People in the News for June 1, 1998

The bookshelf of compelling butler literature is short but robust -- who among us can forget "Valet of the Dolls"? To that distinguished list we must certainly add Rene Delorm's new volume, a serve-and-tell memoir of his years as manservant to Dodi Fayed -- he was with the couple for 24 of their last 27 days together. It's a job that allowed Delorm to peek through the keyhole of history, and if his "Diana and Dodi: A Love Story" gives second billing to his nominal boss, it nonetheless offers a few stimulating passages. Did you know Fayed planned to propose to Diana the very night they died? It's a cruelly ironic yet potently book-hyping revelation. "Rene," Delorm recalls Fayed saying That Fateful Night, "make sure there is champagne on ice when we come back from dinner. I'm going to propose to her tonight!" Except they never came back from dinner and Delorm was left with nothing but memories, memories -- well, and the $205,000 diamond ring Fayed planned to present to Diana; he'd left it in the closet, Delorm writes. The butler says he gave the ring to Fayed's family, despite unconfirmed reports that it had been found in the wreckage. Delorm's account bolsters the belief among Dodi's circle that he was going to ask the Princess of Wales to marry him. Her intimates, however, said she had no intention of allowing an enjoyable romance to become a weighty commitment.

The speed of thought

"Tommy and I had a real soul connection," Pamela Anderson Lee says of the man jailed for kicking her as she held their two baby children. "I mean, there's not a minute that goes by that I'm not thinking about him and hoping that he's doing well." Really? Let's crunch a few numbers. At one thought of Tommy per minute, that's 60 thoughts an hour, and -- assuming she's awake an average of 18 hours a day -- 1,080 thoughts a day. Now, logically separating "thinking about him" and "hoping that he's doing well" into distinct cognitive activities, that's 2,160 mental functions each day Anderson Lee dedicates to her soon-to-be-ex-husband, an extraordinary outlay of brainpower for a "Baywatch" alumna. One wonders how much thought she was able to put into her next career move: the show "V.I.P.," about a hot dog vendor mistaken for a top celebrity bodyguard.

Spices racked

We here at People in the News understand that not a minute goes by that you don't wonder if Ginger Spice will make good on last week's rumors and leave the group. Well, rest your brain -- she has. "Sadly, I would like to confirm that I have left the Spice Girls," she statemented Sunday. "This is because of differences between us. I'm sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best." From their spot on pop culture's mark-down table, the remaining Spices say they're "upset and saddened by (her) departure but we are very supportive in whatever she wants to do." They insist Ginger's departure won't affect their upcoming U.S. tour (which includes an August stop in Las Vegas). But how can we be sure? If only there was a butler on hand to give us the full story!

Compiled by Scott Dickensheets

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