PEOPLE WATCH
Museum of Hope: Bob Hope is hoping to open a museum within a year to document his comedy, acting and dancing career and house his many awards, honors and memorabilia. “There’s an interest in the man’s career and life, so there is a demand for a museum,” said Bob Hope Enterprises spokesman Ward Grant. He said several cities have made offers but no decision on the museum’s location has been made. The facility likely would include a theater showing the 90-year-old entertainer’s TV shows and movies.
*Legend or Ex-Con?: The Monuments and Memorials Commission in Augusta, Ga., will decide whether to dedicate a landmark to “Godfather of Soul” James Brown, who grew up in the Southern city. The issue has divided residents and City Council members, some of whom consider him a “living legend” and have been pushing for more than two decades to name an Augusta street in Brown’s honor. Others contend that Brown shouldn’t be touted as a role model because he served a prison sentence for charges stemming from a police chase. Steamboat Springs, Colo., recently named a small local bridge “The James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge” in recognition of his cultural contributions, even though the singer had no connections to the city.
*Ozzy’s Suit: Rock star Ozzy Osbourne filed a lawsuit against the New York-based magazine Music Confidential for allegedly fabricating a story about “the stroke madman Ozzy Osbourne did not want you to know about.” According to the L.A. Superior Court lawsuit, the Aug. 3 story said that Osbourne “covered up a tragic stroke that had stopped the rock star in his tracks.” Osbourne contends that the story is false, damaged his reputation and “leads the public to believe (he) may have reached the end of his ability to perform as a musician.” He is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
MOVIES
Spielberg’s Dinosaurs, Part II: Steven Spielberg’s animated movie “We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story,” which the “Jurassic Park” director calls “the dinosaur movie for the rest of the family,” will be released nationwide on Nov. 12, Universal Pictures announced Tuesday. Based on the children’s book by Hudson Talbott, the film features the voices of Walter Cronkite, John Goodman, John Malkovich, Julia Child, Jay Leno and Martin Short.
TELEVISION
Debut Set: Turner Broadcasting will launch its new cable network, Turner Classic Movies, on April 14, the centennial of the first public presentation of Thomas Edison’s “peep shows,” the precursor to motion pictures. The commercial-free network plans to show more than 400 films each month, including weekly premieres of 250 classics it has scheduled for restoration.
*Couch Potato Fitness: Another addition to the cable realm is the Cable Health Club, a health-and-fitness network being launched Oct. 4 by Cable Health TV, a subsidiary of International Family Entertainment, producers of the Family Channel. The new 24-hour network will provide hourly workouts, as well as informational programming on fitness training and healthy living. The channel, “designed to become your personal health club at home,” is associated with the fitness program Body by Jake.
STAGE
Phantomania: Patrice Funke of Downey and Connie Locke of Beverly Hills each won a pair of tickets to Sunday’s final performance of “The Phantom of the Opera” with bids of $3,200 in an auction conducted on the “Live in L.A.” TV show Tuesday. A third pair went to Denise Jacobson of Arcadia for $3,100. Proceeds will benefit the Center Theatre Group and Equity Fights AIDS. Actors’ Equity in Hollywood is still accepting bids until 3 p.m. Thursday for three additional pairs of tickets; one of those pairs includes an invitation to the cast party. Those proceeds will also benefit Equity Fights AIDS. . . . Meanwhile, “Phantom” composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wife, Madeline, gave birth to a son on Tuesday. Richard William is the couple’s second child.
QUICK TAKES
“The Performance Artist,” a “The Larry Sanders Show” episode featuring local performance artist and controversial “NEA Four” member Tim Miller, airs tonight at 10 on HBO. The censorship-themed episode, which repeats on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday, also guest stars Roseanne and Tom Arnold, Jay Leno and George Segal. . . . After spending 11 years at “Cheers,” George Wendt makes a cameo appearance as a man at the bar in the Sept. 3 episode of CBS’ “The Building.” . . . Madonna, who performed at the first MTV Video Music Awards, will sing on the cable network’s 10th anniversary awards show Sept. 2. Other scheduled performers include Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, the Spin Doctors, R.E.M., Soul Asylum and Sting. . . . “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” gets a new character this week when Malibu Comics unveils a new comic-book series based on the TV show. Capt. Johnson will be modeled after “Entertainment Tonight” co-host John Tesh, a longtime “Star Trek” fan who once appeared as a Klingon in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
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