CHAMBERLAIN WON'T BE CHASING WINDMILLS AFTER ALL.

Byline: Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith

Richard Chamberlain has backed out of doing a major, pre-Broadway tour of ``Man of La Mancha'' - and producers Manny Kladitis and Irving Siders are stunned.

Kladitis, now presenting ``Master Class'' with Faye Dunaway, and Siders had 40 weeks of bookings set for the tour, which was to kick off early next year. Late last week, they received a fax from Chamberlain's manager in Hawaii, informing them that Richard had decided not to do the show after all.

Undoubtedly, we will be hearing more about this.

Knock wood

Billy Zane won't have to sweat about learning his lines for ``I Woke Up Early the Day I Died.'' He's producing and starring in the film - which boasts the last script ever written by Ed Wood. ``I Woke Up Early the Day I Died'' has the distinction of having no - absolutely no - dialogue. You know Wood - the late, legendary master of campy grade-Z movies who was immortalized in a Johnny Depp-Martin Landau movie a few years ago. In Wood's ``Died,'' Zane will star as a thief who escapes from a sanitarium and gets $15,000, only to lose it in a bizarre graveside ceremony. Shooting is slated to start the end of this month.

Rockabye

A very - very - happy Alan Thicke phoned to give us the details of the birth of his newest son, Carter William, born last Thursday to his wife, Gina, at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Thicke has two sons, Robin, 20, and Brennan, 22, from his marriage to Gloria Loring. Robin lives close enough that he was able to be on hand for Carter's birth; Brennan, who resides in Orange County, was planning to visit his new brother the day after his birth. Alan says that when Brennan was born, ``I fainted. This time I kept myself together - I even videotaped everything.'' Thicke, who'll be hosting and executive-producing the new ``Pictionary'' game show this fall, says that Gina's parents were flying in from South Carolina to meet their new grandson.

``Viper'' series star Jeff Kaake and his wife, Kimberly, are also the parents of a new baby boy. Jeremy Vaughan Kaake was born July 3 in Vancouver, British Columbia, where his father has just started the second season of his syndicated Paramount show.

Taking a breather

Claire Danes - who's been going from one project to the next to the next - doesn't know when she'll be working next. Columbia's ``Monterey Pop,'' a love story to which she and Ethan Hawke have been attached, has not come together yet. Also up in the air for the young actress is Fox 2000's ``Brokedown Palace.'' Danes, the star of this year's ``William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet,'' does have ``U-Turn'' upcoming, as well as ``Les Miserables.'' They're planned for fall and year-end release, respectively. And you can be sure she has offers piling up.

On the move

Jay Thomas isn't letting cobwebs settle on him while he waits to start his ABC/Disney midseason replacement show, ``Dogs.'' The former ``Love & War'' star just completed production on the indie feature ``Horse Play'' with Shelley Long and has flown to Toronto to start the ABC telefilm, ``My Date With the President's Daughter'' with Dabney Coleman. And after that ... On Labor Day Weekend, the Emmy Award-winning actor will be treading the boards in the Seattle Repertory Theatre production of two one-acts, ``Two Heterosexuals Go on a Date'' and ``Judgment Call.''

On the off season

NBA hoopsters Mitch Richmond (Miami Heat) and Clyde Drexler (Houston Rockets) have found something interesting to do between seasons. They're guest-starring on an episode of UPN's ``The Sentinel'' series, playing - you guessed it - basketball players. But don't think they have those no-acting-required kind of roles. Oh, no. Drexler's character's niece is romantically involved with Richmond's character in the story, and Drexler does not like it. With some good reason.

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3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Richard Chamberlain

No ``Man of La Mancha''

(2) Alan Thicke

Proud papa

(3) Jay Thomas

No cobwebs on him