People: Aug. 24, 1998

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X MARKS THE LAWSUIT

This is a story of a pot of gold, but instead of a rainbow, there's a lawsuit over it. Next Monday JANN WENNER is due to show up in Idaho with a mason jar of old gold coins as the first step in a court case over who owns it. Construction worker GREGORY CORLISS, above, right, claims he was digging a driveway on Wenner's woodsy hideaway in Idaho when he noticed some coins in the soil. On further inspection, he and his boss, LARRY ANDERSON, found a mason jar full of them, dating from 1857 to 1914. Corliss says he gave them to Anderson as collateral for an $11,000 loan. When he came to pay the money back, Anderson refused to return the coins and gave them to Wenner, the owner of Rolling Stone and several other glossy magazines and, need we add, a very wealthy man. Corliss is suing the rock mogul (and Anderson) to get back the coins, which could be worth between $22,000 (in weight) and $10 million (if bought by collectors.) This is the first case of its kind in Idaho, and it rests on whether the coins were lost, were abandoned or are buried treasure, in which case they should go to Corliss, or were merely mislaid, in which case they go to Wenner. Wouldn't it be easier just to divide them up?

WAS IT HORSEPLAY OR FOUL PLAY?

Cowboys will be Cowboys--which is why it doesn't seem odd that the Dallas Cowboys would say guard Everett McIver got a 2-in. gash in his neck from scissors during a haircutting session because of "horseplay" with teammate MICHAEL IRVIN. What's making football fans suspicious, however, is the Cowboys' subsequent tight-lippedness over a wound that kept McIver out of action for 11 days and two exhibition games. The rumors, denied by all parties, that Irvin paid McIver to keep quiet seemed serious enough for the NFL reportedly to look into the incident; and the fact that Irvin is on four-year probation is helping keep matters simmering.

PAULA MAKES IT SMALLER

PAULA JONES, a woman who apparently felt her affection for the camera was not sufficiently requited, enriched her standing among the American public by unveiling her nose job on national TV last week. The surgery, which was paid for by an anonymous donor, is the latest in a series of "improvements" Jones has made to her lineaments, although, oddly, her haircut and the removal of her braces were not considered broadcast-worthy material. Appearing exclusively on PrimeTime Live and in the National Enquirer, Jones said she decided to trade in her "family nose" because she was sick of being made fun of by cartoonists. (This should really help.)

WYCLEF AIMS HIGH

Does the Committee to Protect Journalists have a critics' chapter? WYCLEF JEAN, a member of the band the Fugees (biggest hit: Killing Me Softly with His Song), reportedly pulled a gun on a magazine editor over a bad review of a rap band he's producing. "For some reason, sometimes hip-hop artists, they seem to feel like they can operate outside the rules of normalcy," said Jesse Washington, editor of the new magazine Blaze. Jean denied the allegation on MTV. "Wyclef Jean pulls no gun. Wyclef Jean plays guitars, and I have love for my family, respect for the artists that I roll with, and I respect the media very much." As persuasive as a loaded weapon at short range is, Washington said it did not influence his decision to pull the review.

GIRL IN THE MOON