Street TALK

Waiting for Terry



Fans were taken aback when author TERRY MCMILLAN signed copies of her best-selling Waiting to Exhale at Black Images bookstore in Wynnewood Village, but refused to stay for a live interview with radio talk show host County Commissioner JOHN WILEY PRICE. McMillan passed by Price as he set up equipment for the broadcast, then left the store to visit her favorite Dallas artist, FRANK FRAZIER. Baffled, Price improvised the segment by chatting with local writers who happened to be in the store. It turns out that McMillan had to cancel several engagements because of exhaustion. “She told me when she came to town that she would not be able to do the interview,” says Black Images co-owner EMMA RODGERS. McMillan later had a change of heart. That evening she called Price’s radio show and thanked Dallas book buyers for their support. Price, on the air at least, seemed to take the whole thing in stride.



Please Baby. Please Baby, Please



Now we know why he got back in the race. When ROSS PEROT dropped out of the presidential contest last July, attorney TOM LUCE, his right-hand man, endured a barrage of phone calls imploring him to get the billionaire to reconsider. One of the most impassioned pleas came from singer/actress CHER, who gave Luce the unlisted number for her bedroom phone and vowed to do anything for the campaign if Perot would jump back in.



When *&! Is a Term of Endearment

Photo GEOF KERN is turning into actress DEBRA WINGER’s favorite lensman. While in Dallas to film the Steve Martin movie Leap of Faith, she did a photo session with Kern in which he put her through some grueling paces, including stuffing her upper body into a 1-by 3-foot box. The pix are in the November issue of LA Style. Geof, whose work is seen in all the big national mags, also just finished shooting Winger in California for an upcoming Esquire cover. An easygoing guy, Geof says the actress can be “highly insulting.” But, he adds, “she does it for fun. That means she likes you.”

Fat Chance

Highland Park High School may be buying larger-sized costumes for its drill team this year. According to CATHY WHEAT, director of the Highland Belles, a test of body fat percentage was one of the five criteria for aspiring members that were quietly dropped last summer. “We had complaints from parents and from people in the medical community that these requirements might contribute to eating disorders among the girls,” said Wheat. The other requirements were height, weight for height, hip and thigh measurements.



And the Bride Wore…It’s a Secret



Dallas designer VICTOR COSTA knows how to keep his friends. Months after the wedding of ROSS PEROT’s daughter Carolyn, for whom he created the gown, Victor is still denying that he sent a sketch of the dress to Women’s Wear Daily. All wedding details were supposed to be secret, but WWD ran a drawing right after the event. WWD editors say they got the sketch, on Costa stationery, from Costa himself. In the meantime. Life magazine and others have been trying in vain to get the rights to print the wedding photos.



Turning Tables



Local folks won’t soon forget C&W star GEORGE STRATT. While he was here filming (he movie Pure Country, his crew dared him to dance on a table top at Billy Bob’s. Which he did. His visit also was a boon for ANITA WILLIAMS, resident two-step teacher at Cowboys, who choreographed the movie. She’s also created a line dance for Chris LeDoux’s new video now being shown on TNN.



The Dress Is Familiar



As HILLARY CLINTON shook hands with

Supporters at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center earlier this fall, one of the many well-wishers was a distinguished African-American woman in a striking green hat: and suit. Clinton’s eyes lit up, “I thought you looked familiar,” she said. “You look just like your sister.” Oak Cliff resident EULA WILDER’s sister is Martha Dixon, a Little Rock seamstress who has designed several outfits for Clinton, including one for the gubernatorial ball.



Wake Me When It’s Over



The weary electorate is not the only ones glad the presidential campaign is over. Dallas’ branch of the Secret Service is looking forward to returning to normal. “It is stressful here in Texas because we had so many visits from Bush and Clinton,” says JERRY PATTON. special agent in charge of the Dallas field office. The first African-American to hold that position, Patton is a TCU grad who has seen it all, including duty in New York and Washington. His most difficult challenge? The poor heaters at Camp David.



Good Career Move

Former Dallas artist TRACY HARRIS has gotten more recognition from her marriage to renowned sculptor DAN FLAVIN than from any of her shows (The couple were wed last summer at the Guggenheim Museum, an event covered in The New York Times.) The Gerald Peters Gallery, which represents her locally, reports that prices for Harris’ abstract paintings haven’t escalated yet (they sell for $500 to $8,000), but more people are coming in arid asking for her work. In New York, the couple has a house in the Hampton where Harris works in a studio overlooking the water.