People, places & things in the news

*Index*
O.J. Simpson's	Hermann Maier	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ric "the Nature Boy" Flair	Louis Gossett Jr.	Lamar Alexander

Photo by The Associated Press

First U.S. exhibition

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston features works by British artist David Hockney, sweeping panoramas of British landscapes and the Grand Canyon shown for the first time in the United States. Hockney is known for his use of bold and brilliant colors. Theresa Higgins and Edie Curran, both of Wakefield, huddle together to view "Salts Mill, Saltaire Yorks, 1997."

O.J. Simpson's oldest daughter Arnelle crashed her convertible into a Beverly Hills, Calif., apartment building early yesterday and was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
Ms. Simpson, 29, was in stable condition at a hospital with minor injuries, police Sgt. Tony Lee said. Nobody else was injured.
She was alone when her black Saab hit a sign and concrete bus bench, crashed through a flower garden and struck the two-story apartment building, leaving cracks in the wall, Sgt. Bill Pritchard said.
She was ordered to appear in court May 21. A message left for Ms. Simpson's lawyer was not returned.
Ms. Simpson was a witness at her father's criminal and civil trials in the slayings of her stepmother, Nicole Brown Simpson, and a friend in 1994. Simpson was acquitted in the criminal trial, but found liable in the deaths and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.
Simpson also has a son from his first marriage, and two young children from his marriage to Mrs. Simpson.

The Terminator has introduced the Herminator to America.

Hermann Maier, the Austrian who won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics, joined actor Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday night on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

"He's a countryman and a friend of mine," Schwarzenegger said. "He's one of the greatest athletes of all times. He's a man that is courageous. He's determined."

A brief clip was shown of the skier's 90 mph tumble down the slopes during an Olympic downhill race.

"The fall would kill every one of us here. This guy gets up, looks in the camera and says, 'I'll be back.' That's why they call him the Herminator," Schwarzenegger said, borrowing a line he used in the movie "The Terminator."

"I don't watch the tape," said Maier, when asked if it's a painful memory. "Maybe I was a little bit fast at this turn. I fly up and I thought, 'Oh, it's not the same like United Airlines.'"

Could it be? Professional wrestling is staged? That's the shocking accusation a promoter has made in a lawsuit filed against champion wrestler Ric "the Nature Boy" Flair in Atlanta.

It turns out that Flair -- known for his blond tresses, piercing battle cry, "Woooooo!" and sparkling robes, including one that has 7,200 rhinestones and weighs 45 pounds -- is an entertainer, not an athlete.

The suit filed in state court by World Championship Wrestling claims Flair's failure to show up at a series of bouts this year played havoc with "story lines" planned out for the performances.

Flair, 49, has a three-year contract worth nearly $2 million to wrestle for Turner Broadcasting System's top-rated cable show.

He did not return phone calls left at his Charlotte, N.C., home and gyms.

"Wrestling is action-packed sports entertainment," WCW spokesman Alan Sharp said Thursday.

Actor Louis Gossett Jr. and former Gov. Lamar Alexander helped more than a dozen family members and friends of Alex Haley unveil a 13-foot statue of the author yesterday.

Haley, who died in 1992, won a Pulitzer Prize for "Roots," which traced his ancestry and was later made into the most-watched miniseries in TV history. Gossett won an Emmy in 1977 for his portrayal of the slave Fiddler.

Hundreds watched the unveiling of the statue, which was placed in a park in November. The 13-foot-high, 4,200-pound bronze figure is described as America's largest statue of a black man.

Created by Los Angeles artist Tina Allen, it shows Haley looking up from a book. The dedication on the statue calls Haley, a Tennessee native, "America's storyteller."