TELEVISION - June 22, 1993

Latino Showcase: “Comedy Compadres,” a new Latino stand-up comedy show aimed at becoming an “Ed Sullivan for Latino Talent,” premieres Aug. 6 at 11:30 p.m. on KTLA Channel 5. “This is TV history,” says comedian Jeff Valdez, who will co-executive produce the weekly Friday night show with “KTLA Morning News” anchor Carlos Amezcua. “Never before has there been a comedy show that featured all Latino comics and was produced by Latinos.” KTLA has given the program, to be taped at Hollywood’s Las Palmas Theater, an initial eight-week commitment; meanwhile, Valdez hopes to syndicate it nationally.

* TV Games: A new nighttime version of “The Price Is Right,” TV’s longest-running game show, is scheduled to premiere in the fall of 1994. Produced by Paramount Domestic Television and Mark Goodson Productions, the show will feature a modified format from its daytime counterpart, including a new host. Meanwhile, USA Network debuts a new afternoon game show, “Talkabout,” hosted by radio and TV veteran Wayne Cox, beginning June 28.

MOVIES

* New Minority Awards: The first Minority Motion Picture Awards show will be held Sept. 10 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. Recipients, who were chosen for their social awareness as well as their contribution to the industry, include Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, John Singleton, Debbie Allen, Cheech Marin, Edward James Olmos, Alfre Woodard, Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes. Cicely Tyson will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Proceeds from the event go to the Catholic Big Brothers of Los Angeles.

* OK for British Kids: The record-breaking “Jurassic Park,” which even Steven Spielberg admits is too violent for many young children, received a PG rating in Britain Monday, allowing children of all ages to see the movie unaccompanied there. But the British Board of Film Classification did issue a warning--to be printed on all promotional posters--stating that certain scenes “may be particularly disturbing to younger children or children of a sensitive disposition.” The film board said it showed the film to 200 children aged 8 to 11 and “no ill effects have been reported.”

POP/ROCK

Fogerty’s Test Case: Singer-songwriter John Fogerty’s effort to be reimbursed for the legal fees he spent defending himself against a copyright lawsuit will be used by the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether winning defendants in copyright suits may collect attorney fees from losing plaintiffs--even if the lawsuits are not found to have been frivolous or filed in bad faith. The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear Fogerty’s case, which stemmed from a suit by music publishers Fantasy Inc. over Fogerty’s 1985 song “The Old Man Down the Road,” which Fantasy had alleged was a copy of an earlier song--”Run Through the Jungle”--that Fogerty had sold to Fantasy. Fogerty won the 1988 jury trial, but both a federal trial judge and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down his request that Fantasy pay his attorney fees. The Supreme Court decision is expected in 1994.

THE ARTS

* Nureyev Auction: The private art collection of ballet star Rudolf Nureyev, who died of AIDS in January, will be auctioned for charity by Christie’s auction house in December and January. The Russian-born dancer, who defected to the West penniless in 1961, became a multimillionaire international ballet star, amassing paintings, sculptures, furniture, fabrics, musical instruments and carpets estimated at up to $7 million. Proceeds from the London and New York sales will go to two funds created by Nureyev to help dancers, promote classical ballet and aid medical research: the American Rudolf Nureyev Foundation and the Lichtenstein-based Ballet Promotion Foundation.

* On With the Show: The cash-strapped San Diego Civic Light Opera, still in the midst of a crisis campaign, will continue with its 48th summer season, officials said Monday. The company, a professional theater with a $4-million budget and a $1-million deficit, announced June 8 that it would cancel the season if $250,000 was not raised by the end of the month. While that sum has not yet been raised, enough progress has been made to start rehearsals for “My Fair Lady,” which opens July 8 at the Starlight Bowl, according to Director of Marketing Todd Van Every.

QUICK TAKES

Westwood One Radio Networks will broadcast U2’s Aug. 28 concert in Dublin, Ireland, live on radio stations worldwide. The event is billed as one of the widest-reaching music broadcasts in radio history. . . . Multiple Emmy-winning producer Marian Rees will receive the American Film Institute’s Charles W. Fries Producer of the Year award today as part of the AFI Film Festival. . . . “Beethoven” star Charles Grodin will get to show off his other film talent--screenwriting--when he stars in his own upcoming original screenplay, “Secret Life of Men,” for Universal.