HALL OF FAME 1990

can we start over?

Was it only a year ago that the boom ended with a bang (well, a bang-bang if you were in Romania)? Back then, the good guys had won. The Cold War had ended, Communism had collapsed, Mandela was sprung, and the wall came tumbling down. At home it looked as if the bad boys had lost. The courts were packed with celebs modeling manacles—Leona, Imelda, Khashoggi, Milken, Sharpton, Pete Rose, Marion Barry, John Gotti, and let's not forget Captain "Party Hearty" Hazelwood. Was there really a time when Tyson was the King of Swing, Trump the artful dealer, and Saddam Hussein our friend? Could we really have believed that life was going to be kinder and gentler? We were so innocent then, so hopeful. But by the dog days of summer the green era had already turned brown. Real estate got too real. The art market smarted. Media went on the blink. The S&Ls swallowed the peace dividend. Retailers discounted. And the government closed up shop. The gorgeous mosaic shattered, and the gloves were off. Andrew Dice Clay trashed women, Jimmy Breslin trashed Asians, Spike Lee and Pat Buchanan trashed Jews, Jesse Helms trashed art. Gays outed one another, Roseanne strangled "The Star-Spangled Banner," and Madonna grabbed her crotch and yelled, "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

By August, everything had gone haywire. New York became a free-fire zone. Blacks slaughtered blacks in South Africa. And just when all the shrinks and sheikhs were on vacation, Saddam Hussein gobbled up Kuwait. Wha happened?

The Nicer Nineties turned out to be the shortest decade ever. And what do we have to show for it? Images of hype and hope—our postcards from the edge. So here they are: the good, the bad, and the acquitted—the 1990 Hall of Fame.

Nelson Mandela

Vice president of the African National Congress.He was that rare hero who actually his myth. Like Martin Luther King Jr. in the Birmingham jail, Mandela drew his moral force from the prison walls, and he did hard time—twenty-eight years. His release in February ignited the year's most jubilant celebration. And it never flagged, even when he took unpopular positions, supporting the likes of Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat, the New York Yankees, and his wife, Winnie (hoo-boy, what a handful). Now comes the really hard part—making peace in a nation where the issues are no longer black and white. Amandla!

Marla Maples

Model. Leggy, busty, blonde, and inflatable, in another era this Georgia peach would have been Elvis Presley's girlfriend. Instead she was cast as the home wrecker in the longest-running tabfest since Burton and Taylor. The Donald's hopes went down the slopes in Aspen when Marla traded face with Ivana and Liz Smith broke the story of the split-up. She may have been a perfect 10 to Trump, but she was a zero to his bankers. Still, Marla loves old swivel-hips for his simple barefoot self.

General Colin Powell Jr.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.He's beat the system to become the highest-ranking black officer in United States history. He masterminded the invasion of Panama, supervised the buildup in the Gulf, and made buddies with formerly scary Soviet generals (such as Mikhail Moiseyev, left). Pitted against President Saddam "the Shredder" Hussein, he's our top Ninja Turtle. Cowabunga, Colin!

Peter Matthiessen

Author.He's the ObiWan Kenobi of cult writers, his face a craggy map of all the right issues— the environment, Long Island fishermen, Native Americans, and pygmy elephants. This year the Force was with him; he hit the best-seller list with Killing Mr. Watson and won the seven-year-long case brought against him for defending an allegedly framed Indian leader in South Dakota. And if you're a Zen Buddhist passing through the Hamptons, feel free to stop in at his temple. Ain't that a shaman?

ACT UP

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. They're mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. Agitating on behalf of people with AIDS, ACT UP zaps the phone lines of politicians and mau-maus the white coats of the medical establishment, successfully lobbying for the speedup of clinical drug trials. Masters of guerrilla theater, they've expanded their band worldwide, unfurling their banner: ACT UP, FIGHT BACK, FIGHT AIDS.

Andrew Dice Clay

Comedian.O.K., so I pissed off a few fruits and a lot of frustrated scags. Is that any reason to crucify me? So I made Ford Fairlane and it bit the big one, and they put my concert film on the shelf behind the cheese. Deep down, I'm just as sensitive as you are, you pathetic piece of shit.

Václav Havel

President of Czechoslovakia. For twenty years Prague's most famous playwright ran a velvet underground, but becoming president of Czechoslovakia didn't make him pompous, power-hungry, or corrupt. Half flower child, half philosopher king, he moved into the castle but didn't lose his cool, staying hip with guests like Frank Zappa and the Rolling Stones. In an age of sound bites, his moral eloquence may be his enduring legacy. Now all he has to worry about is the unbearable lightness of being there.

Uma Thurman

Actress.In Henry & June, she was steamier clothed than the others were naked—so steamy, in fact, that she melted down the ratings system. Along the way she became an actress, graduating from the eager virgin in Dangerous Liaisons to Henry Miller's redhot-mama wife. The daughter of one of America's most prominent Buddhist scholars, she's now every studio head's favorite mantra: Uma—Uma—Uma.

Mark Morris

Choreographer.He's the most exciting choreographer since Balanchine, a dancer with a body outof of Rubens and a wit out of Wilde. Who else could play two female roles in one ballet, inspire Baryshnikov to dance for him, and top it all off with a Nutcracker to crack all nuts? Bravo! Brava! He's tutu much.

John Gotti

Alleged head of the Gamhino family. He's the made man who has it made, and he would like it much if youse guys would quit bustin' his balls. Listen up. They said he put a rocket in some union guy's pocket. How could he? He's strictly in plumbing supplies. But his threads didn't fall off no truck. While Vincent "the Chin'' Gigante shuffled around in his pj's, the alleged Gambino Godfather wowed the TV cameras (and the jury in his assault trial) with his sartorial splendor. For he's a jolly Goodfella.

ECO

Earth Communications Office.Here they are, the good-earth gang, America's homegrown Greens, globally warming our hearts. A loose coalition of environmental activists, each with his own specialty, ECO uses the media to get its message across. With their battle cry of "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle," they're turning America from a nation of tree muggers into a nation of tree buggers.

Marion Barry

Washington, D.C.'s mayor. You can say this for him, he didn't keep bankers' hours. His wife, Effi, said he did his best thinking in bars; the judge told him to do his thinking behind bars. We watched him give a crack performance in a governmentsting video, but he was unlucky with his co-star. When he met Rasheeda Moore, he thought he had one fine fox, "but the bitch set him up.''

Jeff Koons and Cicciolina

Artist and member of the Italian parliament.He's the postpostmodern artist who made his name with stainless-steel rabbits, floating basketballs, and a white Michael Jackson. She's the porn star who got herself elected to the Italian parliament and then offered her body to Saddam Hussein (if he would free the hostages). Together they were the scandal of the Venice Biennale, making art, publicity, and whoopee. They don't speak the same language, but they have a tongue in common. And they're actually very shy.