Hollywood glitter

Look closely in the 20th Century Fox movie ''Home Alone'' and you`ll spot some 16-karat Du Page County sparkle.

Actor Joe Pesci`s gold front tooth, which helps young hero Macaulay Culkin nail the villain, was the work of a Bloomingdale dentist, Dr. Claudio Levato. Levato was pressed into service by a friend who was handling props for the movie.

''They wanted it to look quite real, and they wanted it to be a focal point,'' said the dentist. ''I saw Joe in my office and re-did his front teeth with props that he could take on and off, nothing permanent.''

In the finished film, he said, the gold tooth lights the way to justice.

''Every time Pesci smiled, they made the tooth sparkle. It was quite a significant part of the movie, and it helped the little boy realize that Pesci was the burglar.''

The assignment also gave Levato a change of pace. In his restorative dental practice called Comprehensive Dentistry, he makes patients look better. In ''Home Alone,'' he said, ''we were able to change the smile considerably and make him look a little meaner.''

SOURCE: Betty Lundy.

Canines on cable

Public access television is going to the dogs in Aurora, but all for a good cause. As part of a weekly show spotlighting city programs, director of animal control Jeanette Zagorce has introduced a sort of doggy Home Shopping. So far, she reports, she`s moving the goods.

Since the show started a few weeks ago, she said, ''We`ve adopted out three dogs.'' What`s more, all three people who called to request animals gave the same explanation for their interest: ''Everybody said they were just flipping through the channels, and all of a sudden these dogs were there, and so they watched.'' And opted to adopt.

Lucky dogs. The lost pets that Zagorce profiles are strictly temporary guests of the Aurora animal shelter. After four days, they become city property and may be humanely euthanized.

In an effort to find homes for some, Zagorce and two of her staff, Randy Johnson and Glen Blagg, took the required access cable television training to advertise their dogs. They produce,direct, write, film, and edit the weekly spot. ''It`s another way of getting people to think about adopting a pet,''

Zagorce said. SOURCE: Betty Lundy.