NEWS LITE : KINNEAR CREDITS HAIR FOR CAREER.

Greg Kinnear, the Oscar-nominated actor of ``As Good As It Gets,'' tells Redbook magazine in its December issue he caught the eye of director Sydney Pollack while hosting the cable television program ``Talk Soup.''

Pollack apparently liked the way Kinnear made fun of his own hair and invited him to audition for ``Sabrina.'' Kinnear won the role, starring opposite Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond.

``I've been lucky as far as my career goes,'' said Kinnear, who stars with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in the coming film ``You've Got Mail.''

``I'm proof that good accidents happen sometimes.''

Producer's order ends with 3 arrests

When someone called a jeweler to order up $104,000 worth of gold and diamonds on the credit card of Sean ``Puffy'' Combs, the store smelled a rat.

But what arrived were New Jersey police officers.

Suspicious clerks at Manny's jeweler's called New York police when the order was placed a few days ago, the New York Post reported Saturday. Undercover officers arrived and waited, and were astounded when three Newark, N.J., police officers pulled up in a police truck.

When they tried to collect the gems, they were arrested. One of the officers said he knew nothing about the scam and claimed he was doing a favor for his cousin, who is now being sought by police.

Fonda film makes teen co-star yawn

Actress Jessica Biel may be 16, but her reaction to co-star Peter Fonda's film ``Easy Rider'' was hardly sweet. She told him the hipster classic bored her.

The sassy young star of the WB television series ``7th Heaven'' played Fonda's rebellious granddaughter in last year's ``Ulee's Gold.''

``I didn't know much about him,'' she told Parade magazine of her Oscar-nominated co-star. ``But when I got the role, my mom rented `Easy Rider.' ''

After 45 minutes, ``I said, I can't take this anymore. I was so bored. It was like watching aerobics class.''

The high school junior said Fonda did not mind.

``He's so cool. He just laughed and said, `Yeah, you're probably right.''

No turkey on star's Thanksgiving menu

Joaquin Phoenix won't be serving drumsticks at his Thanksgiving dinner table.

Phoenix, a strict vegetarian, appears in a new TV commercial for the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, trying to convince Americans that eating turkey is murder.

In the commercial, Phoenix, whose latest film is ``Clay Pigeons,'' is shown on a supermarket shopping spree and the sight of a frozen turkey display prompts him to call PETA for vegetarian recipes.

``I would love to stop the murder of turkeys,'' Phoenix said in a PETA press statement. ``This commercial lets people know they can enjoy the tradition of Thanksgiving without the cruelty.''

Thailand: Film script insults king

A movie studio still wants to shoot a new film version of the story that inspired the musical ``The King and I'' on location in Thailand, government officials said Saturday.

Thailand's Film Board last week refused to approve the production of ``Anna and the King,'' maintaining it insults the 19th-century Thai leader King Mongkut.

The board said script revisions submitted by 20th Century Fox don't go far enough in changing what it insists are historical inaccuracies. Fox said last week it couldn't wait much longer to begin filming.

But the Thai coordinators for the film, which will star Jodie Foster and Hong Kong's Chow Yun Fat, said Saturday that Fox is trying again.

``The company is now revising the final script and expects to submit it to the Thai Film Board soon,'' said Malinee Chakrabhand, a member of the extended royal family and a great-great-granddaughter of King Mongkut.

She confirmed, however, that Fox had begun doing preproduction work in Malaysia.

Prince Charles celebrates 50th birthday with longtime love

Buoyed by a public tribute from his mother and an improved standing in an opinion poll, Prince Charles celebrated his 50th birthday Saturday in private with friends and his longtime love, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Some 250 guests were invited to the party at Highgrove, Charles' home in Gloucestershire. The invitation list included Queen Sophia of Spain, King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway and ex-King Constantine of Greece, according to Press Association, the British news agency.

The hostess, Parker Bowles, arrived in an emerald green velvet dress with a jeweled necklace and earrings and gave waiting cameramen a beaming smile as her car came up the drive.

Prince William arrived later, wearing a cap and a combat jacket. Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was not expected to attend.

Guesthouses and hotels for miles around Charles' country retreat were reportedly fully booked for the night.

An opinion poll published Saturday said that three-quarters of the British public believe the heir to the throne would be either a ``very good'' or ``fairly good'' king.

In the telephone poll of about 1,200 people, published in the Daily Telegraph, 61 percent of respondents said they consider Charles a ``well-intentioned but troubled man who seems to be looking for a role.''

But only 40 percent thought he should marry Parker Bowles, while 46 percent were opposed.

On Friday night, Queen Elizabeth hosted a glittering birthday party at Buckingham Palace, where she toasted her son's ``vision, compassion and leadership.''

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

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Long live the king

Nearly 20,000 Jordanians, many waving flags or pictures of King Hussein, pack the soccer stadium in Amman, the nation's capital, to attend Saturday's special celebration of the king's 63rd birthday and to give thanks after he said in a televised interview that he has been cured of cancer by chemotherapy treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Yousef Allan/Associated Press

(2) Camilla Parker Bowles arrives at Prince Charles' birthday party Saturday at his estate in Gloucestershire, England.

Toby Melville/Associated Press

(3) Kinnear