FIRST OFF . . .

“Tom Cruise is alive and well and in Los Angeles--and doing his regular stuff, now that he’s over the flu,� declared his personal publicist on Friday. Spokeswoman Andrea Jaffe went on to decry recent London newspaper reports that said the actor had checked into a Paris hospital to undergo tests for AIDS and other illnesses. “Those London papers started out by claiming Tom had a ‘deadly tropical disease’--they put it in big headlines. Now it’s come to this,� said Jaffe, adding that “Tom is really (angry) about all this and has been talking with his lawyers.� According to Jaffe, Cruise was in London to attend the British premiere of “Rain Man� and to promote the film when he came down with the flu. After six days in London, Cruise headed to Paris. When his temperature reached “around 103 or 104,� he decided to check into the American Hospital in Paris. Said Jaffe: “He was there for several days and they ran a series of tests--which were all negative. They told him he just had a bad flu, they got his temperature down and he came home.� Cruise is currently in post-production on the Oliver Stone-directed “Born on the Fourth of July� and is due to begin his next film in May.