Club for cancer support

The Associated Press

HUNTER, N.Y. Ä Mandy Patinkin, who lost his father to pancreatic cancer, understands how important it is for cancer patients and their families to have a place to unwind.

So Patinkin, star of the CBS series ''Chicago Hope,'' is throwing his support behind a Catskills benefit Saturday for Gilda's Club, a cancer support group named after the late comedian Gilda Radner. The organization offers a clubhouse in New York City where cancer patients and their families can relax free of charge.

''It's a place for people to come who are part of a club of which they don't want to be a member," said Patinkin, who sits on the club's board but won't be able to attend the celebrity benefit at

Hunter Mountain.

''I realize the desperate need a lot of people have to share their experiences,'' he said in a phone interview Monday from Los Angeles.

Radner, an original cast member of ''Saturday Night Live,'' died of ovarian cancer in 1989; the club was founded by her husband, actor Gene Wilder.

NEW YORK Ä Mario Cuomo, fresh from his co-starring role as a pitchman for Frito-Lay, has settled on a new job.

The former governor and might-have-been candidate for the Oval Office and the U.S. Supreme Court has gone back to lawyering. He joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a partner, effective Monday.

''I look forward to practicing law in an environment that will present many exceptional professional challenges and that will allow me to use all I have learned about life and the law in my public and private careers,'' Cuomo said in a statement released by the firm Tuesday.

Cuomo, who lost his bid in November for a fourth term as governor, twice toyed with running for president and turned down President Clinton's offer for a Supreme Court post.

Last month, he appeared with former Texas Gov. Ann Richards in a commercial for Doritos during the Super Bowl.

SEATTLE Ä Tickets to Pearl Jam's latest pair of concerts didn't sell at all Ä they were free.

Only members of the Pearl Jam fan club received the tickets by mail for two unpublicized shows.

Dozens of disappointed Pearl Jam die-hards were turned away Monday from a theater in downtown Seattle, the rock group's hometown.

Pearl Jam has been in a protracted legal battle with Ticketmaster over the fees it charges fans who buy concert tickets and has not performed publicly for more than a year. The group is gearing up for an overseas tour and may schedule an American tour this summer.

DAYTON, Ohio Ä Kelley Deal, guitarist for the alternative rock group the Breeders, pleaded innocent Tuesday to drug charges.

Deal, 33, was arraigned on charges of signing for delivery of a package that contained four grams of heroin and was released on her own recognizance. She faces up to 18 months in prison and a $2,500 fine if convicted.

The band hit the Top 40 with the single ''Cannonball.''

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