PEOPLE WATCH

John’s Turnaround: Rock superstar Elton John, who canceled a concert and abruptly left Israel Tuesday night after his arrival set off a brawl, agreed Wednesday to perform the show after all. Israeli officials, with help from the British ambassador, coaxed John to fly back from London. He fled Israel on his private plane after fans, photographers and bodyguards scuffled outside the Tel Aviv Hilton hotel when he got out of his limousine. The pop star, who was unhurt, reached the hotel elevator before spinning around, storming through the lobby and ordering his limousine to take him back to the airport. “John’s main bodyguards came out of the limousine cursing, pushing and punching,” said a reporter at the scene, noting that two photographers were hit in the face and a fan’s ankle was injured when she was flung against a wall. The open-air show, which had been scheduled to take place Wednesday, will now take place tonight. More than 30,000 tickets had been sold to fans in pop-hungry Israel, which has only recently become a stop on major music tours.

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Supremely Busy: Pop superstar Diana Ross, the former Supreme now celebrating her 30th anniversary as an entertainer, Wednesday announced five new projects including a package of three TV movies for ABC-TV. She will star in and produce two of the movies and be executive producer on the third. Ross also announced plans for her first, career-long retrospective recording, “Forever Diana,” a four-compact-disc collection dating from 1963 to the present, to be released in September. Other projects include an autobiographical docudrama for TV, a book and a ‘93-94 world tour. The first ABC movie is scheduled to air in the 1993-94 season.

TV/RADIO

Simulcast Snafu: Satellite problems at KLSX-FM radio kept listeners in silence for the beginning of a simulcast of Paul McCartney’s Fox-TV concert Tuesday night. After a problem-free one-hour radio pre-show, KLSX’s satellite problems halted the simulcast for 40 minutes, according to Scott Segelbaum, promotion director. When the station was finally able to join the broadcast, the downlink ran about a second behind what was shown on television. Segelbaum called the effect for fans watching and listening to the simulcast like “a movie that was dubbed and the mouth is just not quite perfect.”

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Hallmark Hall of TV: Hallmark subsidiary Signboard Hill Productions and RHI Entertainment will develop and produce 10 made-for-television movies to air on ABC beginning in 1994-95. The movies will be the first TV production efforts for Hallmark outside of its award-winning “Hallmark Hall of Fame” series.

STAGE

Sondheim Opener: Long Beach Civic Light Opera’s next season will open with a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company,” starring Patrick Cassidy, rather than the previously announced “Grease,” which was to have been supervised by Tommy Tune. The pulling of “Grease” from the Sept. 30-Oct. 17 slot was attributed to scheduling conflicts for Tune and producers Fran and Barry Weissler; the decision was made before Tune’s recent breaking of a foot. The Long Beach company produced a one-night, original-cast benefit performance of “Company” last January.

QUICK TAKES

Pop star Whitney Houston will make her first Southern California concert appearance since the birth of her daughter at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 22. Tickets go on sale June 27. . . . Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme has signed to star in Largo Entertainment’s “Time Cop,” a sci-fi action thriller about a cop traveling back in time to prevent a corrupt politician from altering historical events. . . . Kathy Bates will receive an acting award from UCLA tonight as part of the school’s Festival ’93. . . . Bruce Willis and Demi Moore served as best man and matron of honor Monday at the Lake Tahoe wedding of Carmine Zozzora, who produced Willis’ “The Last Boy Scout,” and British actress Jane March, who stars opposite Willis in the upcoming thriller “Color of Night.”