Monitor

MARRIED Today show cohost Matt Lauer, 40, to model Annette Roque, 32, Oct. 3, 1998, in Bridgehampton, N.Y. It’s his second marriage, her first…Actor Brendan Fraser, 29, to his George of the Jungle costar Afton Smith, 31, Sept. 27, 1998, in L.A. It’s the first marriage for both.

BIRTHS A 7-pound 9-ounce boy, Jacob Eli, to actor-writer-director Albert Brooks, 51, and his wife of 17 months, multimedia producer Kimberly Shlain Brooks, 32, Oct. 1, 1998, in L.A. This is their first child.

EXPECTING Sexiest married couple alive David Duchovny, 38, and Tea Leoni, 32, announced Sept. 29, 1998, that they will welcome their own XX — or XY — phile next spring. It will be their first child.

RECOVERING The Artist (formerly known as Prince), 40, after spraining his foot-to-leg joint (formerly known as his ankle) during a concert at the Trump Marina Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, Sept. 26, 1998. A rep says the Artist stumbled on a hidden cable. His tour resumes Oct. 15, 1998, in L.A.

EXITS Designer Isaac Mizrahi, 36, announced the closing of his New York-based clothing business, Oct. 1, 1998, after Chanel Inc. pulled its longtime financial backing. ”I and my partners agree that this is the best direction to take,” said Mizrahi in a release.

LAWSUITS Independent producer Vince Offer, 34, filed a copyright-infringement suit against Twentieth Century Fox and There’s Something About Mary co-directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, Sept. 23, 1998, in L.A. Offer claims 14 scenes in Mary were lifted from his 1996 film The Underground Comedy Movie, which starred Joey Buttafuoco. The Farrellys released this statement: ”We’ve never heard of him, we’ve never heard of his movie, and it’s all a bunch of baloney.”

DEATHS Margaret Ray, 46, the woman who stalked David Letterman, committed suicide by kneeling in front of an oncoming train, Oct. 5, 1998, in Delta County, Colo. Since stealing Letterman’s Porsche in 1988, Ray had been arrested numerous times for stalking the talk-show host. ”This is a sad ending to a confused life,” said Letterman in a statement… Actor Roddy McDowall, 70, of cancer, Oct. 3, 1998, in L.A. (see story ”Legacy: Roddy McDowell”)… Artist Julian Allen, 55, of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Sept. 28, 1998, in Baltimore. In addition to doing magazine illustrations, Allen cocreated the comic strip Wild Palms, which became a 1993 TV miniseries.