QUAKE AFTERMATHRecovery Program for Artists: Help may...

QUAKE AFTERMATH

Recovery Program for Artists: Help may be on the way for artists and arts organizations who lost artwork or suffered damages to their spaces or equipment in Monday’s earthquake. The Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department is establishing an Arts/Earthquake Recovery Program, including a fund for individual artists; technical aid; equipment replacement and temporary rehearsal space for nonprofit arts groups; a program of family arts events to ease the mood at shelters, and a citywide survey of damage to arts organizations and facilities. Although no specific funds have been identified yet, the department is seeking funds from private groups, the city, the California Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. In the meantime, affected artists and arts groups should call the 24-hour arts hot line, (213) 688-ARTS, to register their losses.

A Dose of Laughter: The Laugh Factory at 8001 Sunset Blvd. is offering free comedy shows through the end of the month for Southern California earthquake survivors. Dubbed “a complimentary respite of fun and humor amid chaos,” the shows will be open to all who bring any broken object or a picture of their home in disarray. Comedians who have agreed to perform through the free run include “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” star Marc Curry, “The Second Half” star John Mendoza, “Good Times” star Jimmie Walker, KLSX deejay Frazier Smith, George Lopez and Charlie Fleischer, who supplied the voice for film character Roger Rabbit. “This whole thing is about our community coming together,” says Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masuda. “And laughter is a relief for everybody.” Showtimes are at 8 and 10 nightly, with additional midnight shows on Fridays and Saturdays.

Aftershocks Hit New York: Shock waves from Monday’s earthquake have reached at least one New York theater. The result is a two-day postponement of the New York Theatre Workshop’s production of “Unfinished Stories” because the director, Gordon Davidson, returned to his L.A. base at the Mark Taper Forum over the weekend and couldn’t get back to New York as scheduled. The lost rehearsal time means the Sybille Pearson play will now begin performances Feb. 6. Davidson is the Taper’s artistic director.

TELEVISION

Jury Sides With Vanna: A Los Angeles federal jury has ordered Samsung Electronics to pay Vanna White $403,000 in damages for running an ad featuring a robot designed to resemble the letter-turning “Wheel of Fortune” hostess. But attorneys for Samsung, which earlier rejected a $950,000 settlement offer from White (down from her original request of $6.9 million), called the verdicts a “win.” White testified that the ads--which depicted a robot in a red sequined dress with a blond wig on a “Wheel of Fortune”-like set--damaged her image, her career and her earning potential--by cutting into potential endorsement income.

What a ‘Relief’: HBO’s five-hour telecast of “Comic Relief VI” on Saturday drew more than 12 million viewers, according to the Nielsens, beating network prime-time fare and NBC’s late-night comedy show “Saturday Night Live” in HBO homes. In addition, pledges for the show to benefit the homeless have now topped $7.2 million. HBO will air two “Comic Relief VI” highlights specials Feb. 8 and 15. And, for die-hard “Comic Relief” fans, another cable channel, A&E;, will extend the fund-raising efforts with “The Best of Comic Relief,” a series of 13 one-hour specials culled from the first five “Comic Relief” programs, beginning Feb. 12.

MOVIES

The Awards Race Continues: Five films won nominations this week in the Producers Guild of America’s fifth annual Golden Laurel Awards. Nominated were Arnold Kopelson for “The Fugitive”; Jim Sheridan for “In the Name of the Father”; Jan Chapman for “The Piano”; Mike Nichols, John Calley and Ismail Merchant for “The Remains of the Day,” and Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen and Branko Lustig for “Schindler’s List.” Nominated in the TV categories were the producers of “And the Band Played On,” “Gypsy,” “Home Improvement,” “Law and Order,” “NYPD Blue,” “Picket Fences,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Seinfeld” and “To Dance With the White Dog.” The awards will be presented March 2 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

THE ARTS

Opera Benefit a Losing Proposition: Although it was intended as a benefit for Opera Pacific, Placido Domingo’s performance in Manuel Penella’s “El Gato Montes” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center Saturday ended up costing the company $50,000. Ticket sales brought in about $322,000--not enough to cover total costs, which included busing in about 2,000 Latino students for the dress rehearsal and a post-performance reception for 200 patrons who purchased $500 seats. Opera Pacific’s general director, David DiChiera, noted Thursday that paid attendance was 98% but that the group had expected to sell 300 tickets at the benefit price. “From a repertory point of view and educational point of view, it was still a very worthwhile project for us,” DiChiera said. The performance was presented in cooperation with the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, which is presenting “El Gato” through Jan. 29.

A $10-Million Present: New York’s Guggenheim Museum has started the New Year off with a major gift of $10 million from Ronald O. Perelman, chairman of Revlon Inc. and a museum trustee. As part of the gift, the Revlon Foundation will commission a major sculpture by noted American artist Roy Lichtenstein, for the exterior of the museum’s new tower building. The donation launches the museum’s $100-million “Campaign for the Next Century.”