First Baldwin baby boy on the way

GOOD MORNING: After nine granddaughters in the Baldwin family, a boy is finally arriving -- he's due in October, the son of Isabella Hofmann and Daniel Baldwin. He's their first. Daniel has two girls from a previous marriage, his sister Beth has five daughters, and brothers Stephen and Alec each have one daughter. The boy is to be named Atticus B. "I admired the character Gregory Peck played in 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' " says Daniel. He and Isabella plan to wed as soon as his divorce is final, May 28. How will the impending stork arrival affect Hofmann's role in "Homicide"? Yet to be determined. "God will see to it," papa Baldwin says. Meanwhile, his career remains hot. Following the hefty numbers this week on "Twisted Desire," his "Trees Lounge" for director Steve Buscemi unspooled for Directors Fortnight in Cannes. Baldwin next starts a one-hour drama series, "Lawless," for Fox ... After 18 years of togetherness, Fred Hayman and Betty Endo will wed sometime in July. They flew to Roy, Utah, where Fred asked Betty's mom's permission. The wedding, strictly a family ceremony, will be held there. The well-loved couple will hold a reception here Sept. 28 ... Supermodel Vendela (Kirsebom) weds Norwegian businessman Olaf Thommessen Aug. 24 in Stockholm. "And I'll spend my honeymoon on the set of 'Batman and Robin' as Mrs. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- I'll be here for a couple of days as 'Mrs. Freeze,' " she laughed. Yes, she says she knows Maria (Shriver, the real Mrs. S) ... The reaction to the Tony nominations continues hot and heavy with an upcoming Sunday piece in the New York Times. Julie Andrews was reportedly offered a minute on the telecast -- but she is not participating. As for the feelings around the rest of B'way, Joyce Van Patten, now in "A Fair Country" at Lincoln Center, told me, "I've never seen New York (B'way) like this ... The publicity is probably good for the Tonys. But everyone knows Julie's decision came from the heart." Van Patten, celebrating "Country" as "a once-in-a-lifetime role" (which she took over from Judith Ivey), was greeted this week with further good news: Her WB Network series, "Unhappily Ever After," starts the week after she winds on B'way.

"I WANTED TO DO an $8 million picture, and Universal doesn't do movies under $10 million," claims John Leguizamo, so he and the Bubble Factory -- Sid, Bill and Jon Sheinberg -- are doing "The Pest" for TriStar. Leguizamo co-created the pic with David Bar Katz, and both scripted, with Robert Papazian exec producing in Miami. It's a helluva change from the big-budgeted pics Leguizamo is coming from --"To Wong Foo" with Wesley Snipes, "Executive Decision" with Kurt Russell, "The Fan" with Robert De Niro and again with Snipes, and "Romeo and Juliet" with Leonardo DiCaprio. Leguizamo says "The Pest" is a challenge for director Paul Miller in time, budget and subject matter. "It's an 'equal-opportunity-offender comedy,' " says Leguizamo, with no race, creed or color left unscathed. Nor will British royalty be left unscathed in Leguizamo's next, Par and Mark Gordon's "The Bastard," in which Leguizamo says he plays a "half-Puerto Rican, half-Brit" claiming the throne through an illegitimate birth! He and partner David Bar Katz are also cooking up an irreverent, live Spic-O-Rama show, "Full Frontal "..."Looking for the next Johnny Depp and the next Winona Ryder," reads the casting request for two unknowns in John Hughes' Universal "Reach for the Rock." The call is for 10 ayem June 1 at the Hollywood United Methodist Church at Highland and Franklin ... Ellen DeGeneres signed with the William Morris Agency for features.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR: Steven Spielberg and Robert De Niro today receive honorary doctorates of fine arts from NYU ... Joan Rivers receives her doctorate of humane letters May 21 from Marymount Manhattan College ... Jerry Vale receives the Ellis Island Medal of Honor May 19 at Ellis Island, where his grandparents landed in this country from Italy. He'll install a plaque there in their memory. Vale's wife Rita's grandparents also arrived there -- from Poland -- and she's plaqued them, too ... Hugh Hefner's proud of the A&E "Biography" special on him, which airs May 19. "It's more personal than anything done on me to date," he admits ... Hy Averback is honored by the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters May 17 at the Sportsmen's Lodge on a dais including Larry Gelbart, Richard Crenna, Jackie Cooper and Jimmy Komack -- this should be a mega-laffer ... Dawn Wells, "Gilligan's Island's" Mary Ann, continues to be a favorite in Australia, where the series runs regularly, so they've asked her to be Down Under's Channel 9 "Castaway Correspondent" for its "Mid-Day Show" interviewing celebs here for the Aussies ... The cast of "General Hospital" turned out for co-star Anthony Geary's 25-character perf in "Human Scratchings" at the Court Theatre. "GH" producer-director Shelley Curtis says, "We're used to seeing Tony do great work as Luke alone in 'GH,' but he's phenomenal in this play."