Columnist Kate Maddox: Get to know the girl next door

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2000 | 9:21 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, only in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach her at kmaddox@vegas.com.

Sometimes the things we're looking for are right under our noses. As reported here Sunday, Binion murder suspect Sandy Murphy last week rented and moved into a spacious apartment at the tony Regency Towers high rise, home to some of Las Vegas' most prominent citizens.

A note to my colleague at the paper down the street, who wrote in his Sunday column that he'd heard Murphy was looking for a place to live: Look across the hall -- she's your new neighbor.

The high-profile defendant has moved in directly across the hall from an apartment recently purchased by ... Norm Clarke! So, Norm, next time you need to borrow a cup of sugar ...

I know. I promised I wouldn't write about it again. But the stories keep coming and they're just too good to pass up. In keeping with the network's format,,, Fox should rename the show "When Bad Show Ideas Go Bad."

Not only has it come to light that "Multimillionaire" groom Rick Rockwell once had a restraining order issued against him by an ex-girlfriend for allegedly assaulting her, but it now appears that most of the info Rockwell gave to producers might have more than a few inconsistencies.

A Canadian newspaper did some digging and is reporting that Rockwell -- who got married on the show taped in Las Vegas -- is apparently $600,000 in debt. Some old friends aren't surprised to hear this: Even his own mother didn't know the guy was a multimillionaire.

Rockwell's bio states that the former stand-up comedian once opened for "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno at Caesars in Lake Tahoe. Leno's camp denies this.

The New York Times reports that Rockwell was a gimmick-type performer who mainly tried to make a name for himself on the comedy circuit by doing things such as "telling jokes for 30 straight hours to set a Guinness world record and, most recently, riding from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on a bicycle to promote a comedy club." Now there's someone to bring home to the folks.

Rockwell's bio also states that he "played and taught professional hockey," although no record of this has been brought to light and searches for proof have come up empty.

Insiders report that the heavyweight executives at Fox are less than delighted with the choice producers made when picking this dreamboat. Some heated discussions apparently took place over the weekend ship-to-shore as Rockwell 'fessed up to the network from his Caribbean cruise honeymoon. In fairness, Rockwell denies the allegations made by his ex, but does admit to the restraining order.

So those TV insiders who smelled a rat early in this whole thing weren't all that far off. Fox, which has been doing some quickie backpedaling over the past 48 hours, has pulled the edited version of the show, which was scheduled to be rebroadcast tonight.

In the weekend celebrity sightings around Las Vegas: Charlie Sheen, in town to "unwind" and "have some fun" -- his words, not mine -- ate dinner and signed autographs at Planet Hollywood over the weekend.

And rocker Eddie Van Halen dined at Prime at the Bellagio on Sunday night with wife Valerie Bertinelli and their kids. Van Halen -- who might still be trapped in the '80s -- was wearing a pair of parachute pants, but because he is who he is, the maitre d' at the fancy restaurant didn't even look twice.

Don't look for David Cassidy when "The Rat Pack Is Back" opens at the Sahara hotel-casino next month. Cassidy, whose tribute to singer Bobby Darin was a hit with audiences when the show was at the Desert Inn, is under contractual obligation to only perform in his new show at the Rio, "David Cassidy at the Copa, Co-starring Sheena Easton."

Cassidy will, however, co-produce the show, which he created with partner Don Reo. As of last week the original cast members -- minus Cassidy, obviously -- had all signed on to reprise their roles as Rat Packers at the Sahara.

If you do get the urge to hear Cassidy sing "Mack the Knife" -- which was the song he performed as Darin -- catch his show at the Rio: He does it there, too.

David Brenner surprised the audience at his Saturday night live HBO special when he tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Slater.

The special, which Brenner mostly improvised as he went along, was performed at the Venetian's C2K and the show closed with a rabbi marrying the couple. Brenner and Slater, an artist, have been together for 12 years.