NEWS LITE : BABE TAG BAFFLES GILLIAN ANDERSON.

At first, Gillian Anderson figured she didn't fit the standards for a sex symbol.

FBI Agent Dana Scully, her character on ``The X-Files,'' is too straitlaced, too buttoned down. But her popularity kept growing.

``At first I thought it was bizarre. I just didn't get it,'' Anderson says in Redbook's February issue.

``Scully is a change of pace, I guess. There's something about her intelligence that mixes with the male fantasy of, What does she really look like underneath those tailored suits?''

Gary Coleman rues going into show biz

From his days as a child TV star to working as a part-time security guard, Gary Coleman has regrets. Lots of them.

Along the way, he sued his adoptive parents and broke all contact with them, wound up the butt of jokes about washed-up careers, and has been sued himself for allegedly hitting a woman who had sought a lengthier autograph.

``I chose to be in this business,'' Coleman told US magazine for its February issue. ``It was an uninformed choice, and I will always regret it. But I have to bite the bullet.''

Coleman was the tiny, round-cheeked star of ``Diff'rent Strokes,'' which spent eight years on NBC before its end in 1986. He was born with severely atrophied kidneys and regularly undergoes dialysis treatment. The condition stunted his growth.

Coleman still occasionally appears on screen. A role as an elf in a made-for-cable Christmas movie was the most satisfying in years, he said, adding, ``He wasn't a cute elf - he was just an elf.''

Barry White shares deep love thoughts

Looking for advice on affairs of the heart? Who better to ask than Barry White, the deep-voiced crooner of ``You're the First, the Last, My Everything'' and a slew of other slow-burning love songs?

``I tell any youngster, you got to be honest in your relationship,'' White says in US magazine's February issue. ``People ask me for advice all the time.''

People come up to White with more than advice: Some introduce him to children who were, uh, inspired, by his music.

``In airports, on the streets. They hold the child up and say, this was conceived from `Love's Theme,' (or) this was conceived from `Can't Get Enough (of Your Love, Babe),' '' he says.

Author wants more of books on screen

Warren Adler has high hopes. His 17-year-old book, ``Random Hearts,'' is being made into a movie.

Now he's hoping Hollywood will look at more than two dozen other novels he's written.

``I expect this to be a real resurrection for me,'' said Adler, a best-selling novelist and former reporter.

An earlier book, ``War of the Roses,'' became a film starring Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito and Kathleen Turner.

``What I did for hate in `War of the Roses,' I did for love in `Random Hearts,' '' Adler told The Associated Press.

Fans bid on Pearl's treasures

Hundreds of die-hard country music fans bid on the belongings of the late Minnie Pearl in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, vying for mementos of the Grand Ole Opry legend known for her big grin and shrill ``Howdeeeee!''

``She was one of the best,'' Gary Allgood said after paying $350 for one of Pearl's trademark straw hats, with its wide brim and $1.98 price tag dangling from the side.

Allgood and his wife, Verla, drove 14 hours from Houston for the auction. They saw Pearl perform in 1967 at the Grand Ole Opry.

``We're just country people. We love country music,'' he said.

More than 900 pieces went on the auction block to settle the estate of Minnie Pearl, whose real name was Sarah Cannon. She died in 1996 at the age of 83 after more than half a century on the Grand Ole Opry and 20 years on the syndicated television show ``Hee Haw.''

Her husband, Henry Cannon, died one year later. The couple had no children.

Most of the items on the auction block were jewelry, furniture and knickknacks.

``There's a lot of history here,'' auctioneer Lester Arutt said.

There was no immediate estimate Saturday on how much money was bid at the auction.

Beth Hall, 51, of Smryna, Ga., who saw Pearl perform 31 years ago at the Opry, said the auction was an appropriate way to dispose of Pearl's belongings, because the fans would treasure them as much as any relative could.

``Minnie would be happy about this,'' Hall said. ``Minnie would look at this as her last audience. These people wouldn't be here if they didn't love her.''

Defendant to watch Super Bowl before prison term

Robert William Greer Jr. was willing to plead guilty to murder for strangling a man - but only if he could watch the Super Bowl before heading to a state prison.

Prosecutors agreed, and District Court Judge Bob Gill sentenced Greer to 18 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in about five years.

Greer, 52, was arrested in Las Vegas in April after 10 years on the run. He pleaded guilty for the slaying of 73-year-old John Dobbs in suburban Fort Worth in 1988.

Greer asked that he not be imprisoned until Feb. 1, so he could watch the Super Bowl at the Tarrant County jail. Greer told his attorneys that the Jan. 31 game would be the best ever if the Minnesota Vikings play in it.

The Vikings play the Atlanta Falcons today for the chance to advance to the Super Bowl.

Greer would not necessarily be prohibited from watching the game in prison, but he apparently thought his chances were better in the county jail.

Gill told Greer that he has no control over when inmates are transferred to prison, but that he would make a recommendation to the Sheriff's Department.

Man resists order to go braless

A male civilian Air Force employee who has been wearing a bra, makeup and earrings on the job is fighting a mandate forcing him to dress like a man.

The American Federation of Government Employees Local 1897 filed a complaint on behalf of the employee after a squadron commander at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., ordered him to change his attire.

The employee, who was not identified in a Northwest Florida Daily News story Saturday, said he wants the reprimand removed from his file, an apology from the officers who punished him, permission to continue dressing as he wishes and $580,000.

The employee said that he wears earrings, women's glasses and a bra while he works as an airfield management specialist. He said he has dressed in much the same way since he started working at Eglin's Base Operations Center five years ago.

David Plante, president of the AFGE chapter, said Eglin supervisors are trying to establish regulations not allowed by the union contract.

Vatican bill dirty affair

It's been mounting for years: a whopper of a sewer bill that now amounts to $23 million.

With most customers, Rome's municipal utility company, ACEA, would have taken drastic action long ago. But this is a very special customer: Imagine the outcry if someone cut off service to Vatican City.

A newspaper story about the bill on Saturday prompted the Vatican to make its position clear: We don't have to pay a lira.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that Vatican City is guaranteed free water services by the 1929 Lateran Treaty, which created the independent city-state inside of Rome.

However, he added, the Vatican is always willing to talk.

News Lite is compiled from Daily News staff and wire reports.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Barbara Sanders, center, a great niece of Minnie Pearl, goes over some of the late country star's photos at Saturday's auction.

Jeanne Reisel/The Tennessean

(2) ANDERSON