People

By Belinda Luscombe

ART IS HARD

Is there anything sweeter than the perfectly executed hoax? DAVID BOWIE, novelist William Boyd and others nearly pulled one off with the launch of the first book from Bowie's new publishing venture. It's Boyd's biography of little-known Abstract Expressionist painter NAT TATE, who, at 31, committed suicide after meeting Picasso and Braque and destroying most of his work, except the painting above. At the book party, English journalist David Lister asked guests if they had heard of Tate. Many had. Bad call. After very little digging, Lister discovered that Tate, photo and all, was a fiction. Boyd did the painting.

OUT BY THE OUTHOUSE

GEORGE MICHAEL gave a little public performance last week in a bathroom at a park in Beverly Hills. It did not go well. The audience was an undercover cop who not only didn't recognize the singer but also arrested him for performing a "lewd act." To add insult to arrest, Michael had to suffer the advice of his frequent taunter Boy George, who wrote in a tab: "When push comes to shove, we are sisters under the skin." Boy was right. On Friday night Michael expressed regret for the embarrassing incident and admitted on CNN that he is in a relationship with a man. Asked why he was outing himself now, Michael said, "I've already kind of done that, haven't I?"

HE IS HEAVY, HE'S MY HALF BROTHER

When he was nine, ERIC CLAPTON discovered the woman he thought was his older sister was really his mother. Now that he's 53, other members of his family have popped up. The Canadian papers have unearthed TED RICH, once an up-and-coming Vancouver guitarist, now a heroin addict living in a flophouse. He and Clapton were both fathered by Edward Fryer, a Canadian soldier who met Clapton's mother in Britain during the war. Rich also has a sister, living in Florida. Rich says he would like to meet his half brother, but not until he is off the horse. "I've got three songs I've written that I'd like to send [him], to let him hear what his brother's musical capabilities are," Rich told the Montreal Gazette. Coincidentally, Clapton, who has had his own struggles with addiction, recently announced plans to open a rehab clinic in Antigua. Could it be time for a little Easter gift? The singer's representatives said they had no comment on his new family, but offered to fax through Clapton's tour dates.

HIS LEFT FOOT

Climbing Mount Everest is no mean feat. Climbing Mount Everest with only one foot borders on lunacy. TOM WHITTAKER, a mountaineer who lost a kneecap and a foot in a car accident in 1979, is in the Himalayas right now on his way to the top. No, he's not hopping or being dragged up, although he is being carried financially by a vitamin company. He has a prosthesis, which has its advantages (no chance of frostbite) but takes 30% more energy to walk with. This is Whittaker's third assay on Everest. He was turned back once by an avalanche and once because he decided he was too slow. "No, I don't think I'm insane," says Whittaker, but adds this is his last summit attempt. And he's keeping his climb in perspective. "One of the things that really attracts me about mountaineering is its total pointlessness," he says. "So I've dedicated my life to it."