Seen, Heard, Said

Couplings and uncouplings: -- The Pavarottis reportedly are ironing out details of their separation, even though neither Luciano nor Adua seems to want an actual divorce. Word is she'll get $100 million; each of their three daughters will get $25 mil in trust. Luciano gets his freedom to dally with Nicoletta, his 26-year-old secretary. -- Jean-Claude Van Damme is turning up linked to a lot of names these days. He's been seen with Natasha Henstridge ("Species"), and not just at work together on the set of "The Frenchman." And when asked who's the dad of soft-porn actress Isabelle Fortea Torrella's unborn baby, she replied, "I'd rather not answer that until after I talk to Jean-Claude." Meanwhile, J-C's fourth wife Darcy LaPier is home tending their three-month-old son. -- Lawyers for Liz Taylor and Larry Fortensky are still in talks over their settlement. Meanwhile, USA Today says that "so far," Larry has turned down "enormous offers" to tell the story of their life together.

Sick bay: -- Julie Andrews has returned to "Victor/Victoria" at Broadway's Marquis Theater after emergency gall-bladder surgery two weeks ago. -- Not so fortunate is the new Broadway production of "Inherit the Wind," which had to postpone its opening. Star George C. Scott is too ill with the flu to perform and though Tony Randall took over for the previews, it was decided to delay the actual opening indefinitely.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson says he'll protest the Academy Awards next Monday over the lack of African-American nominees, underscoring that story in People last week. He told the L.A. Times, "It doesn't stand to reason that if you are forced to the back of the bus, you will go to the bus company's annual picnic and act like you're happy." Responds the academy's Bruce Davis: "To say that the academy is discriminating against minorities is absurdity of the highest level." Other academy execs point out that this year's show is being produced by Quincy Jones and hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.

Entertainment Weekly spills the beans that "Friends" perkmeister Jennifer Aniston lost the lead in "Broken Arrow" because the chemistry between her and Christian Slater was "lacking." The mag says she was also labeled "too whiny" to do the park ranger role that wound up being played by Samantha Mathis.

Life Imitates Art, Chapter CMXII: Remember the episode of "Murder, She Wrote" where Jessica Fletcher is outraged because a cartoonist has created a parody of her in his comic strip? Well, the same thing has happened to blues brothers Edgar and Johnny Winter. They've sued DC Comics over the characters Johnny and Edgar Autumn in the horror comic "Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such." The lawsuit says the comic depicts the brothers as "vile, depraved, stupid, cowardly, subhuman individuals who engage in wanton acts of violence, murder and bestiality for pleasure." Some rockers might take that as a compliment.