OSCAR GROUCHES

For those who wonder why Hollywood no longer turns out big-scale musicals, the answer becomes increasingly evident with each succeeding Oscar telecast: the producing talent just isn’t there.

This year’s catastrophe was a perfect example . . . 15 solid minutes of schlock.

Not only were most of the nominated songs klutzily performed, but shoving Bernadette Peters out on the stage time after time after time to chant about “Songs From the Movies”--the lyrics were indecipherable--proved the crowning blow.

In the same regard, has anyone in charge ever considered using a simpler over-all set design that requires less moving of props, scene changes and noise? This may get by in theater and filmed TV, but not on live TV, where every bit of background disturbance is magnified and becomes clatter on the living-room set.

Considering that this was Hollywood’s 35th televised Academy Awards show, isn’t it about time to end Amateur Night?

DAVID R. MOSS

Los Angeles