NEWS LITE : FLYNT HOSPITALIZED IN L.A. PENDING TRIAL.

Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt, who won a conditional delay in his obscenity trial, has been hospitalized in Los Angeles with an infection that might be related to his planned surgery for a urological problem, one of his lawyers said Thursday.

``He's had a flu-type of condition, and he has been having a lot of bronchial problems,'' attorney Alan Isaacman said in Los Angeles.

Flynt was in intensive care at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Isaacman said.

``The infection that he has that is requiring surgery could have made him prone to the lung infection,'' he said. ``Doctors said it was a systemic kind of infection.''

Flynt, 55, and his brother, Jimmy, 49, were indicted April 7 in Cincinnati on charges of conspiracy, pandering obscenity, disseminating material harmful to a juvenile and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

The charges stem from the alleged sale of a sexually explicit video to a 14-year-old boy at the Hustler Magazine & Gifts store that Jimmy Flynt manages.

Nasal spray may shorten waiting - and foreplay 

For men who just can't wait an hour for their Viagra to take effect, two researchers think they have the answer: a nasal spray delivery system.

Lewis Dittert and Anwar Hussein of the University of Kentucky's College of Pharmacy say they've created the first soluble version of Viagra's active ingredient, sildenafil.

They say the spray could allow Viagra to be absorbed directly into the bloodstream, offering a quicker hit - 10 to 15 minutes - with a lower dose than in the anti-impotency pills now on the market. Those pills, whose active ingredient is very slow to dissolve in the body, may not take effect for more than an hour.

There's one catch: Dittert and Hussein cannot market their idea without permission from Pfizer Inc., which owns all rights to Viagra and sildenafil.

``We're not trying to steal their compound,'' Dittert told the Lexington Herald-Leader in Thursday's editions. ``We want to help them make a better product.''

The researchers would like to collaborate with Pfizer in marketing the spray, but Pfizer isn't interested, according to the newspaper.

Depardieu treads boards once more

Gerard Depardieu returned to the French stage for the first time in 13 years and said he felt more comfortable there than in movies or on television.

``It's a different kind of performance. It's more human, more free. I don't have my career mapped out,'' he told the daily Le Figaro. ``I do my job like a blue-collar worker.''

In ``The Gates of Heaven,'' a murder mystery that opened Wednesday at the Theatre de Paris, Depardieu plays Charles Quint, a 16th-century emperor who abdicates to seek redemption through religion.

Depardieu, whose award-winning roles include Cyrano de Bergerac, had not performed on stage since 1986, when he starred in the musical comedy ``Lily Passion.''

Grammy outlook becoming Rosie

Rosie O'Donnell, who has hosted the Tony Awards for the past two years as well as Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards, will preside over next month's Grammy awards.

The talk-show star told ``The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' studio audience during a break in New York taping Wednesday that she will host the Feb. 24 ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium. The 41st Grammys will be broadcast on CBS-TV.

O'Donnell's acceptance seemed to surprise National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences executives who had been negotiating with her since Grammy nominations were announced Jan. 5.

Academy President Michael Greene made it official in a news release Thursday.

``Rosie is a perfect choice for us for so many reasons,'' Greene said. ``She is an all-around performer - film and television star, Broadway entertainer and stand-up comedian - and most importantly, she is the world's biggest music fan.''

O'Donnell will be taping her syndicated daytime show from Los Angeles the week of the Grammy awards.

Travolta warms up the old pipes again

John Travolta's role as Jimmy Roselli in ``Standing Room Only'' will be his first singing part since ``Grease.''

Roselli is a crooner favored by the mafia and then targeted for extinction when he rejects them. The film will begin shooting March 15 and will be financed by the Krane Group, the company run by Travolta's manager, Jonathan Krane.

``He'll be the `Raging Bull' of lounge singers, but with the humor John brings to the role,'' Krane said. ``John will be singing the standards the way Roselli did.''

Gus Van Sant will direct.

``People might forget that John has a wonderful voice, did all his singing in `Grease,' and recently sang with Carly Simon on her album,'' Krane said.

News Lite is compiled by Karen Duffy from Daily News staff and wire reports

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

PHOTO (1) Lewis Dittert says he and another researcher can speed up Viagra.

(2) On Georgia's minds

Caricatures of President Clinton and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky are on a stamp issued by Abkhasia in the Republic of Georgia and put on sale worldwide Thursday.

(3) O'Donnell

(4) Depardieu