Fan Mail

Arthur Lake, who portrayed Dagwood Bumstead in more than two dozen "Blondie" films between 1939 and 1950, died Friday after a heart attack at his home in Indian Wells, where he had been living in quiet retirement. He was 81. Lake reportedly suffered the fatal seizure early Friday afternoon while at home with his wife, Patricia. Paramedics said that when they arrived, his son, Arthur Lake Jr., was trying to revive him.

Dave Gallagher need no longer lament his lack of fan mail. An envelope arrived for him containing a picture inscribed, "Don't ever say you don't get any fan mail." It was signed, "Your 1 fan, Jerry Reuss." Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken's seventh-inning throwing error ended his 51-game errorless streak. He has committed five errors in 235 games. . . .

As a fan of Edy Williams, I would like to obtain the still photo of her that Calendar Letters offered to give the 234th reader who wrote in to ask for it. If I am not the lucky one, could you tell me where to write to obtain a copy of her video? JOHN FRANCIS North Hollywood To find "Fan Mail" ($89.95), try Edy Williams Productions, 1717 Sunset Plaza Drive, Hollywood, 90069.

For athletes, coaches and college and professional sports teams, this is part of the new daily routine: Fan mail? Scan mail. The anthrax scare, subsequent hoaxes and accompanying anxiety have reshaped how athletes, professional sports leagues, other governing bodies and management agencies are dealing with incoming mail. For now, packages and letters are being closely scrutinized by front-office personnel or building security or simply placed in another location, unopened.

After "Return to Mayberry," "I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later" and "Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge," are we ready for . . . "Lassie: The Next Generation"? Jon Provost is. The one-time Timmy, the collie's best friend for seven years on the series, wants a comeback. And he reports, "June Lockhart and Hugh Reilly (the folks who looked after him and Lassie) are interested." Back in 1964, he couldn't stand the thought of starring opposite Lassie for one more minute.

About five years ago, Bess Motta was watching Tom Snyder on television. He was running a tape of a syndicated aerobics show called "Aerobicize." Motta watched the slim, trim women moving gracefully on stage and became depressed about her own acting career, which was not going well. Thirty pounds overweight, she knew she was eating herself into show business oblivion. "When I went to bed that night, tears trickled down my face," she said.

After all these years, Herman Haynes knows what to do when he sees a letter addressed to the Veterans Repatriation Hospital in Hollywood, WA. Why, of course. He forwards it to Western Australia. And when he sees that an envelope says La California, but has the ZIP code 57010, he knows that the sender is thinking of just that--a community so named in Italy.

Ever consider what "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry might command on the open market today? Throneberry, noted for his feeble hitting and atrocious fielding, was one of several pitiful players on the 1962 New York Mets, arguably the worst team in major league history. Throneberry helped mislead the Mets to 120 losses that year. But a closer examination of the numbers by the National Sports Review reveals that Throneberry actually had a season comparable to Bobby Bonilla's in 1992. Bonilla made $6.

He signed his name John Forsythe. But the crowd saw him only as Blake Carrington. "Why is Alexis so mean to you?" they asked. "Where is Krystle?" Krystle, presumably, was looking after her own affairs while Forsythe, a.k.a. Carrington, was at the Downtown Broadway Plaza store, seated at a desk worthy of "Dynasty."