'Phantom' pulls disappearing act

GOOD MORNING: Par's "Phantom's" pfft -- for now. And director Joe Dante's returned from the planned Aussie filming site. Back on Aug. 29, I wrote, "Alan Ladd Jr. keeps a world time clock on his desk so he knows when to call his 'Phantom' company in Australia, his 'Braveheart' company in Ireland -- and his 'Brady Bunch' next door at Par." Well, the "Brady Bunch" wound (on sked) and Ladd's in Ireland with Mel Gibson as "Braveheart" completes its shoot -- on time -- next week. But, as noted here earlier, "Joe Dante must start directing 'Phantom' before mid-October -- that's when the rains come to the jungle sites in Queensland." Mid-October's come and gone. So, for now, the pic's off. But don't be surprised if Michael Douglas' company, with Steven Reuther, comes aboard later -- with Laddie. Ladd and Par are so pleased with Mel Gibson's directing "Braveheart" that they tell me they will happily hire him to wear a single -- director's -- hat ... Ambling around Amblin halls, the buzz is that, come Monday, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen will have offices in Amblin's lush complex at Universal ... Katzenberg and family were spotted dining at his (and Steven Spielberg's) Dive the other eve, while I saw Bruce McNall taking in a few fast bites at the Westwood Hamburger Hamlet before taking in "The Specialist" at Mann's Village theater ... Workers driving in early from the Valley to Hollywood this ayem may see celebrants just emerging from the Rolling Stones' post-Rose Bowl "Voodoo Lounge" party at the American Legion hall on Highland. The Stones weren't skedded to arrive at the party until one ayem today, while the 800 guests were expected around midnight. The Legion hall was appropriately decor'd as a voodoo lounge. Tonight, the Stones may show at the House of Blues ... While Dove's controversial book "Nicole Simpson: A Private Diary of a Life Interrupted" was making headlines in L.A., Dove Audio's Deborah Raffin was in Houston taping President George Bush and wife Barbara for a segment of the label's "I Am America" cassette. Presidents Reagan, Ford and Carter also contribute segs to the tape's stories about the 50 states. A percentage of the profits go to the presidential libraries.

IT'S THE 'THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT' of the Westerns," says Jack Haley Jr. of his Nov. 25 two-hour NBC special "100 Years of the Hollywood Western." Haley, who won Emmys for "That's Entertainment: 50 Years of MGM," as well as an Emmy for producing the 51st Oscars, has set hosts Gene Hackman, James Garner, Kurt Russell, Robert Mitchum, Charles Bronson and Jane Seymour for the show. Producers Aubrey Soloman and Phil Savenick also wrote the special with Haley. Mitchum hosts a seg about the rebirth of the Western with "Dances With Wolves" and "The Unforgiven"; Seymour's seg is on the women and minorities in Westerns. Russell tributes John Ford and John Wayne pix. There are also tributes to Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood. Coburn covers the "law and order" Westerns, Hackman the pioneer spirit, and Garner the rise and fall of the Western -- 20,000 of which have hit the screen since the first, "Buffalo Bill" in 1894. "It's an embarrassment of riches," admits Haley of the material for the special. "It's a joy to do -- it evokes your past." Who better to do the show? Jack is a Western fan as well and remembers going to the Hitching Post theater on Canon Drive in BevHills -- for a dime -- when he was a kid. Haley knew the Wayne family well.

MARTHA RAYE'S DEATH SADDENS NOT ONLY the showbiz community, which she loved so much and to which she gave her all, but she leaves fond memories with the countless servicemen she entertained for over four decades. I'd known her from the soundstages of Paramount to the staging sites of WWII, and she was always the one with the biggest smile for everyone. Her final years of illness were too sad for anyone to endure -- especially for one who gave so much gladness. She was a true soldier in greasepaint who deserved more medals than she ever received. Her husband, Mark Harris, tells me she will be interred at Fort Bragg, N.C., the arrangements having been made by Col. Ed Smith -- who had once flown Martha in his chopper in Vietnam ... Raul Julia's stroke also saddens us. When we saw him last month at the preem of HBO's "The Burning Season," I noted how painfully thin he was. He had been ill on the difficult jungle location but never complained, reported director John Frankenheimer. And Julia told me he hoped to do another sequel to the "Addams Family" films ... Dana Plato, who made a happy return in "Blade Boxer," follows with "Compelling Evidence" to film in Atlanta. Tonight, she presents the best film award for the Academy of Science-Fiction, Fantasy & Horror at the Hollywood Roosevelt.