THE ARTS

Changes at the Top: Thomas R. Kendrick, the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s chief operating officer, has announced plans to retire Sept. 30. Also leaving is Judith O’Dea Morr, the center’s general manager, who married Kendrick in 1987. Both have signed five-year contracts to remain as consultants. Center CEO Thomas H. Nielsen said the couple has wanted to retire for months, but “remained through the harsh recession to ensure the center’s stability.” A search for Kendrick’s successor has been launched.

*New Symphony Directors: California’s symphonies are raiding New York’s Buffalo Philharmonic. Two of that orchestra’s top officials--Executive Director Michael Tiknis and General Manager Lynn Osmond--are moving West to take the helms of California orchestras. Tiknis is set to take the reigns of the San Diego Symphony in August and Osmond will head the Sacramento Symphony. Tiknis replaces former Executive Director Wesley Brustad, who left the San Diego Symphony in February.

MOVIES

Blanc Estate: More than 250 recently discovered rare animation cels of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and other Warner Bros. characters from the 1940s-60s will be auctioned off next month. The works belonged to the late Mel Blanc, voice of dozens of classic cartoon characters, and were discovered by his son, Noel Blanc. The signed cels and other memorabilia from the Blanc estate will be auctioned off July 10 at Superior Galleries in Beverly Hills. Blanc died in 1989.

*’Jurassic’ News: Bootleg videos of the blockbuster “Jurassic Park,” a hot item for Manhattan’s sidewalk vendors, apparently don’t deliver the goods. More than 1,000 bootlegs of the Steven Spielberg thriller have already been seized, many of them simply blank tapes in shrink-wrapped boxes or blurry versions done with camcorders in theaters. “The quality of the bootlegs is from horrible to abysmal,” said a Universal Pictures spokeswoman. “There’s one where there’s a shot of the ceiling, and then a shot of the curtain. The next voice is the theater manager saying, ‘Sir, will you come with me?’ ” . . . Universal is also riled about a Pennsylvania exhibit of animated dinosaurs that the studio says is stepping on the film’s toes. Universal’s lawyers have threatened to sue the Erie Zoological Society if the group doesn’t change the title of its “Jurassic Jungle” exhibit. To avoid legal costs, the zoo said it will rename the exhibit, which features 13 moving, noise-making dinosaurs designed by California’s Dinamation International.

*More Wins for Walter Matthau: “Dennis the Menace” star Walter Matthau has beaten the odds again, surviving double pneumonia that might have meant curtains for a less stubborn 72-year-old. That makes it a clean record for the actor, who came through bombardments in World War II and a heart attack in the ‘60s, not to mention the slings and arrows of outraged critics. He wishes he had the same kind of luck with his other career, as a world-class gambler. He claims to have kicked the habit “cold turkey” after this year’s Super Bowl, in which he picked Buffalo (Dallas won). He calculates his lifetime losses at $5 million.

TELEVISION

Switching to NBC: Tamara Haddad, the executive producer of CNN’s “Larry King Live,” has been hired by NBC News. Haddad, who is considered a “super-booker” for her skills on the King show, will be in charge of bookings for the “Today” show and will also oversee programming and operations as the No. 2 producer on “Today.” In addition, Haddad will help with bookings on NBC’s upcoming new prime-time newsmagazine.

QUICK TAKES

Joey Buttafuoco’s legal problems have stalled his planned stand-up comedy debut on Andrew (Dice) Clay’s July 10 pay-per-view comedy special. A contract had been drafted and Buttafuoco was to emcee the event, but the show’s producers have said they will not hold him to the deal. Buttafuoco is facing statutory rape charges for his alleged affair with Amy Fisher. . . . NBC has announced plans to turn “Gai-Jin,” the current bestseller by “Shogun” author James Clavell, into an eight-hour miniseries for the 1994-95 season. “Shogun” was NBC’s highest-rated miniseries ever. . . . Cathy Yvonne Stone, the daughter born out of wedlock to Hank Williams Sr., has reached an out-of-court settlement ending her eight-year fight for a share of the late country legend’s songwriting royalties, reported to be worth millions. The settlement amount wasn’t released, but her share will cut into royalties passed on to singer Hank Williams Jr. . . . George Burns, 97, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Brandeis University during a noon ceremony Thursday at the Four Seasons Hotel, marking the first time the university has conducted a degree ceremony outside of its Massachusetts campus.