To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > People Nov. 8, 1999 URL: http://www.salon.com/people/col/reit/1999/11/08/np1108 The prose of Hackman, the passion of Hillary Gene hacks out novel without a ghost; Hotham Clinton? First lady's old boyfriend says she was a wild thing. Plus: Scary Spice scares the bejesus out of reporters. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Amy Reiter Gene Hackman, novelist? Yep, the actor and his diving buddy, underwater archaeologist Daniel Lenihan, have just released a deep-sea swashbuckler called "Wake of the Perdido Star." (Not ghost-written, they promise.) A lark grown serious, their shared literary endeavor has proven to be downright educational. Hackman says he enjoyed creating something "unhampered by 90 people standing around watching," but found the "long and arduous" editing process to be "a rude awakening." "We got back from the first edit a number of pages that I insisted meant 'Excellent!' when they made this giant X across the whole page," says Hackman, "but Dan persuaded me that that was a cut." Hackman was also squeamish about literary critics tap dancing on his newborn book. "I was very nervous and still am," he tells me. He's also frustrated that the early reviews, while respectful, treat him as an actor rather than a writer. "We'd like to be taken seriously," he says. "Even a bad review can be a good one for you if it's done by someone who has a professional attitude about literature." So much for unforgiven ... - - - - - - - - - - - - Understatement of the week "It's hard to find a guy who compares to Tiny Tim." -- Jan Corey, Tiny Tim's widow, bemoaning the difficulties of tiptoeing through the tulips of the singles scene, in New York Magazine. - - - - - - - - - - - - A new love rat Has Hillary Clinton's college beau been taking lessons from Princess Di love rat James Hewitt? In Gail Sheehy's upcoming book "Hillary's Choice," excerpted in Parade, Hill's ol' flame Dave Rupert spills the dirt on the first lady as a passionate lover. After meeting as interns in Washington (keep your kneepad jokes to yourself), the two young lovebirds would spend weekends snuggling in a two-room converted barn in Vermont. Hillary, he says, was hot stuff back then, despite her penchant for "big ugly glasses" and prim buns. Writes Sheehy, "He found the passion beneath the prude." But the ambitious gal dumped him because he was too grass roots. "I never stated a burning desire to be president of the United States," says Rupert. "I believe that was a need for her in a partner." Today's special: Sour grapes. - - - - - - - - - - - - Why she's called Scary "I want to talk about our bloody book." -- Scary Spice Mel G, getting testy after being grilled by reporters at the "Forever Spice" book-release party about Spice defector Geri Halliwell's alleged new romance. - - - - - - - - - - - - She's no angel Can't go home again? Roma Downey can. But the next time she does, she might want to steer clear of a certain sister. The "Touched by an Angel" star spotted a familiar habit during a trip back to Derry, Northern Ireland, last summer: Sister Emanuel, the head nun of her old convent school. "She said, 'Oh, you're doing so well, we're very proud of you,'" Downey recalls in the upcoming debut issue of TV Guide Celebrity Dish. "Then she added, 'But to be perfectly honest with you, we didn't really think you were angel material in those days.'" Thank goodness Sister E wasn't toting her ruler. - - - - - - - - - - - - Juicy Bits Sophia Loren has been voted the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by 3,000 Britons polled by a U.K. cosmetics company. She beat out younger gals like Cindy Crawford and Julia Roberts for the top spot. Somewhere out there, Richard Gere and Lyle Lovett are yelling, "Yesss!" Hasn't the world learned not to mess with Rosa Parks? In April, the civil rights icon filed suit against the rap group OutKast for $25,000 in damages for naming its Grammy-nominated song after her. She's offended by the group's "vulgarity and profanity." Now, OutKast lawyers say she's stomping on their First Amendment rights. Maybe they should organize a sit-in. Just what you needed: The stuff Flip Wilson left behind. The late comedian's cars, bikes, Emmys, gold records and other memorabilia will be auctioned off in California next week by A.N. Abell Auction Company. The auctioneers make no mention of Geraldine's miniskirts, however. Guess what you see really is what you get. salon.com | Nov. 8, 1999