TELEVISION - April 26, 1994

VH-1 Joins Awards Circuit: The latest in the ever-growing list of annual televised awards shows is “VH-1 Honors,” a music show celebrating “artists who have each made a difference, but quietly, without fanfare” through philanthropy. The first “VH-1 Honors” (sister cable channel MTV has had its own music awards show for several years) will be held June 26 at the Shrine Auditorium and broadcast on the cable channel that same evening. Honorees are Stevie Wonder, the symbol man (formerly known as Prince), Garth Brooks, Michael Bolton, Melissa Ethridge, Al Green and Kenny G. All of them are scheduled to perform on the two-hour show.

* More Awards: “The 8th Annual American Comedy Awards,” taped earlier this year at the Shrine Exposition Center, will air May 23 on ABC. Winners include Dick Van Dyke and Elaine May, honored for lifetime achievement, plus Helen Hunt, Lily Tomlin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Letterman, Billy Crystal, Tracey Ullman, Meg Ryan, Robin Williams, Charles Grodin, Rip Torn, Margaret Cho and Carrot Top. . . . Performers set for “The 29th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards,” airing May 3 on NBC, are hosts Reba McEntire and Alan Jackson, as well as Clint Black, Billy Ray Cyrus, Wynonna, Travis Tritt, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Dwight Yoakam and Brooks & Dunn. Also scheduled to perform are all nominees in the newcomer category, including Faith Hill, John Michael Montgomery and Doug Supernaw. . . . Wynonna, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman and DC Talk are among the performers set for “The 25th Annual Dove Awards,” airing on cable’s the Family Channel on Thursday. Multiple Dove winner Grant hosts the show, which recognizes music with Christian themes.

* Shalala Lauds ABC: Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala is praising ABC for airing government-sponsored public-service announcements that feature condoms as a means of preventing the spread of AIDS among young people. In a speech Monday, Shalala said ABC has donated roughly half of the $2.5 million in air time all networks have provided for the commercials. All four broadcast networks have aired the spots, which feature condoms (along with abstinence) as a method of preventing sexually transmitted diseases. But ABC was the first to air them and has continued to air them more frequently than other networks. Shalala said she plans to meet with the heads of networks and the cable industry “to convince them to do more” in airing the spots.

MOVIES

Spielberg Takes British Oscars Too: Director Steven Spielberg repeated his Oscar triumph at Britain’s annual film awards Sunday night, picking up best film and best director prizes for “Schindler’s List.” Also repeating her Oscar victory was actress Holly Hunter, who won another trophy for her role in “The Piano.” Other winners included Sir Anthony Hopkins, who boosted the flagging morale of the cash-strapped British film industry by winning the best actor award for his portrayal of a tightly buttoned butler in “The Remains of the Day.” British actor Ralph Fiennes also made up for his Oscar defeat, winning the best supporting actor prize for his role in “Schindler’s List”; and Miriam Margolyes, who played Mrs. Mingott in Martin Scorsese’s “The Age of Innocence,” was named best supporting actress. Among other British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, a popularity prize based on votes from the general public went to Spielberg’s dinosaur adventure “Jurassic Park,” and a special award for outstanding British film went to Richard Attenborough for Hopkins’ teary “Shadowlands.”

* ‘River Wild’ Release Delayed: Trouble may be brewing for the big-budget Universal Pictures release “The River Wild,” starring Meryl Streep and David Strathairn as a couple who embark on a white-water rafting vacation in an effort to save their troubled marriage. Universal announced Monday that it was pulling the film from the crowded summer field and will instead release it Sept. 30. Such pushing back of release dates is often an indicator of problems, especially with big-budget films. The studio disputes that notion, however, saying that the move was prompted by “positive response from early research screenings,” and that September is a “season that has traditionally proven to be successful for suspense dramas and award consideration.”

QUICK TAKES

Radio station KPFK-FM (90.7) pays tribute to the late legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini on Wednesday with “Fellini: Federico of the Spirits,” an hourlong documentary airing at 2 p.m. The program will repeat on Saturday at 10 p.m. . . . NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” was voted Europe’s favorite television show in the 1994 Satellite Television and Radio Awards. Runners-up were Fox’s “The Simpsons” and MTV’s “Most Wanted.” Satellite viewers in 38 countries voted on the awards. . . . Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted” airs its 300th episode on Saturday. That’s apt timing considering viewers’ tips last week led to law enforcement officials’ capturing the 300th fugitive profiled on the show.