Larry Hagman

Biker's helmet Deborah Norville wanted to ditch "the glamour-puss label I was stuck with" after the 1990 furor over her replacement of popular Jane Pauley as co-host of NBC's "Today" program.Ms. Norville, 35, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the desire to change her image was one reason she joined CBS television's "Street Stories" program last year."Look at the rap on me when I left NBC: 'gorgeous; couldn't report her way out of a paper bag, a real bad attitude, a prima donna,' " she said.

Remember when CBS reigned at the top of the ratings and "Dallas" ruled on Friday nights? CBS remembers, which is why tonight's final two hours of prime time are filled with a "Dallas" reunion made-for-TV movie."

On The Weekend Watch:CARTOON CRUSADE -- How's this for timing? McCall's magazine this week sent TV writers a press release in advance of a January article in which child psychologist Lee Salk cites such programs as "The Simpsons" and "Roseanne" for having a negative influence on children. And in tonight's scheduled episode of "The Simpsons" (at 8, Channel 45), mother Marge takes up a community crusade against violence in TV cartoons.ANOTHER DREAM? -- In the 1965-70 series "I Dream of Jeannie," Barbara Eden was the genie who sprang from a bottle to serve her astronaut master, played by Larry Hagman.

Mary Martin, the Broadway musical legend who portrayed Nellie Forbush and Maria von Trapp but who was Peter Pan to a mesmerized world, has died of cancer, it was reported yesterday.Miss Martin, 76, died late Saturday at her Rancho Mirage, Calif., home, near Palm Springs, publicist Richard Grant said. Mr. Grant represents Miss Martin's son, "Dallas" TV star Larry Hagman.She had been reported as seriously ill last month and hospitalized for a series of tests.The spunky little lady from Texas who lit up stages and television studios for more than a half-century became a part of American theatrical history for her starring roles in the classic stage productions of "Peter Pan," "South Pacific," "The Sound of Music" and other masterpieces.

It's one of life's great unsolved mysteries: How come we can send a space probe to Mars but we can't make a decent toupee?Or, more to the point, how can ABC newsman Sam Donaldson earn $2 million a year and still have such ridiculous hair?As a public service, the Los Angeles Times recently dispatched me to investigate this continuing fashion conundrum.Among my discoveries:Ancient Egyptian mummies wore hairpieces.The National Enquirer once ran this headline: "Bald Burt Reynolds Almost Blinded as Toupee Catches Fire."

You can tell the November sweeps month is over -- there are no gruesome stories of intra-family murder on the tube this weekend. Instead, December begins with a surprising amount of good television.Actually, the first dose of welcome post-sweeps fare is on the last day of November as NBC's "Dame Edna's Hollywood" will be on Channel 2 (WMAR) tomorrow night at 10 o'clock.Dame Edna is something of a phenomenon in Britain where everybody who is anybody just has to be on her talk show, or, as they call it on that side of the Atlantic, chat show.

Good Night, and Good Luck [Warner] $29 George Clooney infuses his audio commentary on Good Night, and Good Luck with the same self-deprecating humor and commitment to his craft he demonstrated earlier this month at the Academy Awards when he received a supporting actor Oscar for Syriana. It's not hard to enjoy a track - in his commentary Clooney is joined by Grant Heslov, his longtime friend who is co-writer and producer of Good Night - that discusses not only Sen. Joseph McCarthy but also Joanie Loves Chachi.

HERE IS WHAT I LEARNED from a recent issue of People magazine:That Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to donate his motorcycle for display at a soon-to-open New York restaurant; that Whoopi Goldberg will wear socks only if they are designed by someone named E. G. Smith; that Larry Hagman's new house has a bedroom so big it "could house a family of Salvadorans for five years;" that CBS morning show host Harry Smith can trace his broadcasting instincts back to...

NATIONAL Specter's remarks draw backlash Conservatives flooded Senate phone and fax lines yesterday demanding that Republicans prevent Sen. Arlen Specter from taking over the Judiciary Committee after his comments urging President Bush to steer clear of strongly anti-abortion judicial nominees. [Page 3a] FDA puts focus on drug safety Buffeted by criticism, the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that it would appoint a director of drug safety and take other steps to improve the safety of medications it approves.

AFTER 13 years as everything from a hype machine to a cultural touchstone, CBS' "Dallas" ends its run tonight with a two-hour episode -- the show's 356th -- on Channel 11 at 9 o'clock.The finale is a takeoff on the classic Frank Capra film "It's a Wonderful Life," the Jimmy Stewart vehicle that's now a Christmastime staple.In tonight's "Dallas," Joel Grey plays an angel who takes J.R. Ewing around and shows him what life would have been like had he never lived.Though J.R. was one of the most dastardly villains ever to stalk prime time, his life was not without its redemption.