Kabbalah

HOLLY HUNTER ["Holly Hunter, In Focus" by Lynn Smith, July 13] is playing with fire when she tells The Times, "The world is chock-full of actors and actresses who want to talk about their personal lives. I don't." Imagine if every star and celebrity-for-15-minutes followed Hunter's lead, refusing to publicly discuss their drug addictions, divorces, infidelities and Kabbalah. What would Americans read, gossip and fantasize about to fill the vacuums in their brains? The entire nation would plunge into depression, anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns.

BACKSTAGE at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, the comedian Sarah Silverman is kneeling on the floor of her boyfriend's crowded office, looking rapturously at his image on a flat screen monitor. She is wearing low-slung jeans, a worn navy crewneck sweater over a baseball T-shirt and sneakers. Her silky black hair is pulled into a ponytail. She is very pretty, almost angelic, looking more like a fresh scrubbed college kid than the 34-year-old show biz vet that she is.

It would turn out to be a classic teen TV drama moment: Dawson Leery, the eternal idealist of late '90s adolescent sudser "Dawson's Creek," watches as his soul mate embarks on a love affair with his best friend. As she walks away, Dawson's "ugly cry" absorbs his face. "God, do I remember that moment," recalled James Van Der Beek, the crier in question. "It wasn't scripted for me to cry, it just happened. " He had all but forgotten that scene at the end of the show's third season until a few years ago, when it resurfaced on YouTube and Twitter.

In a light-filled classroom in Sherman Oaks, gregarious teacher Jenna Zucker dons a straw hat and, in an exaggerated Southern drawl, invites the gathered first- and second-graders to an imaginary picnic. The children, taking part in an after-school program at Kester Avenue Elementary, must tell Zucker what they plan to bring; she will then decide if they can join her. Alex wants to bring apples; he gets the nod.

Los Angeles County officials said Monday that they were opening an investigation into possible financial exploitation of a housebound Palos Verdes Estates heiress by her money manager. The launch of a probe into the handling of Susan Strong Davis' affairs came in response to a Times article describing how the 87-year-old widow spent millions of dollars on a four-bedroom home in Beverly Hills despite suffering from what relatives said was dementia that left her unable to make even minor decisions.

Looks like the Material Girl is falling into the Gap. Madonna will appear in the mega-retailer's fall ads. The newspaper, magazine and TV campaign is scheduled to run for eight weeks, beginning at the end of this month. Madonna and Gap Inc. are also in discussions about promoting Madonna's new children's book, according to Gap spokeswoman Rebecca Weill. This book will be markedly different from her earlier literary effort, the controversial 1992 photo tome, "Sex."

The Los Angeles County probate judge who oversees an elderly heiress' trust fund approved $50,000 in compensation Tuesday for a Kabbalah Centre official who is under criminal investigation for his handling of the woman's financial affairs. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael I. Levanas signed off on John E. Larkin's payment request without comment. The money covers work that Larkin, a veteran Hollywood financial advisor, performed last year as a trustee for an $11-million family trust fund benefiting 88-year-old Susan Strong Davis.

Today Leave a mark: Residents are invited to leave their marks on the newly expanded Main Library and History Center in Orange by signing the structure's columns and beams. 10 a.m. to noon. Free. 407 E. Chapman Ave. Parking available behind City Hall. (714) 288-2471. Sunday Film series: Bowers Museum begins its Sunday film series with "King of Masks." Screenwriter and professor Michael Berlin will discuss the film. Space is limited. 1:30 p.m. Admission: members $8; general $10.

Bowing to pressure from Christian advocacy groups, NBC has decided to pull a controversial mock crucifixion scene from next month's broadcast of a Madonna concert taped last summer. Television viewers will not see the segment in which Madonna is hanging from a cross, wearing a crown of thorns on her head and singing her 1980s hit "Live to Tell." "The 'Live to Tell' song has been revised for NBC's broadcast special," the network said in a statement. The Nov.