Spade’s Attacker a Pal Who ‘Turned on Me’

Everywhere he goes these days, David Spade is asked about what he calls “my infamous stun gun attack.” Gwyneth Paltrow, to name one listener, was all ears and sympathetic nods as Spade told her the tale the other night at the “Snatch” premiere.

And so were we, when he offered us a few details Saturday night at Talk magazine editor Tina Brown’s Golden Globes party at the Mondrian’s Skybar. He almost seemed to be traveling incognito, wearing a big brown suede jacket and peering out from under an orange wool ski hat.

“I’ve been playing it down,” explained Spade, the 36-year-old co-star of the television comedy “Just Shoot Me.” He stressed that he doesn’t want his former personal assistant to go to jail. He wants him to get help for personal problems that allegedly motivated the assault.

The Nov. 29 attack, allegedly by the burly David Warren “Skippy” Malloy, was as painful and scary as it gets, Spade said. Malloy, once a trusted friend, suddenly “turned on me,” the slightly built Spade added, without a trace of his famed sarcasm. “I thought I was dying. I’m scared of the guy.”

On Tuesday, a Superior Court judge in Beverly Hills offered Spade some legal protection. Judge Elden Fox ordered Malloy, who weighs more than 300 pounds, to stay at least 100 yards from Spade, who can’t weigh more than 125 pounds soaking wet. And, at the urging of Deputy Dist. Atty. Wendy Segall, the judge also ordered Malloy to refrain from any attempts to contact or communicate with the actor.

Malloy, 30, also entered not-guilty pleas to charges of residential burglary and assault with a stun gun in connection with the attack at Spade’s Beverly Hills home. Spade received minor injuries in the struggle.

According to Beverly Hills police, Spade called 911 at 6:22 a.m. to report a burglary in progress. By the time police arrived, the intruder had fled. Malloy was arrested later that day.

Spade did not attend the brief hearing, and Malloy was subdued as he stood before the judge in a dark jacket, beige corduroy slacks and brown suede shoes. He offered no comment as deputies escorted him and his lawyer, Howard Lowe, away from news cameras and into a courthouse elevator.

But Spade has been talking about the incident at public appearances, letting the details trickle out. “There’s a lot more to it,” he said.

Malloy is free on his own recognizance, and is scheduled to return to court in Beverly Hills on March 15, when a date will be set for a preliminary hearing.