THE ARTSNational Honorees: Singer Ray Charles, film...

THE ARTS

National Honorees: Singer Ray Charles, film director-writer-producer Billy Wilder and playwright Arthur Miller are among 18 Americans to be honored for their contributions to the cultural life of the nation in White House ceremonies Thursday. Thirteen individuals--including Charles, Wilder, Miller, artist Robert Rauschenberg, dancer-choreographer Paul Taylor, director Lloyd Richards, baritone Robert Merrill, singer-bandleader Cabell (Cab) Calloway and arts patrons Walter and Leonore Annenberg--will receive the National Medal of Arts--a sterling silver medal designed by Los Angeles sculptor Robert Graham. Another five honorees will receive the Charles Frankel Prize for their work in the humanities. In conjunction with the awards, President Clinton has declared October National Arts and Humanities Month.

FILM/VIDEO

‘Aladdin’s’ Carpet Flies at Record Pace: “Aladdin” took a magic carpet ride into millions of homes this weekend, topping in three days the $216 million it grossed at the North American box office in an entire year. “Aladdin,” already the highest-grossing animated film of all time, sold about 10.6 million video copies in its first three days of release, according to Walt Disney Co. officials. Sales were running more than 50% higher than the initial take from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” last year’s blockbuster and currently the best-selling video ever, with more than 22 million copies purchased. Analysts have predicted that “Aladdin” sales could easily top 30 million copies. “Aladdin” went on sale Friday at a suggested retail price of $24.99 at more than 100,000 outlets in the United States and Canada.

Fellini Plans New Film: Legendary director Federico Fellini, recovering from a stroke in August, is expected to return home to Rome on Oct. 20 and reportedly hopes to begin work on his next film in February or March. Leo Pescarolo, who will produce Fellini’s “Block Notes of a Director: The Actor,” said the 73-year-old director is eager to be back on the set, and has said the new project would change because “this latest dramatic experience (with his illness) was the most nourishing of his life.” Fellini is currently recovering in Ferrara, 50 miles southwest of Venice. After returning to Rome, he will continue therapy to improve the condition of his left arm. His left leg has recovered from the stroke.

POP/ROCK

Yankovic Does Spielberg: Weird Al Yankovic is at it again, and this time his target is Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster film, “Jurassic Park.” A song of the same title, to the tune of Jimmy Webb’s (and later Donna Summer’s ‘70s disco hit) “MacArthur Park,” is the first single on Yankovic’s new album, “Alapalooza,” due in stores today (the video premieres on MTV Oct. 19). A sample of the lyrics: “ Jurassic Park is frightening in the dark / All the dinosaurs are running wild / Someone let T. Rex out of his pen / I’m afraid those things will harm me / ‘Cause they sure don’t act like Barney / And they think that I’m their dinner not their friend / Oh no. “ Among others getting the Yankovization: the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with Flintstones-related lyrics grafted to a medley of “Under the Bridge” and “Give It Away” (“Yabba dabba, yabba dabba dabba do now . . . “), Aerosmith (“Livin’ in the Fridge”), and Billy Ray Cyrus (“Don’t play that song, that ‘Achy Breaky’ song / The most annoying song I know . . . “).

Achy Breaky Film?: Speaking of Cyrus, “This Won’t Be the Last,” the title of his second album, could also apply to the incarnations of his above-mentioned signature song, which was a smash international hit that helped spark the country dance craze but drew scorn from critics. Producer Peter J. Alessandria and director-producer Alan Roberts have acquired film and television rights to the song, and are now developing the project as a major theatrical film of the same title. Says Alessandria: “Our idea is to produce an ‘Urban Cowboy’/’Flashdance’ for the ‘90s, combining elements of rock ‘n’ roll and modern country music with a romance-based story line.” The producers say they plan to ask Cyrus to play a role in the film as it progresses further. “Achy Breaky Heart” has sold more than 3 million copies, making it the second best-selling single of all time, behind Bing Crosby’s classic “White Christmas.”

TELEVISION

Raymond Burr Tribute: “The Defense Rests: A Tribute to Raymond Burr,” a special one-hour program chronicling the life and career of the late actor who died Sept. 12 of liver cancer, will air Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. on NBC. Highlights include clips and interviews with some of the now-famous guest stars from the early “Perry Mason” series. The special will be followed by a rebroadcast of “Perry Mason: The Case of the Tell-Tale Talk Show Host,” the last original two-hour “Perry Mason” movie to be telecast before Burr’s death. In addition, the network will rebroadcast last year’s TV movie “The Return of Ironside,” on Oct. 29, and present Burr’s final work, “Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss,” in November.

Vieira’s New Job: Former “60 Minutes” co-editor Meredith Vieira has been named chief correspondent for the planned ABC News prime-time show, “Turning Point,” scheduled to premiere in early 1994. Vieira has spent more than a decade at rival CBS News, where she most recently was co-anchor of “CBS Morning News.”