Rowan Atkinson did all his own comedy stunts in Bean, including wearing a turkey carcass on his head.

The British actor behind the goofball Mr. Bean even tried using a real, uncooked turkey as a prop despite the “high risk of salmonella poisoning.”

Bad idea. “It’s horribly bloody and bony inside,” Atkinson says in the Dec. 1 People magazine. “You don’t want that next to your ear lobes. So we used a fake turkey. It was just as heavy, but not as smelly.”

Before the film, Atkinson performed as Mr. Bean on his own BBC television show. Bean is an international hit, having sold $130 million in theater tickets before opening in the United States. It’s done well since its U.S. debut, too, finishing in the top five in its first two weeks of domestic release.

Martha Sewart sues ‘Enquirer’

Tasteful-living guru Martha Stewart is suing the National Enquirer for libel and defamation of character over an article in the Lantana-based supermarket tabloid saying she had a personality disorder.

The article headlined “Martha Stewart is Mentally Ill” claimed Stewart “indulged in self-mutilation and threatened suicide” and “has frantic fears of being abandoned, a chronic sensation of feeling useless and empty, and a near-constant anger.”

The story damaged Stewart’s reputation as a model of civility and good living, bringing “shame, mortification and emotional distress,” according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court Thursday seeking $10 million in damages and unspecified punitive damages and legal fees.

“We’re very comfortable with the story. We will fight the lawsuit vigorously,” the National Enquirer said in a statement issued Friday.

Known for her classy cooking, crafts, gardening and home entertaining tips, Stewart has built a $200-million-a-year publishing, TV and retailing empire.

Mike Wallace loves ‘the urgency’

At 79, 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace is still ticking.

“I love the urgency of what we do,” Wallace says in the Dec. 1 People magazine. “I like the battles that take place, the jousting. You walk into an airport and someone says, ‘Hey, there’s that guy.’ They admire what we do. There are a lot of other news magazines out there now, but people still recognize this as the most responsible and the most serious.”

Wallace’s workaholic pace includes long hours and about 120 days a year spent traveling.

“He’s a force of nature,” said 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt, 74.

Rap: Rolling out of the dark ages

Will Smith is looking to lead a renaissance in rap music.

“Rap’s gone through a sort of dark ages,” Smith says in the Nov. 28 Entertainment Weekly. “I think with the loss of Biggie [Smalls) and Tupac [Shakur), the rap industry is ready for a change.”

The film and TV actor first known as clean-cut, two-time Grammy-winning rapper Fresh Prince did the rap theme song for his film Men in Black and is releasing his first album in four years, Big Willie Style. He says gangsta rap took hip-hop music down the wrong path.

“The essence of rap was always about partying and having fun,” said Smith, 29, the father of a 5-year-old boy. “The best rapper was the one that could rock the crowd. How well you shot a gun wasn’t part of the criteria.”

Smith, who’s expecting another child with his fiancee, actress Jada Pinkett, 26, also believes that good rap doesn’t have to be vulgar. “I want my son to have a rap record with no profanity,” Smith said. “Clean and fun.”

ALMANAC

It’s the 327th day of the year; 38 days are left in 1997. On this day:

* In 1804, Franklin Pierce, the 14th U.S. president, was born in Hillsboro, N.H.

* In 1936, Life magazine, created by Henry R. Luce, was first published.

* In 1945, most U.S. wartime rationing of foods, including meat and butter, ended.

* In 1971, the People’s Republic of China was seated in the U.N. Security Council.

Thought for today: “We are incredibly heedless in the formation of our beliefs, but find ourselves filled with an illicit passion for them when anyone proposes to rob us of their companionship.” _ Historian James Harvey Robinson (1863-1936)

Today’s birthdays: Singer Betty Everett, 58; actress Susan Anspach, 52; actor Steve Landesberg, 52; singer Bruce Hornsby, 43; actor Maxwell Caulfield, 38.