A relative success

(Associated Press/file)

At the 1931 Hollywood premiere of "City Lights," fans cheered Charlie Chaplin as he strolled the red carpet next to Albert Einstein . The German-born physicist already rivaled Chaplin as an international celebrity, and Chaplin knew it. As recounted in Walter Isaacson's massive new biography, "Einstein: His Life and Universe," Chaplin turned to his friend and said, "They cheer me because they all understand me, and they cheer you because no one understands you."

If seldom fully understood by the lay public, Einstein, who had a deep love-hate relationship with celebrity, found himself easily (and avidly) assimilated into pop culture as his fame spread, popping up in novels, movies, plays (including "Einstein's Dreams," now at MIT), even opera ("Einstein on the Beach" ). Sometimes appearing as himself, sometimes as the stereotypical scientist-professor sporting a white lab coat and hair that defied gravity, Einstein grew to be a cultural icon on par with Elvis, Marilyn, Marlon, and Joltin' Joe.

These baby Einsteins could be mad as hatters (think Peter Sellers in "Dr. Strangelove") or absent-minded (Jerry Lewis in "The Nutty Professor"), antic (Christopher Lloyd in "Back to the Fu ture") or manic (Gene Wilder in "Young Frankenstein"). Yet all owed a substantial debt to the man who formulated the theory of relativity and was named "Person of the Century" by Time magazine in 1999.

Actors who've played Einstein as Einstein include Robert Downey Jr. (in "That's Adequate" ), Elliott Gould ("Mentors" ), and Ben Kingsley (in an untitled film due out next year, costarring Danny Glover as Paul Robeson ). As an endearing portrait of the aging physicist in his Princeton University years, however, Walter Matthau's performance in the 1994 romantic comedy "I.Q." stands tall in time and space.

Matthau, in one of his last major screen roles, plays Einstein as a scheming uncle aiming to fix up his brainy niece (Meg Ryan ) with a car mechanic (Tim Robbins ) who may not know quantum physics but exudes passion, taking Einstein for a spin on his motorcycle in one of the film's most charming scenes. "I.Q." is hardly perfect, but Matthau is perfectly cast. Better suited to the role, perhaps, than Ludwig Stossel , the actor who played Einstein in the 1947 MGM docudrama "The Beginning or the End," about the making of the atomic bomb. Einstein went on to vigorously oppose the nuclear arms race, while Stossel became best known for starring in Swiss Colony wine ads as "that little old winemaker, me."

JOSEPH P. KAHN

Hip-hop executive Russell Simmons yesterday recommended eliminating certain well-worn insult words from the recording industry, considering them "extreme curse words." The call comes less than two weeks after radio personality Don Imus's nationally syndicated and televised radio show was canceled amid public outcry over Imus calling members of a women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos." Simmons, co founder of the Def Jam label , called for voluntary restrictions on the words and setting up an industry watchdog to recommend guidelines . (REUTERS)

A long-awaited biography of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, written by investigative reporter Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame, is coming out June 19. "Hillary Clinton is one of the most compelling figures in the world today, and Carl Bernstein's stunning portrait shows us, for the first time, the true trajectory of her life and career," Sonny Mehta, chairman and editor in chief of Alfred A. Knopf, said in a statement yesterday. "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton " has an announced first printing of 350,000 copies. (AP)

David Letterman will be Regis Philbin's first guest when he returns Thursday to "Live With Regis and Kelly" after having triple heart bypass surgery six weeks ago. Philbin was a guest host on CBS's "Late Show" after Letterman underwent heart bypass surgery in 2000. He also stepped in when Letterman was recovering from an eye infection in 2003. Philbin, 75, has been at home recuperating since his surgery last month. (AP)

Activist groups dropped a federal lawsuit against Viacom Inc. yesterday after the parent company of Comedy Central acknowledged it made a mistake by asking YouTube to yank a parody of the cable network's "The Colbert Report." Although the video contained clips taken from Stephen Colbert's television show, the groups said their use was protected under "fair use" provisions of copyright law . (AP)

'It's paparazzi [who] get at you, and fans come up and try to give you hugs and get autographs.' "American Idol" castoff Sanjaya Malakar.