POP/ROCKJackson Testifies in ‘Dangerous’ Case: Michael Jackson...

POP/ROCK

Jackson Testifies in ‘Dangerous’ Case: Michael Jackson took the witness stand at the Denver Federal Courthouse on Monday, singing parts of his song “Dangerous” and testifying that he wrote its melody and lyrics. Jackson’s 50 minutes of testimony in the latest of his legal battles came as part of a trial resulting from Denver songwriter Crystal Cartier’s $25-million lawsuit claiming that Jackson stole “Dangerous” from her and infringed on her copyright. Jackson testified that he wrote the lyrics for “Dangerous” while sitting in the dark and listening to the bass track of another of his songs, “Street Walker.” Cartier, 38, claims she had sent Jackson a tape recording of her song of the same name before he first recorded “Dangerous” in September 1990. The song later became the title track for Jackson’s 1992 album, which sold 14 million copies. Jackson testified that he doesn’t listen to unsolicited tapes “because of the danger involved, like this situation.”

* Streisand Tour Confirmed, but No Dates: Barbra Streisand has confirmed plans for her first international concert tour covering 12 cities in the United States and Europe. The much-anticipated tour, which will begin in mid-April, is expected to include Los Angeles, although sites and dates are still to be revealed. Streisand’s New Year’s concerts in Las Vegas marked her first paid shows in 27 years. The singer’s spokesman said the “partial” tour confirmation was necessitated by “a swirl of misinformation,” including “fallacious” overseas dates.

TELEVISION

CBS Gets Best Olympics Ratings Ever: CBS Sports’ Sunday-night broadcast of the Olympic Winter Games from Lillehammer, Norway, had the largest audience ever for a single night of Olympics coverage--winter or summer. The network drew an estimated 41% of available viewing homes from 8 to 11 p.m., with an estimated 82 million people watching all or part of the Olympic coverage in 27.5 million U.S. homes. CBS’ rating was 24% higher than the first Sunday night of the 1992 Winter Games.

* ‘Gaby’ Premiere Date Set: Child star Gaby Hoffmann of the films “Sleepless in Seattle” and “This Is My Life” will have her own comedy series. “Gaby” premieres on NBC at 8:30 p.m. March 14. The placement of the show, about a bright, opinionated 11-year-old who confronts a series of contemporary problems, will cause the network’s teen hit “Blossom,” starring Mayim Bialik, to move to Saturdays at 8 p.m., where it will be followed by “The Mommies” in a new 8:30 p.m. time period.

* People’s Choice Nods: “Home Improvement,” “Roseanne” and “Seinfeld” will vie for the “Favorite TV Comedy Series” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “NYPD Blue” and “Picket Fences” will compete for the same honor in the TV drama category when the 20th Annual People’s Choice Awards airs on CBS March 8 with Paul Reiser as host. The awards include 18 TV, film and music categories, voted on by a sampling of the American public. Among other nominees, “Jurassic Park,” “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “The Firm” will vie for favorite film.

* ‘Flintstones’ Pilot Premiere, 30 Years Later: The never-before-seen pilot for TV’s first prime-time animated series, “The Flintstones,” will premiere May 7 on cable’s Cartoon Network. Called “Flagstones, Meet the Flagstones?!” the 1-minute, 45-second piece provides the animated debut of Fred and Wilma, with some different visual characterizations and voices. The clip, which had been rumored to exist for more than 30 years, surfaced last summer when Hanna-Barbera Cartoons commissioned film detectives to search storage facilities on three continents to locate the original 35mm opening and closing sequence of “The Flintstones.”

THE ARTS

Emergency Fund Broadened: California cultural institutions that were damaged in the Jan. 17 earthquake will be included under an emergency fund established last summer by the National Endowment for the Humanities to aid flood-damaged Midwestern libraries, archives and museums. Institutions from both areas will compete for a total of $1 million and may apply through July 31 for grants of up to $30,000 to help preserve cultural collections.