SEND IN THE CLONES, OUR READERS SAY.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Staff Writer

We asked readers whom they would clone if given the chance, but we weren't prepared for some of your off-the-wall responses.

Beth, a Tarzana resident who left no last name on the L.A. Life Talkline, suggested scientists should first take an uncomfortably close look at themselves.

``The people who originally thought this up should be cloned, so they could do testing on each other,'' the reader said. ``These scientists have set animal rights back 200 years.''

That couldn't be confirmed right away. Dolly, the replicated Scottish ewe, was no longer doing interviews, and the Oregon monkey that received its own mirror image over the weekend had already signed an exclusive agreement with ``Hard Copy.''

But reader Jeannine Jones of Sunland said cloning could have some practical uses around the card table.

``They should clone Omar Sharif because he's a great actor and a great bridge player,'' she said. ``That way, he could play duplicate bridge with himself.''

Burbank resident Grace Hampton had a more personal idea for a cloning possibility: author Lilian Jackson Braun, whose ``The Cat Who Tailed a Thief'' mystery is among the week's best sellers.

``I'd like to see her cloned along with her Siamese cats,'' Hampton said. ``I just can't get enough of her books.''

We also liked Steven Russell's idea. The Sunland reader said scientists should begin work immediately on duplicates of Albert Einstein, William Shatner, John Wayne ``and a few Playboy Playmates of the '70s.''

Frequent contributor Harvey Fleckman of North Hollywood had this to say: ``If we could have more Sharon Stones, I'd say bring on the clones!''

Comedian Jay Leno got in on the act during his ``Tonight Show'' monologue the other night: O.J. Simpson.

``That way, one could be in prison and the other could be playing golf,'' he said. ``Everyone would be happy.''

Reader Louis Richter of Encino had a strange response: ``Bernhard Goetz.'' No explanation necessary.

Debbie Stratford of Lancaster, however, didn't want to see anyone cloned. It just wouldn't work with people and, besides, clones would have feelings, too, she insisted.

``It wouldn't be the same person,'' she said. ``They wouldn't have grown up in the same environment or have the same influences.''

Leanna McGuire suggested Jonas Salk ``because he's the genius that solved so many diseases, and we need him for AIDS.''

Also on the medical theme, reader Zahava Zait of Sherman Oaks would like to see the cloning of syndicated talk-radio host and Daily News columnist Dr. Laura Schlessinger.

And reader Eleonore Boer of Santa Clarita had a bone to pick with our initial Talkline question itself: ``Who would you clone?'' which contained a grammatical error.

``I would like to see the person cloned who uses correct English grammar,'' Boer stated in no uncertain terms. ``That would be somebody who uses, `Whom would you clone?' not `Who would you clone?' ''

Boer, who works as a translator, explained she is a stickler for proper grammar.

``I learned English in Germany, and when a language is not your own, you take it very seriously,'' she said. ``But everybody in America makes this `who-whom' mistake.''

CAPTION(S):

8 Photos

Photo: (1) Omar Sharif

(2) Albert Einstein

(3) William Shatner

(4) John Wayne

(5) Sharon Stone

(6) Bernhard Goetz

(7) Jonas Salk

(8) Laura Schlessinger