People

By Michele Orecklin

THE ARTIST NOW KNOWN AS REPRINCE

If your Raspberry Beret has begun to look a little frayed, don't despair. THE ARTIST (formerly known as sane) has announced plans to rerecord all 17 albums he made between 1978 and 1996 with his former label Warner Bros. Yes, such classics as Controversy, 1999 and Purple Rain can be yours, again. The Artist has been feuding with Warner Bros. for years, in part because he wants full ownership of his output. By rerecording his catalog and releasing it on his own label, he'll retain control of the master recordings--not to mention reap more profits. Plus, the Artist believes, improved technology will make the music sound better. Let's just hope he won't be inspired to reshoot Under the Cherry Moon.

RAGING BULLWINKLE

ROBERT DE NIRO, JASON ALEXANDER and RENE RUSSO are big stars, but they aren't the headliners on their current project. That honor falls to a computer-generated moose and squirrel. The movie, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, features De Niro as Fearless Leader, Alexander as Boris and Russo as Natasha; the critters will be added during editing. De Niro reports he had no difficulty shooting scenes with half the characters absent. "It's not hard unless you have a very emotional scene," he says. Which means we probably won't learn much about Bullwinkle's troubled childhood.

TOM JONESKI

Russian funny man and ultranationalist parliamentarian VLADIMIR ZHIRINOVSKY took time out of his legislative duties last week to celebrate the release of his first compact disc, a collection of pop tunes titled The Real Colonel. Zhirinovsky, once considered a leading contender for the presidency, held the celebration at Dolls, one of Moscow's more distinguished strip clubs. The head of the Liberal Democratic Party thrilled the audience when he took the stage and, surrounded by dancers, alternately recited song lyrics and denounced NATO. But the Russian citizenry is never far from his mind. "[Zhirinovsky] is above all a politician," said his spokesman, "and for him this is an opportunity for a new kind of communication with millions of people."

ESTATE YOUR CASE

They were artists and they were patriarchs, but when they died, they left lingering legacies and survivors scrambling for cash:

PABLO PICASSO

CLAIMANTS: Claude Picasso, son; Marina Picasso, granddaughter

AT ISSUE: Claude, legal administrator of the estate, has licensed Picasso's signature to carmaker Peugeot-Citroen. His niece is challenging a large consulting fee on the deal paid to another cousin's company

SHOCK NEWS: Picasso's name is on mugs and carpets, but not cars

SONNY BONO

CLAIMANTS: Cher, ex-wife; Sean Machu, alleged out-of-wedlock son

AT ISSUE: Cher filed a claim against Bono's $1.6 million estate for unpaid alimony. And a California judge has ordered DNA tests on Bono and Machu to determine if he is Bono's son and eligible for inheritance

SHOCK NEWS: Cher, the successful one, wasn't paying Sonny alimony