Seven thesps get into 'Magic' act

GOOD MORNING: How do you get Ted Danson, Michael J. Fox, James Earl Jones, Madeline Kahn, Demi Moore, Dee Wallace Stone and Ice-T together (live and/or voiced) in a project? You do it by putting together the environmentally themed "The Magic 7" for airing on Earth Day, April 22. Meryl Streep, Henry Winkler, Bette Midler, Kevin Bacon and Olivia Newton-John will do promos. Youngster Cory Danziger stars in the project written by Roger Holzberg and in production by Ron Layton and Sally Busby's Pulse Distribution. The U.N. Environmental Program, Environmental Media Assn. & Defense Fund, and UNICEF are supporting. And corporate sponsors like Nabisco are bidding as well as an offer from Columbia TV ... Layton says a "live" musical "Magic 7" show is also being written by Alan Friedman ("Winnie the Pooh") for schools around the world to produce and cast on their own. The Pulse banner's boffo library of family entertainment includes their version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," which has been distributed to over 65 countries on TV and on videos. Would children still want to see Pulse's "Hunchback" now that Disney has its 1996 extravaganza? "Kids will watch shows they like over and over," he said ... Kim Cattrall and Daniel Benzali, who are, as they say, "an item," are talking about doing a cable made-for (untitled) playing husband and wife, she tells me. And offscreen? "We're getting to know each other better," she says. Cattrall recently visited with Benzali in London, where they received an offer from Trevor Nunn to legit "After the Fall" on Britain's boards. Nunn discovered Benzali, set him as one of the few Americans to headline with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Cattrall's now in Vancouver starring in Saban Entertainment Films' "Exception to the Rule," playing "a psychotic bitch; a femme fatale" who has an affair with Eric McCormick, playing the unfaithful husband of eight-months pregnant and sugar-sweet (in the role) Sean Young. There are no dull moments on the set. Vancouver's like a Hollywood studio in the old days, Cattrall reports.

CARROLL O'CONNOR HOLDS two press conferences: one this ayem at Attorney General Dan Lungren's office, the other June 13 at UCLA. Today O'Connor, Lungren and state Sen. Charles Calderon (D-Whittier) talk about the proposed law (Senate Bill 1754) to allow citizens to sue drug dealers for the harm their sales cause -- much as bartenders can be sued for drunk patrons' actions. As we know, the O'Connors' son, Hugh, took his own life after a long drug battle. At UCLA, O'Connor appears for the Partnership for a Drug Free America-Southern California campaign, where his p.s.a. will be shown. Carroll says he and supporters are being helped in their anti-drug battle by the IRS -- going after drug dealer$ much as they did after other, non-taxpaying crime profiteers, like Al Capone ... Marcy Lafferty Shatner says she's finally "after four years" going to court Dec. 1 in her divorce suit vs. husband of 20 years William Shatner. But she admits she's happier these days because she'll celebrate her 50th birthday (June 21) with a preview party of "El Salvador" at the Tiffany -- she's one of the producers. Jeff Seymour partners; he presented the prize-winning Rafael Lima play here in 1988 ... Former President Harry Truman's memory will be celebrated June 20 at a gala hosted by Disney on a studio stage to commemorate his (Truman's) decision to recognize Israel. Abba Eban will be honored with the lifetime achievement award. Funds raised go to the Truman Presidential Library. Eban will be at the studio event, as will Jehan Sadat, Anwar Sadat's widow, and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Madeleine Albright. Clifton Truman-Daniel, the late president's grandson; Alon Ben-Gurion, grandson of former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Truman ," will speak about the president ... A million-$ was raised for the Elizabeth Taylor Pediatric AIDS Research Center at Sheba Medical Center as Arthur Hiller was honored at the home of actress Suzan Hughes.

SERIOUS DISCUSSIONS are on for Kurt Russell to star in WB's "The Soldier" with Paul Anderson ("Mortal Kombat") directing for producer Jerry Weintraub ... Kathy Bates and Sandra Bernard play mother and daughter in the "Diamonds and Toads" seg of Porchlight Ent.'s "Adventures From the Book of Virtues" animated series for PBS. Bates also joins the celebs reading AIDS Project L.A.'s "From a Burning House" Writers Workshop taped by Simon & Schuster on June 20. Steve Tisch exec produces the book-on-tape ... Meredith MacRae reads "The Heidi Principle" (as in Fleiss) and "You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again"-- as a hooker -- for Dove Audio. Yup, this is the same MacRae of "Petticoat Junction"... Suzanne Pleshette presents Ava and Chuck Fries with the PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) Founders Award today at the BevHilton. Edward James Olmos receives the Humanitarian Award.