TUBE TALK Nathan Lane's starring turn on the ill-conceived, short-lived, ''Encore, Encore'' has apparently not soured him on sitcoms. The ''Producers'' star has signed on for a CBS comedy pilot called ''Life of the Party,'' in which he'd play a former TV star who becomes a U.S. congressman. No doubt Fred ''Gopher'' Grandy and Ben ''Cooter'' Jones are already calling their agents to get themselves guest spots.
''ER'' staged a much-hyped departure for Eriq La Salle in December after he'd served seven and a half seasons on the show, but he's about to be readmitted. ''There's a terrific line from 'Godfather III' -- 'Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,''' he tells Variety. Before fellow original cast member Anthony Edwards leaves at the end of this season, La Salle will return as Dr. Benton for three more episodes. ''If [the producers] left it up to me, I'd be done, because I feel Benton had a graceful, clean and dignified exit and I think that Noah Wyle is the future of that show. He's carried it well, and I hope that my return won't prove distracting to viewers. But I'm under contract still so it's ultimately their choice. If they want me back, I'll be back.''...
Last year, in the wake of an especially violent yet highly-rated season of ''The Sopranos,'' NBC president Robert Wright sent out an open letter wondering how his network could compete with the uncensored fare offered by HBO. Is this what he had in mind? NBC programmed a TV movie ''The Matthew Shepard Story'' on March 16, the same night as HBO's premiere of ''The Laramie Project,'' its own higher-profile film about Shepard, the Wyoming college student whose assailants killed him because he was gay. HBO has responded by moving ''Laramie,'' which premiered last month at the Sundance Film Festival, up a week, to March 9.
HITCHING POST Second time's the charm? Shannen Doherty got married in Las Vegas last week to producer Rick Solomon (''I Am Sam''), before about a dozen friends and relatives. The 30-year-old former ''Charmed'' star was married for six months to actor Ashley Hamilton (son of George) in 1993 and briefly engaged to director Rob Weiss (''Amongst Friends'') in 1995.
LEGAL BRIEF Meg Ryan succeeded in getting a restraining order imposed on stalker John Michael Hughes, requiring the 30-year-old to stay 150 yards away from Ryan and her family for three years. Also protected by the ruling is the unrelated Ryan family whose Malibu mansion Hughes mistakenly broke into last month. At the time, Hughes claimed that the ''Kate & Leopold'' star was his fiancee, though he's apparently since upgraded her to spouse. Asked in court yesterday in Santa Monica if he knew why he was present, he said, ''My wife is a little upset with an incident we had a few months ago.''
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