Local News in Brief : Holm Also Calls In Sick

The case of Peter Holm vs. Joan Collins--or, can a former Swedish rock star live on less than $80,000 a month?--took unexpected turns Wednesday when:

- Holm phoned in sick from southern France, missing a crucial court hearing in Los Angeles in his bid to win $80,000 a month in temporary alimony from Collins, the TV actress and his ex-wife.

- Superior Court Judge Earl F. Riley accused Holm of “playing games� with the court and removed his case from the calendar, effectively erasing six months of potential alimony valued at $480,000.

- Flamboyant attorney Marvin M. Mitchelson, representing Collins, vowed to seek evidence from France that Holm was remarried several days ago to a 26-year-old Los Angeles woman named Cathy Wardlow, described as a former secretary to owner Jerry Buss of the Lakers professional basketball team. That evidence could render the whole alimony question moot.

- And Holm’s attorney, Frank Steinschriber of Sherman Oaks, resigned from the celebrated, unruly case, later telling reporters, “(Holm) has never told me during the last several months where he’s been.�

And, oh yes, Superior Court Judge Frances Rothchild issued a bench warrant for Holm’s arrest because of his failure to appear--an action intended to encourage his presence when the next scheduled round of the legal soap opera begins on Jan. 22.

All in all, Wednesday’s winner clearly was Collins, the 54-year-old star of television’s “Dynasty� series, who filed for divorce from Holm last Dec. 8. Attorneys agreed that the judge’s action virtually ended Holm’s chances of getting the $80,000 a month he had sought.