GOOD MORNING: The latest Japanese-owned L.A. landmark to be sold is the Hotel Bel-Air. The hotel is being secretive about the buyer, but reps have denied rumors that David Geffen and Steven Spielberg were among the purchasers. Jon Peters once was rumored to be buying the prized hotel. Also a Canadian hotel chain plus a friend of the Sultan of Brunei (he owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, you recall) ... Larry King and Deanna Lund will be married June 25 at Connie Stevens' Bel-Air home ... Sylvester Stallone and actress-model Angie Everhardt haven't set the date, but they are engaged to wed. She just wound "Jade," he's busy in "Assassins"... And Nicolas Cage and Patricia Arquette quietly were married last week, the first for both. (They each have a son by previous relationships.) ... Jazz great Lionel Hampton, who suffered a mild stroke 10 days ago, is still at Mount Sinai hospital in N.Y. for physical therapy but is recovering rapidly, and he's planning to appear as skedded at the Tavern on the Green May 30. And he's making arrangements from the hospital for the June 6 release party for his first MoJAZZ album, "For the Love of Music"..."Capone: The Man and the Era" comes to the bigscreen via Miramax. David Brown will produce. He bought the Laurence Bergreen bio (Simon & Schuster) about Capone at the peak of his power -- at the age of 28 ... Lester Persky has moved his long-cherished feature idea from the back burner to the front priority -- it's Truman Capote's "Handcarved Coffins," scripted by Frank Pierson. Persky's completed his "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" four-hour NBC mini and is anxious to do more of the same, celeb biopix. He says "Liz" is "spicy without giving you heartburn." And that would include Taylor, he sez ... Ernie Borgnine's back to weekly TV. The star of ABC's "McHale's Navy" and CBS' "Airwolf" will be a regular in NBC's "Last Single Guy" starring Jonathan Silverman. The pilot films this week. Borgnine, who won the Oscar for "Marty" (1955), laughingly says, "I've hit the bottom of the heap -- I play a janitor."
"I WANT A LONG RELATIONSHIP with Robert Halmi," Neil Simon told me in N.Y. after the completion of Halmi's CBS version of Simon's "The Sunshine Boys," this time starring Peter Falk and Woody Allen. Simon says he would do originals with Halmi -- and maybe some more old plays. Among new ones, "Proposals"-- but after he does it as a play. His "Jake's Women" starring Alan Alda is next to make the move from stage to Halmi's TV. "He is terrific, the quality of his work is wonderful. You couldn't get Woody Allen and Peter Falk otherwise," said Simon of Halmi. Simon reflected that "Sunshine Boys" could never be approved to be made as a theatrical feature today. In the vidversion of "Boys," by the way, the men are in their 60s, and no longer ex-vodvil comics but a sidelined comedy team who are called for a movie job audition. Woody plays his role sans aging makeup, Falk with a little graying -- but nothing like his 104-year-old "Roommates," of course. Simon admits, "I had a great time rewriting it for TV." Simon also was thrilled with the legit bow Sunday of his "London Suite" Off B'way -- at the Union Square Theater. The former Tammany Hall political meeting house seats 499 with a small balcony and the set is as good if not better than any on Broadway. Simon told me it was shipped from the Seattle break-in. "Real estate people tell me," said Simon, "they are going to build many 399- to 499-seat houses." As he had earlier noted, the cost here to mount the show was $450,000 as opposed to the $1.6 million or more to play it on B'way. "It's survival," he reminded. "I don't want to go back on Broadway again." Although reviews are mixed, I'm still laughing from the fourth and final "London Suite" play(let) -- and anyone who has had a bad back and/or has lost tickets to any event will thoroughly relate to "The Man on the Floor." Simon certainly does -- he's had back problems -- and once lost his Wimbledon tickets as in his play. But then again, anything Simon does, Simon did.
ALSO FROM N.Y., the Camille Cosby and Judith Rutherford James presentation of Emily Mann's play, "Having Our Say," got rave reviews. On hand for the grand opening were Anita Hill, Ed Bradley, former mayor of N.Y. David Dinkins, Geoffrey Holder, Tony Randall, etc. Bill Cosby was not on hand -- it's said he wanted wife Camille to have the night to herself -- he was in the South of France. The William Morris Agency packaged the play and participants from the bestseller ... While in N.Y., I also gave myself a moment of childhood memories -- at the Radio City Music Hall to see the bow of the Easter Show. It's an unbeatable moment when the symphony-sized orchestra disappears into the pit, the giant curtains gracefully rise in cascades, and the kids from the topmost balcony scream with delight in anticipation as they know they are about to get a taste of magic that will whet their appetite for live entertainment for the rest of their lives. And that's before the Rockettes tap and kick their way in magnificent military precision across the giant RCMH stage. That's showbiz.
Contact Army Archerd at
army.archerd@variety.com