CULKIN TURNS DOWN LEAD ROLE IN USA'S RIVER PHOENIX DRAMA : ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOK.

Byline: Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith

The River Phoenix saga is heading toward production - though not with Macaulay Culkin, as had been hoped.

``We offered the project to him knowing it was a real long shot because he doesn't want to work and he has more money than God,'' admits Rialto Films chieftain Arthur Axelman. ``He turned it down a few days ago. Now we're back to the question of who can play this part. Some of us feel that the story might be better served by someone unknown who doesn't bring a lot of baggage with him.''

Axelman, his partner David Goldman and Viacom have developed the USA Network project, based on John Glatt's ``Lost in Hollywood: The Fast Times & Short Life of River Phoenix'' biography, about the brilliant young actor who died on the sidewalk outside the Sunset Strip's Viper Room nitery in 1993, the victim of a drug overdose. Like Glatt's book, the movie is going the unauthorized route.

``As much as you might want to involve the family, if you do, there's a potential to sanitize the material,'' notes Axelman. ``John's book was by far the best-researched of any of the River Phoenix books.''

Glatt, by the way, has moved on to sunnier subject matter. He has ``The Chieftains: The Authorized Biography'' being released by St. Martin's Press next month. Writing about the globe-trotting Irish music greats was ``enormously uplifting,'' he says, after he had spent so long on the sad story of River.

``ER's'' Eriq La Salle had a birthday the other day he'll never forget - capped with an Emmy nomination for his work as Dr. Peter Benton on the NBC drama.

La Salle's girlfriend, Angela, spent months orchestrating the 35th birthday bash and, according to La Salle, ``It was hands-down a surprise. She got me like you cannot believe.'' He relates, ``We showed up at this restaurant and there were like a hundred of my closest friends, including my `ER' family - and she flew my sister, my cousin and my nieces out here. I almost passed out. ... It was really like the happiest night of my life.''

And like the most emotional. In fact, ``Dr. Benton almost cried in public. ... I had to turn around.'' La Salle says the party turned into a roast ``and they were merciless, especially my best friend (``ER'' actor) Michael Beach. He brought up that I got kicked out of Juilliard, and they kept teasing me all night about that.'' But he was able to get Beach back. ``I called him at 6 a.m. and said, `You know that guy who got kicked out of Juilliard? He got nominated for an Emmy this morning. Now go back to sleep.' ''

Tough duty

Talk about being hot under the collar - and every place else. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are plodding through production of ``The Odd Couple II: Travelin' Light'' in the California desert in sweltering temperatures. As the sequel to the vintage hit has it, Oscar and Felix reunite after a separation of many years when their son and daughter fall in love and plan a wedding. The Odd Couple hit the road together to attend the nuptials, suffer through an automobile breakdown in the desert and ... well, you get the picture. The weather has proven tortuous enough that extra breaks have to be called for Jack and Walter - who are in practically every scene - and the crew. Shooting is lagging behind schedule, and now the film isn't expected to be completed until late August or early September.

That's nice

Ray Charles wasn't able to accept the invitation to perform at L.A.'s First African Methodist Episcopal Church's Sept. 20 banquet to raise money for the Cecil R. Murray Education Center. However ... Charles has donated $50,000 to the cause, and his manager, Joe Adams, has come up with $25,000 out of his pocket for the institute that helps Los Angeles inner city youngsters' educational, social, economic and religious development. The bad news: They're still in need of a major star or stars for the event, which is being held in conjunction with the church's 125th anniversary. Contact the First AME's executive producer Mark Whitlock if you can fill the bill.

On the personal side

Zen Gesner, who portrays the lead role in All American Television's hit syndicated show, ``The Adventures of Sinbad,'' took time off from work in Capetown, South Africa, the other day to be on hand for the birth of his son at that city's Vincent Pallotti Hospital. His wife, Cynthia Farrelly Gesner, had flown to South Africa in late June so she and Zen could be together when the baby was born.

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