The Love Brokers

Casting directors Janet Hirschenson and Jane Jenkins have become so good at matching screen partners that at least six of their pairings have developed into real-life romances. The latest: Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, the lovey twosome in “Willow.” They recently sent Hirschenson and Jenkins a wedding announcement with the notation, “Good casting!”

“It’s an odd series of coincidences,” Jenkins told us. “We just try to put two people together who have the right kind of chemistry.”

The other couples:

Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange in “Frances” (1982).

From “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986), Lyman Ward and Cindy Pickett, who married after playing Ferris’ parents; and title star Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey (cast as his sister), who paired off screen for a much-publicized courtship.

Linda Hamilton (“Beauty and the Beast”), who was stalked by--and later married--crazed killer Bruce Abbott in “Kiss Me, Kill Me” (a.k.a. “TAG, the Assassination Game,” 1981).

Frederic Forrest and Marilu Henner of “Hammett” (1982).

“We saw them falling in love during their audition,” Hirschenson said of the “Hammett” match. “The talking got less and less and the kisses longer and longer.”

Alas, added Jenkins, “It was a whirlwind romance--and a short-lived marriage.”