People

MINNELLI MAY HAVE TRIED TO ELOPE

Amid concerns by her friends that Liza Minnelli is rushing too quickly into a fourth marriage, plans are proceeding. She has come back from the brink of death and credits fiancee David Gest for her miraculous turnaround. But, according to columnist Neal Travis, the couple may have attempted to tie the knot secretly several weeks ago. Travis says that he has learned that Minnelli contacted long-time friend Claudia Cardinale in Paris, asking if the legendary actress could use her influence to convince that city's mayor to do the honors. But Cardinale found out that it's not that easy and quick in France and suggested that Minnelli go ahead with earlier plans for a real wedding. So, as it stands now, Minnelli and the much-younger Gest will be married in New York City, in about a month, with Elizabeth Taylor as matron of honor and Michael Jackson as best man.

SPEAKING OF GETTING MARRIED ...

Formerly innocent teen star Brandy has been married for some time, but the news is only now coming out. Published reports indicate that the singer-actress says that she married Robert Smith, a music producer, sometime last year. The photogenic Brandy had a meteoric rise to the top of the charts with her first album, released when she was only 16. It quickly went gold. During five seasons she starred in the TV sitcom "Moesha." During that time she concentrated on acting and spent less time in the recording studio. She now reports that a third album is on the works, though. It's titled "Full Moon" and is due out in several weeks.

WINSLET WINS TOP BRITISH HONORS ... AGAIN!

For the fourth time actress Kate Winslet has been named the best British actress. The honor is sponsored by Empire Magazine. The event is called -- not suprisingly -- the Empire Film Awards. The magazine, on its Web site, reports that Winslet's latest award is the result of her acting in the movie "Enigma." At the awards ceremonies, held in London, the 26-year-old star told the media that she would like to thank her young daughter Mia for helping her stay in the "frumpy" mood of her character. She was pregnant through much of the filming. By the way, she missed the official premiere of "Enigma," preferring to stay away from the questions of reporters because of the recent breakup of her marriage to Jim Threapleton. Additionally, Ewan McGregor was presented the Best Actor award for his work in "Moulin Rouge." It is also McGregor's fourth Empire honor. For a list of Kate's awards during her short career go to kwfc.com/kate_awards.shtml.

SCIENTIST RECEIVES MAJOR HONOR

Computer expert Anita Borg has been honored for her pioneering work in helping to train women in the fields of electronics and computer science. The Palo Alto-based Borg has been awarded this year's Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment. Along with the award comes a quarter of a million dollars. Borg, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, is a researcher for Xerox. She founded the Institute for Women and Technology. She tells the publication that to her the award "represents recognition for all of the women who are working in computing and other technical areas." During the Clinton years Borg served on a national commission working to help women find technical training and jobs. The Heinz Award is given by the Heinz Family Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Heinz food dynasty.

GRITTY RESCUE MOVIE STILL TOPS BOX OFFICE

The action film "Black Hawk Down," based on the plight of a group of American troops caught in the crossfire of the civil war in Somalia, continues to top the box office. So far, in its six weeks of release, "Hawk" has grossed more than $75 million. It's currently playing in more 3,100 theaters. The film, starring Tom Sizemore, Josh Hartnett and Sam Shepard, was also at the No. 1 spot last week. The No. 2 film in the country continues to be "Snow Dogs." "A Walk to Remember" is third and was also third last week. "The Count of Monte Cristo" has moved up a notch, from fifth last week to the No. 4 position this week. The movie "A Beautiful Mind," with that virtuoso performance from Russell Crowe, is fifth. On the down side, the much anticipated latest effort by Jim Carrey, "The Majestic," has still not topped the $30 million mark. It's been out there for seven weeks. Additionally, the Harry Potter movie has now grossed nearly $313 million in 12 weeks; "Rings" has taken in $267 million in seven weeks.

LINDBERGH GRANDSON TO RE-FLY OCEAN ROUTE

The grandson of aviator Charles Lindbergh says he will retrace the flying steps of his legendary predecessor, but not in a model of the Spirit of St. Louis. The younger Lindbergh, 36-year-old Erik, will fly a modern-day plane, complete with high-tech instruments that his grandfather couldn't even imagine. Erik Lindbergh is a flight instructor in the Seattle area and says he will undertake the journey in a single-engine Columbia plane being outfitted in Oregon. The plane will be balanced and weighted to come as close to replicating his grandfather's plane as possible. Charles Lindbergh was only 25 when he captured the imagination of the world by successfully flying from the States to France ... nonstop. His return prompted the biggest ticker-tape parade up to that time in Manhattan. The ceremonies marking his return were broadcast on 50 radio stations in 25 states, marking the first major news event to be carried live by the fledgling NBC Radio Network. By the way, Erik Lindbergh tells the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that he won't be taking along a parachute. He's leaving everything out that might increase the weight of the plane. He will, though, have a global positioning receiver so he -- unlike his grandfather -- will know exactly where he is, and he'll have Internet and e-mail capabilities. Charles Lindbergh was so weight-conscious that he even cut away the margins of maps and papers to save weight and nearly didn't get off the ground.

UPI DAILY SURVEY QUESTION NO. 263

In light of our story about Erik Lindbergh, here is today's question. It's been more than five months since the Sept. 11 attacks, so: "Do you feel any less apprehensive about flying than you did after the terror attacks?" Put TICKETS in the subject line and send to [email protected] via the Internet.

RESULTS OF QUESTION NO. 258 (WARNING)

Last week we asked if you had ever received a warning or omen in your private life that was a portent of disaster or bad news. Here are some of the replies: Kate wrote a long, sad letter about something that happened to her husband. I wish I had the space to print it all. She said she knew something was going to happen one morning when her husband failed to honk his car horn as she boarded her commuter train. It was the first time he had not. She worried all day. Then the phone call came. He had been badly burned at his job, working on power lines. Much surgery, incredible pain and much rehabilitation followed. Lisa wrote to say that two family members died after a bird got into their house. Lisa, that is scary, particularly after I mentioned that it happened in my mother's family. Peej says that when someone dies in the family a faint odor is sensed, roses, pipe tobacco and the like. Romayne says that a cousin, then serving in Vietnam, wrote home to say he "would be home soon," even though his tour of duty was not close to ending. He was home soon ... in a coffin. Sherry reports that during "automatic writing" she found out that her sister was going to die in a car accident. It didn't happen, but her sister was involved in a near-miss accident at the predicted location. Barb reports "butterflies in her stomach" just prior to having a tire blow out. Micki says dreams often come true. Finally, another Lisa wondered if my clock started chiming during a storm. Many things happen during storms. No, it just chimed. I was really worried. So far, though, no bad news ... or should I be printing that? GBA.