By Guy D. Garcia

"Falconers are loners for the most part. It's just them and the bird." Timothy Hutton, 23, should know. He spent six months in Santa Cruz, Calif., last year learning the ancient art of falconry to gain insight into the character of Christopher Boyce, the devoted falconer and former altar boy who in 1977 was sentenced to 40 years for passing U.S. military secrets to the Soviet Union. Hutton, known for such films as Ordinary People and Iceman, likes portraying Boyce in The Falcon and the Snowman, due out at the end of the year, rather than again playing "the typical angry young man or whatever people might expect. I'm too young to play it safe."

Question: What competitive event would pit a running back (Earl Campbell), a race-car driver (A.J. Foyt) and an astronaut (Air Force Colonel Joe Engle) against a high-strung team armed only with cellos, violins, one harp and a collection of horns? No, not ABC's Wide Whirl of Junk Sports. Real answer: the 1984 Houston Symphony Olympics, a cacophonous assembly of nine celebrity guest conductors who showed up last week for a publicity-stunt contest that generated more than 1,500 new subscribers for the symphony season. All conducted themselves admirably--and the suffering orchestra less well. In the end, local TV Journalist Marvin Zindler copped the gold with his rendition of the "William Tell"Overture. Former N.B. A. Star Calvin Murphy successfully shot for the silver with Sweet Georgia Brown, and Space Shuttle Pilot Engle blasted his way to the bronze with the theme from Star Wars. As for the symphony players, Engle observed, "Those guys can do it alone."

The exhibit is called the "Wealth of the Ancient World." And the fortune that bought it is one of the largest in the modern world. Eight years ago, Multimillionaires Nelson Bunker Hunt, 58, and William Herbert Hunt, 55, set out to build the finest collection of Greek corns possible. The 166 pieces in the show, which also includes priceless vases and Hellenic and Roman bronzes, have already been on display in Detroit, Fort Worth and Richmond, Va. Last week they came to Dallas, the Hunts' home town, and the brothers dropped by the new Museum of Art for a look (with Bunker looking a healthy 50 or so pounds lighter than he used to). The Hunts, who failed to corner the silver market a few years back, have cornered a segment of the silver-antiquities market. Their set of eleven silver decadrachmas, worth $10 million, are the only ones in the world.

When she first appears onstage, a Soviet spy asks her if she is a typical student. "I guess I am typical," replies Brooke Shields. "I'm taking 17 units." Not much else seemed average about Shields, 18, as the media flocked to cover her college stage debut last week in Princeton University's 95th annual Triangle Club student revue. Revel Without a Pause features the comely coed in five short skits, including a musical number with a tune called Spiller, a sendup of Michael Jackson's Thriller. Who knows, with luck and hard work Shields may eventually get the lead in a Princeton drama-club production. How about an adaptation of The Blue Lagoon?

--By Guy D. Garcia