NEWS LITE : NAMES IN THE NEWS COUNTRY SINGER TO DO UP VITTLES.

Country singer Alan Jackson is branching out from his stage career with his own brand of down-home cooking.

He announced plans Wednesday for the $5.6 million Alan Jackson Showcar Cafe in the Great Smoky Mountains town of Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

The eatery, to open in July and be the first of a planned chain, will feature traditional American recipes straight out of his cookbook, ``Who Says You Can't Cook It All.''

It also will feature recording and touring memorabilia, a small performance stage, and eight antique cars from his collection.

Jackson's hits include: ``Chattahoochee,'' ``Don't Rock the Jukebox'' and ``Livin' on Love.''

Vicious dog doesn't muzzle CBS' Wallace

Mike Wallace is accustomed to people baring their teeth in anger when he asks them tough questions for CBS' ``60 Minutes.''

But the veteran newsman got more than he bargained for recently when a snarling German shepherd came after him as he approached the Canadian home of a man identified by Jewish groups as a Nazi war-criminal suspect.

Even though Wallace and his crew followed instructions and honked their car horn when they entered the long dirt driveway, the large dog, fangs bared, bounded toward them when they got out of the car.

``He made a pass at me,'' Wallace told the Associated Press. ``He got my coat. He tore the coat. Right after me, he sank his teeth into the thigh of the sound man.''

Fortunately, Wallace said, the man had a portable battery strapped to his thigh inside his pants. The dog was tied up, and Wallace conducted his interview standing in the snow at the farm outside Toronto.

Former `Wiseguy' says only vodka dulls pain

Vodka-swilling actor Ken Wahl doesn't think he's an alcoholic.

``I don't think I am. I know I am. So what?'' the former ``Wiseguy'' TV star told ``Entertainment Tonight'' in an interview for broadcast today.

``This may be my last day on Earth and if it is, the people that supposedly care for me should want me to be painless.''

The actor has had several recent run-ins with the law. He currently is charged with making a terrorist threat and assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly threatening a bartender with a knife last month.

Wahl, 40, said he is in chronic pain because of a 1992 motorcycle crash and only one thing relieves the pain.

``Vodka, and only vodka,'' Wahl said. ``I've tried whiskey, bourbon, rye, nothing else works. I've tried pills . . . morphine.

``Doesn't work. The only thing that works is vodka.''

The 40-year-old actor was arrested Dec. 28 after a bartender at the Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel in Westwood said Wahl threatened him. The bartender had refused to serve Wahl because he appeared to be drunk.

If convicted, Wahl faces up to a year in jail and fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.

Film based on his life puts `Shine' on pianist's career

After 10 years in mental institutions and years more rebuilding his musical gift in Australian piano bars, David Helfgott is - quite literally - back in the spotlight.

Fueled by the success of ``Shine,'' a low-budget movie about his life and struggle, the piano virtuoso is about to begin a triumphant tour of the United States. His recording of the daunting Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 is at the top of the U.S. classical music charts.

``Shine'' has changed Helfgott's life almost overnight, according to his wife, Gillian, who spoke Tuesday night in Sydney to promote her new book about life with Helfgott.

``I can only describe it as being tied to a Saturn rocket and going completely into orbit,'' she said. ``We really have hardly touched the ground for months.''

The film has been a healing experience for Helfgott, 49, who has had a series of nervous breakdowns beginning at age 23. The bursts of sometimes unintelligible speech and rapid movement still crop up, but Gillian Helfgott said he is getting better.

``At Christmas he composed his first piece,'' she said. ``It was only a few pages, but it was quite beautiful and it was wonderful to feel that he's now starting to formulate images into a score.

``I'm very hopeful that in the next few years we may hear some very, very beautiful romantic music from David.''

The couple will be in the United States in time for the Academy Awards on March 24. Actor Geoffrey Rush, who recently won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of Helfgott in ``Shine,'' is viewed as a strong candidate to win the Oscar for best actor.

OFFBEAT 

Man nabbed in drive-thru

drug deals

Would you like some pot with those fries? Burger boy Mence Powell, 19, of Munroe, Conn., was nabbed by police Tuesday after allegedly adding marijuana to the drive-thru menu at the McDonald's where he worked.

Police said Powell sold the drug in Happy Meals. He was arrested after he peddled the burger combo platter to undercover officers on five occasions. ``I don't know how he could think that he could do this and continue to get away with it,'' police Capt. Daniel Wall said.

Powell would arrange the deal beforehand and have customers pick up their orders from the window, police said. He faces nine felony charges, and a reprimand from Mayor McCheese.

Diana gown sale may aid charity

And now, it's time to clean out the royal closet! In what could be the used-clothing sale of the century, Princess Diana is pondering an auction of 65 of her dazzling couture gowns for charity, her spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday.

But don't expect to score the puff-sleeved and densely embroidered wedding dress, made by couturiers David and Elizabeth Emanuel for her marriage to Charles at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29, 1981. It's not for sale.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) JACKSON

(2) Pianist David Helfgott, shown here in August 1996, will tour the U.S.

Associated Press