Faith Ford

Faith Ford says that lovable yet annoying Corky Sherwood on CBS' "Murphy Brown" is a lot of things, but dumb isn't one of them. "Some people have described her as a ditz, but I don't think she's that," said Ford, who plays the blonde beauty queen turned television newsmagazine reporter. "She's an unedited person," Ford said. "She says what comes to her mind. She's bossy. She loves to throw her opinions at people. She offers advice that no one wants. But she's not dumb.

As long as there is network television, there will be shows like ABC's "Hope & Faith." No matter what we do to try to stop them. Like bugs capable of surviving a nuclear holocaust, those shrill, laugh-track-laden, prime-time comedies best classified as "sitcoms in extremis" just keep coming back. "Hope & Faith," which makes its debut at 9 tonight, is one of the worst in years. Faith Ford ("Murphy Brown") and Kelly Ripa ("Live!

Five years ago, Faith Ford's career began to click. Not only did the former model have a recurring role on ABC's "thirtysomething" as a fumbling secretary, she was constantly going out on auditions. So when she read for the role of Corky Sherwood on a new CBS sitcom called "Murphy Brown," starring Candice Bergen, the Louisiana native looked upon it as just another audition. "I didn't have a script at that point," recalls Ford, during an interview at her publicist's Beverly Hills office.

It's a long, winding, narrow, barely paved road that leads to Ford Motor Co.'s ambitious $100-million assembly plant just outside the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. The road isn't much smoother for the company as a whole as it moves into Vietnam. Banking on the government's will and ability to fix the country's crumbling and dated road network, and elevate personal incomes to make private car ownership plausible, Ford has become the latest foreign auto manufacturer to make inroads in Vietnam.

As long as there is network television, there will be shows like ABC's "Hope & Faith." No matter what we do to try to stop them. Like bugs capable of surviving a nuclear holocaust, those shrill, laugh-track-laden, prime-time comedies best classified as "sitcoms in extremis" just keep coming back. "Hope & Faith," which makes its debut at 9 tonight, is one of the worst in years. Faith Ford ("Murphy Brown") and Kelly Ripa ("Live!

Nouveau riche. New money. The words suggest tactless millionaires spending lavishly on overpriced, gaudy trappings: buying original art to match the living room decor; accessorizing the Mercedes with 24-karat gold trim; building outsized, Tara-style mansions.

It's a long, winding, narrow, barely paved road that leads to Ford Motor Co.'s ambitious $100-million assembly plant just outside the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. The road isn't much smoother for the company as a whole as it moves into Vietnam. Banking on the government's will and ability to fix the country's crumbling and dated road network, and elevate personal incomes to make private car ownership plausible, Ford has become the latest foreign auto manufacturer to make inroads in Vietnam.

Bergens Everywhere: Candice Bergen, star of CBS's "Murphy Brown," will host the May 19 season finale of NBC's "Saturday Night Live." It will be her fifth appearance on the show, including two appearances during SNL's first season of 1975-76. In other Bergen news, Frances Bergen, mother of Candice, will be the guest star on Murphy Brown's May 21 episode, in which Corky (Faith Ford) gets married. Frances Bergen will play the groom's mother.

Sullivan on 'Murphy Brown': Former "CBS This Morning" co-anchor Kathleen Sullivan is in Los Angeles taping the season finale of CBS' "Murphy Brown." Sullivan plays herself in the episode, which has Frank (Joe Regalbuto) asking Murphy (Candice Bergen) to get him a date for Corky's (Faith Ford's) wedding. The episode will air during the May ratings sweeps.

Former "CBS This Morning" co-anchor Kathleen Sullivan will be in L.A. beginning today to tape the season finale of CBS' "Murphy Brown." The three-day taping has Sullivan playing herself in the episode as Frank (Joe Regalbuto) asks Murphy (Candice Bergen) to get him a date for Corky's (Faith Ford's) wedding. The episode will air during the May ratings sweeps.

Five years ago, Faith Ford's career began to click. Not only did the former model have a recurring role on ABC's "thirtysomething" as a fumbling secretary, she was constantly going out on auditions. So when she read for the role of Corky Sherwood on a new CBS sitcom called "Murphy Brown," starring Candice Bergen, the Louisiana native looked upon it as just another audition. "I didn't have a script at that point," recalls Ford, during an interview at her publicist's Beverly Hills office.

Faith Ford says that lovable yet annoying Corky Sherwood on CBS' "Murphy Brown" is a lot of things, but dumb isn't one of them. "Some people have described her as a ditz, but I don't think she's that," said Ford, who plays the blonde beauty queen turned television newsmagazine reporter. "She's an unedited person," Ford said. "She says what comes to her mind. She's bossy. She loves to throw her opinions at people. She offers advice that no one wants. But she's not dumb.

Nouveau riche. New money. The words suggest tactless millionaires spending lavishly on overpriced, gaudy trappings: buying original art to match the living room decor; accessorizing the Mercedes with 24-karat gold trim; building outsized, Tara-style mansions.

* Photography. "Ghost in the Shell: Photography and the Human Soul, 1850-2000," a 150-year survey exploring how artists' interpret human faces opens Oct. 24 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, noon-8 p.m.; Fridays, noon-9 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Adults, $7; seniors and students, $5. Ends Jan. 16. (323) 857-6000. * Dance.

The Scene: Sunday's kick-off party for the first Hard Rock Cafe-Eddie Van Halen Charity Golf Tournament. It was held at the Beverly Center's Hard Rock. The tournament was played Monday at the exclusive Sherwood Country Club's Jack Nicklaus-designed course in Thousand Oaks. Holding a rock 'n' roll golf tournament at the pro-quality Sherwood is akin to having a monster truck contest on the lawn at Versailles.