Little in Hollywood has touched off more rumors, or denials, than the news that Warren Beatty, 54, would finally attempt parenthood, courtesy of mom-to-be Annette Bening, 33. Did Warren want the baby? (Beatty, his lawyer, and his sister, Shirley MacLaine, say yes.) Would Julia Roberts replace the bulging Bening as Catwoman in the new Batman? (Michelle Pfeiffer got the role.) The clamor was understandable. For three decades Beatty made foolin' around an art form, and the news that he's passing into papa-land made the earth move in California. On the occasion of Beatty's forthcoming production, we look back on his most creative contribution to pop culture — his love life — rating each liaison on the basis of its heat, hype, and headlines.
Joan Collins
Circa 1960. She was his first known celeb. They got
engaged and she got pregnant, or vice versa. His first known
abortion. His first known engagement broken. Didn't get much press
then, but plenty later, when she wrote about it in a 1978 tell-all
autobiography. A
Cher
1962. A pre-Sonny fling when she was just an unknown. ''I was
only 16,'' she said later, ''maybe I can get out of it with that.'' C
Mamie Van Doren
Early 1960s. Has the unusual distinction of making
headlines by claiming (in her 1987 autobiography) that she didn't
sleep with Warren, although she said they'd romanced and that he was
a wet kisser. Yech. D+
Julie Christie
Late 1960s-1973. Movies together: McCabe and Mrs.
Miller (1971), Shampoo (1975), Heaven Can Wait (1978). Started out
of Beatty's weakness for Oscar nominees and turned into one of his
longest-running relationships, defying all odds of nature and
bookies. Even Shirley said she liked her. Got much press, most of it
good. B+
Britt Ekland
Early '70s. Had a six-week fling with Beatty after
her divorce from Peter Sellers, but she serves mainly as the
chronicler of Beatty's sexual prowess. ''I have never known such
pleasure,'' she wrote in her 1981 book, True Britt. ''He could handle
women as smoothly as operating an elevator.'' An A for effort, but not
a significant entry in the Beatty oeuvre. B
Michelle Phillips
Mid-'70s. Phillips left Jack Nicholson for
Beatty (big media points), then — by her own admission — spent years in
therapy getting over Beatty (bonus media points). A
Diane Keaton
Late '70s. Movies together: Reds (1981). This was her
first post-Woody Allen affair. Reportedly she issued Warren a
marital ultimatum; reportedly she did the same thing with Al Pacino.
Many tabloid headlines. A
Madonna
1989-90. Movies together: Dick Tracy (1990), Truth or Dare(1991). She called him ''old man''; he called her ''Buzz Bomb.'' She
said, ''If you have to give Warren Beatty safe sex lessons, then what
is the world coming to?'' They were cute and they got press, but
something was missing. Maybe it was better for them than it was for
us. B-
Annette Bening
1991. Movie together: Bugsy (scheduled for fall
1991). Before the announcement of her pregnancy, she insisted, ''We're
working together and that's all.'' Some people have odd notions of
work. In any case, she has changed Warren's life forever, plastered
their names all over the globe, and opened the door for such future
Beatty films as 300 Women and a Baby. A+
Walk-Ons
Other names linked with Beatty: Elle MacPherson, Goldie
Hawn, Candice Bergen, Connie Chung, Barbra Streisand, Diane Sawyer,
Jane Fonda, Joni Mitchell, Isabelle Adjani, Brigitte Bardot, Leslie
Caron, Kate Jackson, Faye Dunaway, Justine Bateman, Mary Tyler Moore...Does the Beatty bundle mean Warren is finally settling down? Maybe in
the next life — let's ask Shirl.
