NAMES IN THE NEWS : Lady Bing Misses Annulment Trial

NEW YORK —  Lady Bing has vanished, and a judge said today her disappearance could speed a court decision on whether to annul her controversial marriage to aging opera impresario Sir Rudolf Bing.

An annulment trial has been under way since last month. It was expected to wrap up after the testimony today of Carroll Lee Douglass, 49, who dubbed herself Lady Bing after her 1987 marriage to Sir Rudolf, 87.

But Douglass failed to show up at state Supreme Court in Manhattan today. An unidentified airline employee told Douglass’ sister that Douglass was winging her way to Florida, her lawyer, Harvey Sladkis, said.

Douglass’ failure to appear was merely an effort to “stop the inevitable” annulment, said Paul Goldhamer, a lawyer for Sir Rudolf’s court-appointed conservator, Paul Guth. Guth is seeking the annulment on the ground that Sir Rudolf is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and was duped into the marriage. The annulment decision is up to Justice Carmen Ciparick, who gave Lady Bing a final chance Wednesday to testify on her own behalf.