NAMES & FACES

Making it big: Kirstie Alley, the new face of Jenny Craig, at the post-premiere party for her new Showtime comedy "Fat Actress." (Jim Ruymen -- Reuters)

But Why Now?

Beloved gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson may have left many people shocked and grieving this week in the wake of his death at age 67 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Sunday, but his son, Juan, says it wasn't his father's suicide that caught him off guard, but rather the timing.

"The way he chose to do it was not a surprise, but the timing was a total, total surprise," Juan Thompson, 40, told the Associated Press during a phone interview from his father's home. "One thing he said many times was that 'I'm a road man for the lords of karma.' It's cryptic, but there's an implication there that he may have decided that his work was done and that he didn't want to overstay his welcome; it was time to go."

'Not a Crook,' Part 2?

The Aviator Connection? Former Watergate investigator Terry Lenzner tells Lesley Stahl that the original Watergate break-in was driven by Richard Nixon's fear that the Dems, Lenzner alleges, were about to expose a bribe paid to Nixon by none other than HowardHughes, to ensure favorable treatment for his casinos . "If I were the recipient of $100,000 in cash, the possibility that that may surface, it would bother me," he tells Stahl in an interview airing Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes." "And you think that led to Watergate?" she asks. Lenzner replies: "I think so."

Alley, Through Thick and Thin

You gotta hand it to Kirstie Alley. She really knows how to make the most of being, well, fat in a town of skinny people. Let's recap: She claims no one would hire her in Hollywood due to her poundage, so she created a show about her weight, "Fat Actress." Then, she decided she wanted to lose the weight before the show premiered, and thus became the new celeb face of Jenny Craig. And what's always the next thing to come in the series of so-called success? A new book -- "How to Lose Your [Butt] and Regain Your Life" -- which is excerpted in People mag: "Went to best friend John Travolta's 50th birthday party in Mexico. Went on private plane -- was fattest girl on plane, then at party. . . . Did not feel so fat when was drinking tequila and smoking cigarettes. Wondered why hadn't married John Travolta."

Korn Guitarist Gets Religion

A founding member of the alt-medal band Korn is relinquishing his duties as guitarist of the group because of religious beliefs.

"Korn has parted ways with guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch, who has chosen Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end," said a statement posted on Korn's Web site this week.

"A lot of people think I'm crazy. I don't care," Welch told the Bakersfield Californian.

Noted . . .

How appropriate: U2 will be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by none other than the Boss . . .

Natalie Portman created a brouhaha when she filmed a kissing scene beside Jerusalem's Western Wall for the movie "Free Zone." Dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jewish observers were overheard yelling "Immoral, immoral!" near the holy site . . .

So you're Paris Hilton and you have to leave a voice message for your cell phone. What do you say? "Hi, you've reached Paris?" Nah, too touristy. "This is Paris?" Doesn't work -- again with the tourist issues. So, as revealed this week thanks to Cell-Gate (in which hackers posted her address book and cell number), the party-hearty heiress opted for something far sleeker, sources tell MSNBC's Jeannette Walls. The voice mail message of choice? "It's meeeeeee." Perfect.

. . . and Quoted

"Why not? Middle age is an open-minded period."

-- Sharon Stone, telling Billy Bush of "Access Hollywood" that she's game for a same-sex relationship in her life.

-- Compiled by Anne Schroeder

from staff and wire reports