TELEVISION - Feb. 19, 1994

It’s a Wrap: Veteran KNBC Entertainment Reporter David Sheehan is leaving the station and may wind up soon at his former station, rival KCBS-TV. In a statement released by KNBC, officials said that Sheehan “has informed us that he has had a great career at KNBC-TV and has accomplished the goals that he set for himself nine years ago when he joined the station. He has decided to pursue other career opportunities and looks forward to new challenges.” Sheehan is the latest in a series of anchors and reporters to leave KNBC in recent months. KCBS-TV General Manager Bill Applegate said Friday that he had talked with Sheehan about joining the “Action News” team but that no formal negotiations had taken place. However, Applegate added, “If you were going to make a bet on David winding up here, it would be a good bet.”

* Indecency Reprieve?: A federal appeals court in Washington has agreed to take another look at government regulations banning indecent programming on broadcast and cable TV. The rules were thrown out in November after a three-judge panel held them to be unconstitutional. But now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit says it will reconsider that decision. At issue are FCC regulations that had barred indecent TV and radio broadcasts between 6 a.m. and midnight and that had allowed cable-TV operators to ban what they deemed indecent programming from leased-access channels.

* Piano Forte: The Disney Channel will hold a “Disney’s Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra National Piano Competition” on April 30th in Los Angeles. Musicians 12 years and younger will get the opportunity to perform as soloist on the special to be taped in July. Those wishing to enter--and they must play piano at an advanced level--may call (818) 759-0765.

PEOPLE WATCH

Comic Sick: Bill Hicks, one of the more bracing figures on the comedy club circuit, is reported to be “very ill” with pancreatic cancer and resting at his parents’ home in Little Rock, Ark. His condition was announced in a written statement issued Friday by his management company, which would not comment further on how long he has been ill or on prospects for his recovery. A longtime cult favorite in England for his dark and biting comic view, Hicks, 32, has been building a sizable U.S. following in the last two years. In October, a comic routine he had taped for David Letterman’s “Late Show” was completely excised after it was deemed too controversial.

STAGE

The Cold Shoulder: “Unfinished Stories,” the Sybille Pearson play that Gordon Davidson staged at the Mark Taper Forum in 1992 has opened Off-Broadway to discouraging reviews. “It ultimately boils down to a small, whining play about some disagreeable people who can’t get along,” wrote David Richards in the New York Times. Jan Stuart of Newsday found it “curiously stillborn” and said Davidson’s “shockingly reverential direction . . . weighs and sifts through every last word as if he were panning for gold.” Clive Barnes of the Post found Davidson’s work “sterling,” but “the play rang false.” “The title describes the work itself,” wrote Howard Kissel of the Daily News.

* Pacino Gets His Own Theater: It won’t be called the Al Pacino Theater, but the actor is getting his own pocket-size theater on lower Broadway to try out new material, including plays and readings for proposed movies. “Al’s always wanted his own theater . . . and now he’s got it,” said Michael Hadge, a New York stage director and Pacino’s partner in his production company, Chal Productions. “This is for Al to try out material he’s already interested in,” Hadge said, noting that the location was being kept secret for the moment to preserve Pacino’s privacy.

POP/ROCK

Not 2 Live: Members of the controversial rap group 2 Live Crew were not as nasty as they wanted to be at a concert early Friday in Cincinnati. Lead singer Luther Campbell said police had threatened to arrest them and the audience if they performed their usual act. “We don’t want you all to go to jail,” he said. “We don’t want anybody to get hit in the head.” The group left after about 10 minutes when some fans began climbing on stage. Four years ago, Cincinnati record stores stopped selling the group’s album “Nasty as They Wanna Be” after the Hamilton County sheriff threatened obscenity charges.

QUICK TAKES

Choreographer Lar Lubovitch, whose Dance Company performs this weekend at the Wadsworth Theatre, was also the choreographer for last fall’s Broadway flop of “The Red Shoes.” Lubovitch’s work will have new life, however, as the American Ballet Theatre plans to perform “The Red Shoes” ballet as part of its spring season at Lincoln Center. . . . Comedian Paula Poundstone has been signed by E! Entertainment Television to co-host the cable network’s pre- and post-Academy Awards shows to be televised live March 21 . . . Former “Family Ties” star Tina Yothers has been cast as Tonya Harding and “Ryan’s Hope” regular Sam Carrell will portray Nancy Kerrigan in the five-minute Comedy Central spoof “Spunk: The Tonya Harding Story,” which airs Tuesday.