People talk 8/7/03

Raquel Welch separates from fourth husband

LOS ANGELES -- Raquel Welch has separated from husband Richard Palmer, her publicist said.

The "Fantastic Voyage" actress married Palmer, her fourth husband, in 1999 at her Beverly Hills home. Palmer owns the Mulberry Street Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills and Richie's Neighborhood Pizza stores.

In announcing their separation in a joint press release, Palmer and Welch said there was no third party involved and that the separation was amicable.

Divorce papers had not been filed, according to Welch publicist Jill Bushinsky, who said Tuesday she also spoke on behalf of Palmer.

Welch, 62, won a Golden Globe for her work in "The Three Musketeers."

'Most Wanted' host, wife back together

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh and his wife have jointly dismissed their divorce lawsuit, an attorney for Reve Walsh said.

Attorney Odette Bendeck said Tuesday that the couple is "happily reconciled" and committed to their marriage. A dismissal of all divorce actions was filed in state court in Indian River County, where Reve Walsh filed for divorce in July 2002.

Seeking custody of the couple's two underage children, Reve Walsh had said in court papers that her marriage was irretrievably broken. They'd been married 32 years.

The Walshes' son, Adam, then 6, was abducted July 27, 1981, from a Broward County Sears store. His head was found 14 days later and 120 miles away in a canal on the west side of Vero Beach.

Actor dismisses notion 'Waterworld' flopped

NEW YORK -- Kevin Costner doesn't care that "Waterworld," his futuristic blockbuster from 1995, was a major flop with critics.

"They don't have that 'Waterworld' ride in Universal Studios because it's not popular," the actor-director tells Diane Sawyer in an interview on ABC's "Primetime Thursday," airing at 9 p.m. "It's a great movie, it really is. I know it made a lot of money," he adds.

Costner, 48, also says that one of his biggest hits, 1992's "The Bodyguard," almost had a sequel -- and it would have starred Princess Diana. He said he'd been talking with her about succeeding Whitney Houston, and got the script for the film on Aug. 31, 1997 -- the day Diana died in a Paris car crash.

"She was very quiet. She was really sweet. And I said, 'Yeah, there's going to be a kissing scene.' And she laughed," Costner says. "There was a very real thing between us in terms of doing this movie. ... She hadn't said yes to it, but she had indicated to me that she knew her life was going to change."

Costner's latest film, the Western "Open Range," will be in theaters Aug. 15.

Ailing guitarist halts tour for Lynyrd Skynyrd

LOS ANGELES -- The Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd canceled the remainder of its co-headline tour with Sammy Hagar because of the health woes of founding lead guitarist Gary Rossington.

Rossington, who underwent successful open-heart surgery in February, had received permission to head out on the "Party of a Lifetime" tour with Hagar beginning July 19. Lynyrd Skynyrd's own "Vicious Cycle" tour had been set to begin Aug. 23 in Omaha, Neb.

Rossington, 51, underwent quintuple bypass surgery Feb. 25 at an Atlanta area hospital. But last week, Rossington's doctor ordered him to rest because of fatigue, band spokesman Lathum Nelson said Tuesday.

Further tests by Dr. Matthew W. Gwynn determined Rossington had suffered a mild seizure. Rossington, who was released from the Atlanta area hospital Monday, will need at least three weeks of rest before touring, Gwynn said.

There were no details about the seizure, Nelson said.

Lynyrd Skynyrd hopes to reschedule performances in cities where concerts have been canceled, Nelson said.

The band's hits over the past 30 years include "Gimme Three Steps," "Freebird" and "Sweet Home Alabama."

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