HAWKING LENDS HIS VOICE TO 'SIMPSONS' EPISODE

Physicist Stephen Hawking holds the Cambridge University post once held by Sir Isaac Newton. The author of "A Brief History of Time" also manages to hold the attention of Bart Simpson.The (London) Independent on Sunday reported Hawking flew to Hollywood last week to tape his voice for an episode of "The Simpsons" that is to be broadcast in the spring.

"He comes in to make a commentary on the universe as a whole and intellectuals," producer Bonnie Patila says. "He plays himself -- it's a show that has to do with intellectuals, and we don't know anyone more intellectual than him."

Bart -- "an underachiever and proud of it" -- was "overawed" by Hawking, the newspaper reported.

MARRIAGE TO HAMILTON WAS 'RIDICULOUS,' DOHERTY SAYS

Shannen Doherty says her marriage to George Hamilton's son, Ashley, was "a ridiculous thing."

Talking to TV Guide in the Dec. 12 issue, Doherty said the 1993 union, which came after the couple had known each other for two weeks and lasted only six months, should never have happened.

Hamilton was not the only man in her life, she said. "One guy would be in, then all of a sudden there would be another," she said.

Doherty, who gained notoriety as the temperamental star of "Beverly Hills, 90210" and returned to TV this fall with "Charmed," said she doesn't have a boyfriend, but is hopeful. "I'm the marrying kind," she said. "And I want children so badly."

BMW STOLEN, PILFERED FROM '60 MINUTES' GROUCH

Now Andy Rooney really has something to grumble about.

Someone stole the "60 Minutes" commentator's BMW over the weekend and pilfered its leather seats, dashboard, radio and door panels.

The car was discovered Saturday after it was stolen from Rooney's home in Norwalk, Conn. Garage operators said the heist appeared to be a steal-to-order job for someone who needed new BMW parts.

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A SERIOUS CASE OF JITTERS FOR KIDMAN IN HIT PLAY

Nicole Kidman says she got a serious case of the jitters before her debut performance in the "The Blue Room," a play in which she portrays five characters and appears naked in one scene.

"I freaked out," she said in this week's issue of Newsweek magazine. "I phoned my dad in Sydney and said, 'I'm terrified. I have to pull out of the play. I can't play five different characters. There's no way I can learn all the accents. What was I thinking?' "

The play was a sellout in London and is scheduled to open in New York on Sunday.

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