TELEVISION’Geraldo’ Pulled in L.A.: Bill Applegate, general...

TELEVISION

‘Geraldo’ Pulled in L.A.: Bill Applegate, general manager of KCBS-TV Channel 2, pulled Tuesday afternoon’s installment of “Geraldo” minutes before airtime because he said he had reason to doubt the credibility of a guest who was “naming names” of celebrities as clients of alleged Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. KCBS reporter Dave Parker, after seeing an early feed of the nationally syndicated show, telephoned the guest, a former prostitute, to see if there was a news story to follow up on, but, according to Applegate, she recanted to him what she had said on Geraldo Rivera’s talk show. “Geraldo” executive producer Marty Berman defended the show by saying that the day’s subject was “sizzling summer scandals” that mostly involved gossip.

Doing the ‘Time Warp’: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the 1975 cult classic film starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick and based on the stage production of the same name, will be shown on television for the first time at 8 p.m. Oct. 25 on Fox. It will be rebroadcast on Oct. 30 at 11 p.m. The film is usually only seen at special midnight showings in movie houses.

More ‘Culture Clash’: “Culture Clash,” KTTV Channel 11’s summer comedy variety show featuring the Los Angeles trio of the same name, will return at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 for 12 new half-hour episodes. During its initial seven runs, four of the episodes won the local time period, with the other three ranking second.

THE ARTS

Newport Museum Will Expand: The Newport Harbor Art Museum has announced plans to double its gallery space by expanding into the 14,000-square-foot Newport Beach Public Library next door, signaling the museum’s decision to finally abandon long-cherished hopes of a high-profile new home. The library building--acquired from the city by the Irvine Co., which is donating it to the museum--will be vacated next spring when the library moves into new quarters. The museum will grow to five galleries totaling 18,550 square feet (the museum currently has 7,840 square feet of gallery space). The expansion is estimated to cost between $3 million and $4 million; the new building, which had been planned for a 10.5-acre site along Pacific Coast Highway, would have cost at least $30 million.

NEA Wins in Senate: Senate backers of federal aid to the arts brushed aside an attempt by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) and other conservatives on Wednesday to end taxpayer-supported grants to individual artists. In the latest floor fight over the National Endowment for the Arts, the Senate voted 65-30 to defeat a motion to limit grants to nonprofit organizations. The upper chamber also voted 57-38 to kill an attempt to require that no less than 70% of NEA funds be sent to the states for redistribution by local officials. Said California Sen. Barbara Boxer: “I am not an art critic. The senator from North Carolina is not an art critic. We will make mistakes, yes, but give Jane Alexander (President Clinton’s choice for NEA chairman) a chance.”

POP/ROCK

TLC Member Charged: Lisa Lopes, a member of the all-girl R&B; group TLC, was charged in Atlanta with criminal trespassing and battery on a police officer. A police spokeswoman said the charges stemmed from an incident at the Georgia Dome on Sunday in which Lopes “became disruptive and combative” after security guards asked her to give up her drink following an Atlanta Falcons game. Earlier this month, Lopes was fined after a fight with football player Andre Rison.

Class-Action Suit: A lawsuit filed against ticket-selling giant Ticketmaster has been granted class-action status by a San Francisco Superior Court judge. The lawsuit, brought by10 plaintiffs, alleges that Ticketmaster and Northern California-based Bay Area Seating Service Inc. created a ticket-selling monopoly in California, splitting the state in half at San Luis Obisbo County, with each agreeing not to sell tickets in the other’s area. The class-action status opens the door to thousands of California residents who have paid service fees to the companies.

Brooks Stays on Top: Garth Brooks’ “In Pieces” album sold an estimated 317,000 units last week and will continue to command the No. 1 position on Billboard’s pop album sales chart when the trade magazine hits the newsstands Saturday. New titles in the Top 10 this week include John Mellencamp’s “Human Wheels” at No. 7 and the highly publicized children’s album, “Barney’s Favorites Vol. 1,” which leaped from 31st to 9th place during its second week in the stores.

QUICK TAKES

“Jurassic Park” fever sent the price of dinosaur fossils soaring at an auction in London Wednesday. Included in the sale were a pile of fossilized dinosaur droppings found in Texas that fetched $4,625--10 times more than expected. . . . ABC affiliate WIXT-TV in Syracuse, N.Y., is another big-market station that will not carry ABC’s controversial “NYPD Blue” when it premieres Tuesday. Dallas’ WFAA-TV has also decided against running the show.