Names and faces

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- See Vic Damone before it's too late.

The 71-year-old Damone, who sang ''Gigi,'' ''You're Breaking My Heart'' and ''On the South Side of Chicago,'' is retiring after 53 years.

He will close his career with a tour starting May 27 at the Westbury Music Fair and ending May 18, 2001, at Carnegie Hall.

''It has been an incredible, thrilling journey, but all good things must come to an end,'' he said Friday. ''It has always been important to me that I give audiences the very best of what I have. And I've always wanted to go out at the top of my game.''

Oprah unveils O

NEW YORK (AP) -- It may not be all Oprah, all the time, but Oprah Winfrey's new magazine, O, comes pretty close.

Guess who will grace the cover of every issue for the ''foreseeable future''? And there's plenty more of Oprah inside, too. Essays from the magazine's creator and lead personality, titled ''Let's Talk'' and ''What I Know for Sure,'' are at the very beginning and very end of each issue.

Then there's ''Oprah to Go,'' cutout cards with inspiring quotations chosen by the talk show host.

The magazine, which is a partnership with Hearst Corp., goes on sale Wednesday. Fans need not worry that it will dominate Winfrey's time.

''For me, the Oprah show is still the mother lode,'' Winfrey said.

Rosie awarded

NEW YORK (AP) -- They didn't talk about Pez dispensers or Christmas cookies this time, but Hillary Rodham Clinton did present an award to her pal Rosie O'Donnell for her talk show.

O'Donnell on Monday was given the Gracie Allen Award from American Women in Radio and Television for outstanding individual achievement for a talk show host.

''Rosie continues to raise the bar for quality television,'' said Clinton. The first lady said O'Donnell was a good friend and that people were right to describe her as ''The Queen of Nice.''

''She's more than that -- she's the queen of our hearts,'' said Clinton, who is running for New York Senate.