Flockhart's Thin Spin

It's as predictable as the change of seasons: When celebrities find themselves in the throes of a media hurricane, they often feel like they're losing control of their lives. Inevitably they try to regain control by firing their handlers.

In 1991, Julia Roberts became the poster child for gossip after she practically left Kiefer Sutherland at the altar and took up with Jason Patric. One of her first moves after that was to fire her publicist.

And just look at Roseanne's career. When the going gets tough, as it has for her at one time or another, Roseanne has responded by firing publicists, managers, lawyers, agents, even husbands.

So it's not an accident that last week Calista Flockhart replaced publicist David Pollick with PMK powerhouse Pat Kingsley.

With rumors about her skinny appearance refusing to go away, the "Ally McBeal" star obviously felt it was time to take action. Calista, wearing Yankee pitcher David Wells' $35,000 Babe Ruth baseball cap, was caught by TV cameras eating snack food at Game 1 of the World Series.

Kingsley called her new client a "healthy, well-adjusted young woman" who manages to work 12-hour days, five days a week, 10 months a year, Kingsley puts a positive spin on Flockhart's media woes by saying, "I wish I had her metabolism."

Kingsley likens the Flockhart weight watch to the barbs Audrey Hepburn had to endure about her appearance years ago.

"If they even knew the word 'anorexia' back then, I'm sure they would have used it to describe Audrey," says Kingsley, assured me yet again that Flockhart was "perfectly fine."

And, perhaps, feeling like she's back in control.