People

By Michele Orecklin

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL MUST HAVE BEEN A RERUN

JOHN PAUL II is the most traveled Pope in history, but apparently he likes to kick back in the Vatican with the remote every now and then. During a live panel discussion on Italian television celebrating his 20th papal year, the Pope unexpectedly called in to the program, catching everyone by surprise, including his own spokesman, who was among the guests on the show. "I would like to thank all those taking part for everything that they have said and done," the Pope told the show's shocked host, Bruno Vespa. Visibly moved and more than a little flummoxed, Vespa took a moment to collect himself before finally murmuring, "Even journalists have a soul every so often." Sometimes it just takes a little papal intervention to prove it.

HAIR UNAPPARENT

Prince Charles is hawkishly protective of his adolescent sons William and Harry, so he was royally peeved last week when the London newspaper the Mirror ran an article about 14-year-old Harry's first shave. It didn't help that what Harry had shaved was his head. It seems the young Prince enlisted some chums to help him achieve the close-cropped hairstyle of his soccer hero Michael Owen. Alas, his classmates proved to be sub-par stylists, and a barber near Harry's boarding school was called upon to salvage the operation, relieving the Prince of his remaining mane. When the Mirror learned of the botched job, it ran a computer-generated picture of what Harry might look like hairless. Objecting to an "intrusion" into his sons' lives, Charles expressed his intention to appeal to the Press Complaints Commission.

WITT JOINS THE SPICE CAPADES

Figure skater KATARINA WITT, 32, is not known for being demure. Her interpretation of Carmen at the 1988 Winter Olympics turned the term ice queen upside down. But for years the East German skater has resisted Playboy's attempts to melt her remaining inhibitions. Until now. In its December issue, the magazine will feature a 10-page pictorial on Witt, stripped of skates, sequins and, yes, even her gold medals.

THE YOUNG AND THE AGELESS Any actress who can get away with trimming 13 years off her age without undergoing plastic surgery is bound to stir up some resentment. For several years, RILEY WESTON, a 32-year-old divorced actress and screenwriter, has been passing herself off as a 19-year-old, originally to get good roles and later to promote herself as a writing wunderkind. She successfully fooled her agent, the press, her colleagues and Disney, which recently signed her to a six-figure deal. Her secret was discovered last week when someone tipped off Entertainment Tonight that Weston, who wrote and guest-starred in an episode of the WB network's teen drama Felicity, may be a better actress than anyone thought. She says she was able to maintain her ruse because she doesn't have many friends. That may be one truth that grows into old age.

ON THE CATWALK, CLINTON'S THE COMMANDER IN CHIC

It's no surprise when British designer STELLA MCCARTNEY features songs by her father Paul at her fashion shows. But spectators were caught off guard last week in Paris when she opened her lingerie-inspired collection for the French design house Chloe with portions of President Clinton's remarks about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Layered over a throbbing techno beat, the President could be heard intoning, "What I'm just trying to do is contain my natural impulses and get back to work," as models wearing revealing slip dresses, camisoles and low-cut blouses sashayed down the runway. Later in the show, which she dedicated to her mother Linda, McCartney returned to a more traditional sound track with a rendition of Hey Jude. Asked after the show how she would clothe Lewinsky, McCartney replied, "Probably in a dress, and preferably one that had been dry-cleaned."