People: Oct. 21, 2002

It Was So Much Safer in Eden

In what could be considered “The Fall of Man: The Sequel,” a priceless marble statue of ADAM tumbled off its pedestal at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created by Venetian sculptor Tullio Lombardo between 1490 and 1495, the 6-ft. 3-in., 1,800-lb. statue broke into several pieces, with the arms and legs sustaining particularly bad fractures. Curators have determined that the pedestal buckled of its own accord. The statue, which the Met acquired in 1936, is expected to be restored and put back on display in two years, with evidence of the damage visible to only the most discerning eye. Adam seemed to take the tumble with aplomb: his hair, a solid mass of marble curls, remained unmussed.

JUST ANOTHER NATURALLY PRETTY FACE

Perhaps it was a pact with the devil or just impossibly advantageous genes, but MICHELLE PFEIFFER adamantly asserts that her enviable appearance owes nothing to plastic surgery. The clarification came after a comment made by PATRICIA HEATON, who happily cops to her own touch-ups. Heaton, the co-star of Everybody Loves Raymond, joked to David Letterman about an actress currently on the cover of a magazine who said she was afraid of Botox, a comment Heaton said amused her because she had spoken to that actress’s plastic surgeon. As it happens, Pfeiffer is on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar and says she is afraid of Botox. After Pfeiffer reiterated that she is a natural woman, Heaton issued an apology, saying her comments were completely unfounded and Pfeiffer had “graciously accepted her apology.”

WHO’S PLAYING WHOM In recent days, some well-known actors have signed on to portray some well-known deceased. How good a choice were these casting decisions?

ACTOR Geoffrey Rush

ROLE Manic actor Peter Sellers, who played Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films

IS THIS A GOOD FIT? Yes. In the film Shine, for which he won an Oscar, Rush proved he can convincingly play crazy

ACTOR Charlize Theron

ROLE Multiple murderer Aileen Wuornos, who was executed last week in Florida

IS THIS A GOOD FIT? No. Theron has not exactly been killing audiences at the movies lately

ACTOR Val Kilmer

ROLE Legendary and legendarily well endowed porn star John Holmes

IS THIS A GOOD FIT? Too soon to tell. We’ll have to wait to see if any prosthetics will be needed