Flashes: March 25, 1994

PARDNERS, DANCE
After a dusty day in the saddle, Bad Girls costars Mary Stuart Masterson and Andie MacDowell came up with a way to let off steam. ''Mary and I shared a trailer,'' says MacDowell, ''which became known as Disco Palace. We'd put on loud music and just dance. We just had to cut loose and go crazy.'' But the antics didn't end there: ''We had the makeup artists come in with flashlights,'' says MacDowell, who was particularly partial to Peaches & Herb's ''Shake Your Groove Thing.'' ''We'd turn off all the lights and the makeup people would do this cool strobe effect with the flashlights.'' Only in the movies. — Cindy Pearlman

THE NATURAL
While figure-skating silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan was heard complaining to Mickey Mouse about ''corny'' stuff, gold medalist Oksana Baiul was skating her way to publicity powerhouse PMK. In the works for the 16-year-old orphan: a CBS movie about her life, and a skating tour of 60 U.S. cities with other medal contenders. Could fortune (or a soup ad) be far behind? ''An agent is negotiating endorsements,'' says PMK's Pat Kingsley. ''Oksana's working on her English. When she's comfortable, she'll be making TV appearances.'' Does Baiul have her skates set on Hollywood? ''Right now,'' says Kingsley, ''she just wants to be a teenager.'' Albeit a wealthy one. — Rebecca Ascher-Walsh

AX TO GRIND
Is there no end to Howard Stern's coattails? The latest benefactor is Stuttering John Melendez, who trades in his tape recorder for an ax with the release of his first album, Stuttering John. The guitarist is also working on a video in which he talks to such musicians as Gene Simmons about playing bass in his band. ''I tell Gene that I need someone with more experience,'' says Melendez. Will his famous boss make an appearance? ''Howard's always supportive, but he's got a lot going on,'' says Melendez, who'll tour the Northeast beginning in April and live out yet another rock & roll fantasy. ''It's like, 'Hello, Acme? I'll have the tour bus with the five blond groupies.''' — Daneet Steffens

ASSEMBLING TESS
To play a former first lady in Guarding Tess, Shirley MacLaine drew inspiration from many Presidents' wives. ''I used Jackie Kennedy's pillbox hats,'' says MacLaine, adding that she adopted ''Nancy Reagan's sense of style and her ability to manipulate, Bess Truman's homeyness, Hillary Rodham Clinton's co-presidency stuff, Betty Ford's drinking habit, and Barbara Bush's hairstyle and pearls.'' But after meeting every first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt, MacLaine says there's only one woman she'd vote for as President: Rosalynn Carter. ''She really is a steel magnolia.'' — Stephen Schaefer

GETTING PUNCHY
Hollywood's favorite knockout? Michael Keaton, of course. Kicked around by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, Keaton goes one-on-one with Glenn Close in Ron Howard's The Paper. ''At first I thought I should hold back because she's a woman,'' says Keaton. ''Then I realized I needed to protect myself.'' What disturbed Keaton most, he says, was how much Close ''really wanted to do the scene. Glenn kept looking forward to it, which made me nervous.'' But when push comes to shove, who's tougher — Pfeiffer or Close? ''Glenn,'' says Keaton without hesitation. ''(She) can kick my ass.'' — CP

PARTING WORDS
To play a death-row inmate in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, Woody Harrelson made the ultimate sacrifice — he shaved his head. ''It ruined my social life,'' moans the actor, whose buzz cut turned out to be the talk of Tinseltown. Producer Brian Grazer, who thought he'd hired a hairy Woody for the May release The Cowboy Way, says he was ''scared'' by the actor's polished pate. ''He arrived at our set and my jaw dropped,'' says Grazer. ''We tried wigs. Those looked terrible. So we went with Woody (close-cropped) as Steve McQueen. Now he looks cute.'' — CP and Erica Kornberg