OSCAR KNOCKS HOLLYWOOD A-LIST.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

As the impact of last week's Oscar nominations sinks in, more and more insiders are eyeing the lineup for 1999 Academy Awards as a backlash against demanding, high-salaried actors.

``It's about the perception that some of these $20 million stars are in it for the money instead of the craft - a perception that doesn't set well with the actors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,'' believes one insider.

Indeed, many feel that Jim Carrey and John Travolta's exclusion from the Oscar race could have everything to do with their well-known $20 million salaries and outsized appetites for perks.

Travolta tells this column that his perks aren't any bigger than many others command, ``The difference is, you just hear about mine.'' That might be. Still, many feel that Edward Norton, with his actor's actor reputation, received the lead-actor nomination (for ``American History X'') expected to go to Carrey or Travolta.

Nick Nolte, a lead actor nominee for the $6 million ``Affliction,'' tells this column he's decided ``I'd rather forgo the frills and make movies on a minimal budget than put up with the politics of Hollywood.''

Still, some big-money names stay in Oscar's good graces.

`Secret Life' of Dr. Laura

You might have thought that everything negative has been said that could have been said about radio's Dr. Laura Schlessinger, with former friends dissing her in Vanity Fair and nude photos by her former extramarital lover getting on the Internet. But wait, apparently there's more. Come August, St. Martin's Press has ``The Secret Life of Laura Schlessinger'' going into release - and we hear the book, by Vicki Bain, is ``devastating.''

Well-rounded Tritt

It's family time for country star Travis Tritt. He says he's taking the first half of the year off the road to be with his wife, who's expecting in June, and their 11-month-old daughter. ``Fatherhood has been one of the neatest things for me, and I'm really enjoying spending some time at home and focusing on songwriting and whatever acting roles come my way.''

He plays a downright mean varmint in Thursday's segment of ``Diagnosis Murder.'' ``My character was put in prison by Lt. Sloan (Barry Van Dyke), but he escapes - and when he finds out he's dying of a deadly disease, he tries to get Barry's character to take him out.''

Tritt, who just released the second single/title cut from his ``No More Looking Over My Shoulder'' CD, is feeling like he has ``the best of all worlds.'' ``I get to run around the stage and act like a wild man, do shows like `Diagnosis Murder,' where I get to shoot guns and play cops and robbers, then I get to kiss my baby girl goodnight and snuggle with my wife. It can't get any better than that.''

With reports by Stephanie DuBois.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Nick Nolte

The no-frills approach

(2) Dr. Laura Schlessinger

No-holds-barred bio