a chilly night. We obviously didn't get away in time: "Standing out there in the field in my undershorts was not a really pleasant experience," he says unnecessarily. "Particularly when the guys from the advertising agency and the guys from Maytag were sitting around in parkas drinking hot chocolate to keep their hands warm." Standing around in his skivvies -- he could be us!

Briefly

Compiled by Scott Dickensheets