THE BUZZ.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Reports

JACK AND JILL: First there was Jack, now there's Jill.

In mid-March, Los Angeles saw the debut of the Jack radio format at 93.1 FM, and its mix of classic rock, Top 40 and alternative oldies immediately drew attention. Last Friday, Thousand Oaks station KMLT-FM (92.7) unveiled its answer format - Jill - which has a similar playlist to Jack's, but with more female artists among the 1,500 or so songs in rotation.

KMLT, technically an adult contemporary station, has come up with a novel way to announce its transformation. As a current hit by the likes of John Mayer spins, the song is pulled off the air, and a female voice - ostensibly a pal of Jill's - says, ``Hey, Jill, can we give that a rest?'' before another record better fitting the format begins.

``Radio is so boring anyway, you do something like this and people think you've gone mad,'' said George Johns, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based radio consultant who devised Jill for KMLT, which can be heard throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. Like Jack, Jill broadcasts without DJs; a half-dozen announcers were shown the door late last week. Johns said he may add a morning show and traffic reports at some point.

GWYNETH LABORS FOR LAUDER: Perhaps looking to capitalize on that ``new mom'' glow, Estee Lauder has named Gwyneth Paltrow as one of the faces of the makeup and fragrance brand. The Oscar-winning actress has signed a multiyear contract. She will first appear in a new global print and TV ad campaign to begin this holiday season for Pleasures fragrance, Estee Lauder announced Monday.

``I am very proud to be a part of such a fine company,'' Paltrow said in a statement. ``Its roots have been deep in the culture of classic American beauty for decades.''

Elizabeth Hurley, primary spokesmodel for Estee Lauder since 1995, when Pleasures was launched, will become the new face of the company's Re-Nutriv skin care line. Models Liya Kebede and Carolyn Murphy remain as representatives of various Estee Lauder products. The 32-year-old Paltrow and her husband, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, celebrated the first birthday of their daughter, Apple, on May 14.

DOG DAYS: Goodbye Mr. Chips, hello Lassie.

Peter O'Toole, whose screen credits include ``Lawrence of Arabia,'' ``The Lion in Winter'' and ``Goodbye, Mr. Chips,'' will star in ``Lassie,'' a new adaptation of the 1938 novel ``Lassie Come Home'' by Eric Knight.

The 72-year-old actor will play the Duke of Rudling. He will co-star with Samantha Morton and Peter Dinklage. Directed by Charles Sturridge, the movie was to begin shooting Monday on location in Ireland and the Isle of Man. In it, the Carraclough family, who live in a Yorkshire, England, mining town, fall on hard times on the eve of World War II, forcing them to sell their beloved dog to the duke, who lives in a remote castle on the northern coast of Scotland. Lassie then embarks on a long journey of several hundred miles to return to her family.

Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall starred in 1943's ``Lassie Come Home.'' There have been a string of other films and more than 675 half-hour TV episodes. The collie also has been frequently parodied for her uncanny ability to communicate with people by barking.

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Photo:

(1 -- color) PALTROW

Peter Kramer/Getty Images

(2 -- color) O'TOOLE

MJ Kim/Getty Images

(3 -- color) GEEK CHIC

At a high-tech fashion show Friday at MIT's Media Lab in Cambridge, Mass., Amanda Parkes, left, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering, helps Tatiana DeProfundis into a prototype of an outfit that uses boots with air bellows in the heels to power a dress, which lights up a map of the distance walked.

Josh Reynolds/Associated Press