Monitor

WEDDINGS
A marriage made in honky-tonk heaven: Babelicious country belter Faith Hill and barroom balladeer Tim McGraw, both 29, confirmed longtime rumors of their romance Oct. 6 by marrying in Rayville, La. This is McGraw's first marriage. Hill was previously married to her ex-manager, Narvel Blackstock.

AILING
Entertainment mogul Merv Griffin, 71, was scheduled to begin radiation therapy for prostate cancer in L.A. this week. According to Griffin's spokesman, doctors anticipate a full recovery after a projected four weeks of outpatient treatment.

RECOVERING
Anthony Hopkins, 58, after undergoing a procedure for a herniated disk, Oct. 11, in Calgary, where he was shooting the action film Bookworm. He was discharged the next day....NBC's Rockefeller Center studios, damaged by an electrical fire that broke out the morning of Oct. 10. The five-alarm blaze forced the temporary relocation of several programs, including The Rosie O'Donnell Show, which borrowed David Letterman's set at the Ed Sullivan Theater. (Letterman's show was off for the week.) An NBC spokesperson says ''great progress'' has been made in restoring things to their former state.... Grace Under Fire star Brett Butler, 38, who entered an outpatient rehabilitation center in Los Angeles for an addiction to painkillers. Butler, who previously had problems with alcohol, says she became addicted after she began taking pills for a back injury. She'll continue filming episodes of the show during her treatment.... Lucy Lawless, 28, star of Xena: Warrior Princess, after fracturing her pelvis while rehearsing a stunt for a comedy segment on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Oct. 8, in L.A. Lawless fell on the NBC Studios parking lot when the horse she was riding for the skit stumbled. According to Lawless' spokesman, the Amazonian actress will be out of action for four to six weeks. In a statement, Leno apologized to Lawless and thanked her for being a good sport.

DEATHS
Movie producer Stephen J. Friedman, 59, of multiple myeloma, a form of bone cancer, Oct. 4, in L.A. Friedman produced over 20 films, including The Last Picture Show (1971) and The Big Easy (1987).