TELEVISIONOscar Ratings Hold Steady: ABC’s coverage of...

TELEVISION

Oscar Ratings Hold Steady: ABC’s coverage of Monday night’s Academy Awards ceremonies garnered almost identical ratings as last year, which was the highest-rated Oscar telecast in 10 years. Monday’s program earned a 31.1 Nielsen rating (meaning it averaged about 29.3 million homes from start to finish) and attracted 49% of available viewers. Last year’s show got a 31.2 rating with 51% of the viewers. ABC estimated that about 78 million people nationwide watched at least part of Monday’s show.

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Pilots, Pilots, Pilots: More than 100 new shows are being considered for fall by the four networks. Some big names in ABC pilots are Kelly McGillis, Kirk (“Growing Pains”) Cameron, Patricia (“thirtysomething”) Wettig and Howie Mandel. At CBS, they are Rita Rudner, Cybill Shepherd, Dolly Parton, Dudley Moore, Cheryl Ladd, talk-show host Montel Williams and, in two sets of co-starring roles, Olympia Dukakis and Lorraine Bracco and Hal Linden and Suzanne Pleshette. NBC has projects with Gene Wilder, Martin Short, Marlon and Shawn Wayans, O.J. Simpson, Patty Duke and, as co-stars, Melissa Gilbert and Cicely Tyson. The biggest names Fox has are Don Adams and Barbara Feldon in a new version of “Get Smart.”

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‘Geraldo’ Suit: Geraldo Rivera and the production staff of his TV talk show were sued in Los Angeles Superior Court by a man claiming he was reunited with his birth mother on the air against his wishes. Brent Jasmer says he had an agreement with the show’s producers that he would only talk about his search for his mother and would not be reunited with her on the air. He alleges breach of contract, bad faith, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress.

PEOPLE WATCH

Pavarotti Performs: Opera star Luciano Pavarotti performed in the Philippines Monday night, gulping down what his doctor said were as many as 37 pills before his show, which had been postponed from Friday because of a cold. Although he stepped away from the microphone to cough during pauses in the music, attendees said the tenor still hit the high notes. “I came here tonight to give all I can,” a feverish Pavarotti told the cheering crowd. “I never thought it possible to arrive to this last song.” The Manila show had been criticized for ticket prices as high as $900.

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Dudley Moore Arrested: British-born actor Dudley Moore was arrested at his Venice home Monday night after a woman identifying herself as the actor’s girlfriend claimed he “battered” her, police said Tuesday. Moore, 58, was booked for investigation of domestic abuse and released on $50,000 bail. Police said the district attorney’s office will decide whether criminal charges of “cohabitational abuse,” a felony, will be filed. Ironically, it was Moore who first involved police in the incident by calling in what police termed “a possible domestic dispute” at about 7:35 p.m. A short time later, another call came from Moore’s residence, this time from the unidentified woman. Police said a preliminary investigation found the woman had “sustained minor but visible trauma to the neck area” from a “physical altercation” with Moore.

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Gov. Stern?: Radio bad boy Howard Stern instantly became the best-known challenger to Mario Cuomo when he announced plans Tuesday to run for governor of New York. And he appeared to be serious, offering a platform that included passing the death penalty, getting road crews to work only at night and staggering highway tolls to prevent traffic jams. Once these three goals were achieved, Stern said, he would resign and turn the state over to his as-yet-unnamed lieutenant governor. Stern said he hopes to run as a Libertarian candidate, but he didn’t address potential problems with federal regulations that would require New York stations carrying his syndicated show to give equal time to his opponents. “I’m going to win,” he told his roughly 3 million listeners nationwide. “I’m going to be the next governor of New York.”

POP/ROCK

Chili Peppers Suit Dropped: A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday threw out a former band member’s lawsuit against the Red Hot Chili Peppers, ruling that guitarist Jack Sherman had waited too long to attempt to collect damages from his expulsion from the band in 1985. Sherman claimed he was wrongly kicked out of the group and was not paid his full share of profits from the Grammy-winning band’s first two albums to which he contributed. Sherman had contended he was unable to bring the case within the three-year limit because of debilitating childhood abuse that made him passive, but the judge discounted that argument.

QUICK TAKES

Madonna is ready to enter the major leagues. In the upcoming issue of New York magazine, the pop star says she wants to buy a National Basketball Assn. franchise. On the top of her shopping list: the Chicago Bulls, followed by the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. . . . Film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert pulled out of a scheduled appearance on the “Arsenio Hall Show” Tuesday night because the talk-show host “never distanced himself from anything (Nation of Islam leader Louis) Farrakhan said” on the program three weeks ago, Siskel said. The film critics were scheduled to give a post-Oscar review. . . . Pop star Morrissey will be the first music act to play Los Angeles’ refurbished Olympic Auditorium. Tickets for the April 8 show, a preview of his upcoming tour, go on sale Thursday.