People talk 12/8/03

Trista Rehn no longer 'The Bachelorette'

PALM DESERT, Calif. -- "The Bachelorette" lovebirds Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter have tied the knot, but the event might not seem real until it airs on television. They were married Saturday at the Lodge in Rancho Mirage. The hotel reopened Sunday after being closed to the public for four days to accommodate the large-scale production. The wedding is scheduled to air Wednesday night on ABC. The network picked up the $1 million tab for the wedding. The couple also were paid a fee, said to be another $1 million.

'Waltons' house sold at auction Saturday

SCHUYLER, Va. -- The two-story home of the family that inspired "The Waltons" television series was sold at auction for $122,000. Pam Rutherford was the highest bidder Saturday. She grew up about five miles from the house, which she said had fallen into disrepair. The house became famous when Earl Hamner Jr. created "The Waltons," the folksy 1972 to 1981 TV show portraying a close-knit family in Depression-era Virginia that was based on his family. The house shown on "The Waltons" resembled the Hamner house.

Bryson getting by with a little help from friends

ATLANTA -- Friends of Peabo Bryson stepped in to help the award-winning singer keep some of his prized possessions, including at least one of his two Grammys. Bryson's Grammy Awards for "Beauty and the Beast" and "A Whole New World" were auctioned during the weekend to help pay his $1.2 million tax debt. The Internal Revenue Service seized all of Bryson's property from his Atlanta home in August. Bryson's 1992 Grammy sold for $15,500 and one of his gold records went for $3,000.

Auction raises money for Reynold's collection

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- A pant-outfit and shawl worn by Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch" sold for $58,750 at a charity auction of Hollywood costumesSaturday. Actress Debbie Reynolds auctioned off nearly 400 movie costumes and props to raise money, and the event raised more than $500,000 for the planned Hollywood Motion Picture Museum. Reynolds, 71, has been passionate about preserving Hollywood memorabilia since buying most of her collection in 1970 at an MGM Studio auction.-- From wire reports

A dinner with Reynolds sold for $5,875. Another costume worn by Monroe, a late 1800s-styled jacket and dress from her 1950 film "A Ticket To Tomahawk," sold for $41,125.

Other items included an original 1939 poster for "Gone With The Wind," which sold at $11,750; and, $5,875 for the white denim uniform worn by Sigourney Weaver in the 1979 sci-fi horror film "Alien."-- From wire reports

------

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson married his girlfriend in a private ceremony, his spokeswoman said Sunday.

Persson and Anitra Steen were married at Persson's home in Harpsund on Saturday, spokeswoman Anna Helsen said. Friends and family attended the service.

Persson and Steen, both 54, became a couple after the prime minister divorced his second wife in 2002. He has been prime minister since 1996.

Steen heads Sweden's state-run liquor monopoly, Systembolaget, which has been at the center of controversy amid bribery allegations involving dozens of its employees.