Weekend TV : Benefit for Children’s Hospitals, Sendup of Presidential Politics Due

A slew of big stars pitching hard for children’s hospitals will take up a large portion of this weekend’s programming.

Marie Osmond, John Schneider, Mary Hart, Rich Little and Merlin Olsen will host 21 hours of the sixth annual “Children’s Miracle Network Telethon,” beginning tonight at 6 on Channels 9 and 3 (7 p.m. on Channel 8).

Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine are others scheduled to appear during the telethon, which will originate from Disneyland, Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. The event raises funds for hospitals for children around the world, and last year’s telethon collected $41.5 million. The goal this year: $50 million.

Meanwhile, beginning at 5 p.m. today, Home Box Office cable will rerun the first five episodes of “Tanner ‘88,” the Garry Trudeau/Robert Altman television satire that features a fictional presidential candidate (played by Michael Murphy) out mingling with the real presidential aspirants as they woo voters in New Hampshire and the Deep South.

Throughout this three-hour presentation, Linda Ellerbee will anchor several live presidential poll breaks in which viewers will be asked to call a toll-free number and vote for their favorite candidate: George Bush, Jesse Jackson, Michael Dukakis or the fictional Jack Tanner. Results will be announced Monday on HBO.