June 1, 2004

BY MICHAEL SNEED SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Sneed is told first lady Maggie Daley made a hush-hush low-profile trip to Turkey last week after she left Paris.

*The upshot & buckshot: The trip was for a good cause, but the mayor's office wanted no publicity for security reasons . . . and the fact a bomb exploded in a McDonald's in Istanbul recently.

Hmmm . . .

Lip lines: U.S. Rep. Bill "The Lip" Lipinski, our transportation guru, is reportedly talking retirement before November and becoming a consultant. Hello, Bill.

A stone's throw . . .

Whoopee!

Imagine the delight of Gibsons general partner John Colletti, a real sweetheart, when he got a phone call from actress Sharon Stone from her suite at the Peninsula Hotel Monday requesting one large steak and two salads for herself and her beau, attorney Bernie Cahill.

*The upshot: Colletti personally delivered the dinner and was greeted with a hug by the actress, whom Colletti called "stunningly beautiful." "She was wearing a T-shirt and still took your breath away," said Colletti.

A history note . . .

Chuck Comiskey, whose family name lent itself to Comiskey Park, was at Gene and Georgetti's eatery last week telling a story about the late actress/sex siren Marilyn Monroe and her hubby, the legendary slugger Joe DiMaggio.

*Scent of a woman: Comiskey claims he never changed his aftershave lotion after Monroe chose to sit next to him at a dinner in New York, rather than DiMaggio, because she told him she loved his cologne. Now there's a memory.

I spy . . .

Actor Tony Danza dined at Alex Dana's at Rosebud on Rush Wednesday. "He ate everything on the menu, from A to Z." . . . "Frasier" stars David Hyde Pierce, who had 'em laughin' in the aisles, and John Mahoney dined together at Boka last week after Hyde Pierce caught Mahoney in "I Never Sang for My Father" at Steppenwolf. They were joined by show director Anna Shapiro and Martha Levy.

Local I spy . . .

Cubs manager Dusty Baker and his father were spotted at Buddy Guy's Legends recently checkin' out the blues. . . . Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan was spotted lunching at Misericordia. Now that's a very special spot. . . . Col. James Hickey was spotted dining al fresco and talking with the patrons at Tavern on Rush Thursday night.

Being nosy . . .

Nostril notes: Actress Cameron Diaz, whose nose was broken in a surfing accident last summer, just got her nose repaired. . . . Did you know actor Robert DeNiro had his nose accidentally broken by actor Robin Williams during the filming of "Awakenings" in 1990 and three years later had his nose broken by actor Bill Murray while filming "Mad Dog and Glory?"

Where's she now . . .

Former WBBM-Channel 2 anchor Linda MacLennan, a total pro whom I had the honor to watch work her magic under deadline pressure, is raising her kids, enjoying her family and going to exhibit and sell her landscape photography in a gallery in Princeton, Wis., sometime this summer. We miss ya!

Congrats . . .

. . . to Cook County state's attorney's office investigators Brian Duffy, Brian Killacky, Fernando Cervantes and Curtis Conley on receiving the Illinois State Bar Association's Law Enforcement Award for their work in the Brown's Chicken murders. . . . Ditto to their colleague Betty Coleman, who received the Law Enforcement Award for her work on behalf of victims of domestic violence.

Sneedlings . . .

Blessings to Victoria Whitaker and David Mooney on their nuptials Saturday. Parents Yvonne, my Brit stringer, and Brit columnist James Whitaker are over the moon. . . . Today's birthdays: Pat Boone, 70; Morgan Freeman, 67; Andy Griffith, 78; Heidi Klum, 31; Alanis Morissette, 30; Ron Wood, 57; state Sen. Kirk Dillard, 49, and Chief Judge Timothy Evans, 61.