Turkey Hats and Hot Pig Dogs Ever hear of someone wearing a cooked turkey for a hat? Connie Trimble has. She’s the owner of Barron’s Family Restaurant in Burbank, part of whose business consists of making food used in filming for movies and TV shows. Often, her studio work consists of making things like hamburgers for diner scenes. But one of the more odd requests was for the “Third Rock from the Sun” television show, which was filming a Thanksgiving dinner episode. During the course of dinner, a character picked up a turkey and put it on like a hat. “I had to work with the turkey so it would fit on the actor’s head,” she said. Other odd dishes included “slop” for the movie “McHale’s Navy,” which included hominy because it looked like floating fat globules. She also fashioned a “pig” for the movie out of a wire mesh pig frame and a few hundred hot dogs. Not Quite Buggy Whips Unlimited Now that there are less than 500 days to go before the dawn of the new millenium, some companies are finding that they have more to think about than the potential Year 2000 computer glitch. Take 20th Century Insurance Co., for instance. The Woodland Hills company’s name is teetering on the edge of being outdated as the next century approaches. When the company was formed about 40 years ago, there was more to worry about than whether the name would last into the next century. “During the postwar era, people were more concerned about building bomb shelters,” said Ric Hill, vice president of corporate relations. “There were a number of people who would have told you we wouldn’t ever get to the next century.” But with the Cold War over, Hill said the company has been looking at the question of how the name will play in the 21st century for the past 10 years. 20th Century isn’t alone. Hill says that about 200 or 300 companies nationwide use 20th century in their names. But he says his company hasn’t been very active in polling them about their plans. Instead, the company has held focus groups with consumers and inquired of its customers. But so far, Hill says, “they’ve indicated it doesn’t bother them at all.” So far, the company is planning to keep its moniker, and 20th Century is going up over its new building, currently under construction next to its current headquarters building in Warner Center. But just in case, 20th Century has reserved the copyrights on a few new names, including 21st Century Casualty Co. Oh Never Mind Anyone tracking the media during the week of President Bill Clinton’s grand jury testimony and public address might have thought all other business had come to a grinding halt. But that’s not how it looked at the Airtel Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. Speaking at a fund-raiser for Randy Hoffman, who is running against Democratic incumbent Brad Sherman for the West San Fernando Valley congressional seat, House Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay, brought up the president’s admission and reiterated to the group his feeling that Clinton should resign. But when it came time for questions, “the needle didn’t rise,” said James Dunn, president and CEO of the Airtel Plaza. Rather than query DeLay on the recent events in Washington, where Clinton admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the group of about 60 business executives were all business, you might say. They asked questions about the proposed airport tax and other economic issues. Blue-Eyed Soul A press release heralding the opening of the Glendale Marketplace with a concert by “Diamond Dave” Somerville bills him as the lead singer of The Diamonds, a rock ‘n’ roll band that recorded such hits as “Why Do Fools Fall in Love.” But as the current motion picture release by the same name tells us, it was Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers who released that song. So what’s up with The Diamonds? They were one of the white bands in the 1950s that covered songs originally recorded by black groups, which was done to make the music acceptable to mainstream America, according to Brian Beirne, a DJ with KRTH-FM 101 radio. “These were what were called, ‘white cover versions,’ ” said Beirne. “This was done with a number of recordings in order to make the song acceptable to popular radio.” Pat Boone was another artist who released hits by black musicians, recording cover versions of Little Richard and Fats Domino songs. Thankfully, “Diamond Dave” gave one performance for everyone during the two-day opening festivities for the $50 million retail and entertainment complex.