TELEVISIONMorrow’s Replacement: Comedian Paul Provenza has been...

TELEVISION

Morrow’s Replacement: Comedian Paul Provenza has been cast as Cicely, Alaska’s new doctor, Phillip Cooper, on CBS’ “Northern Exposure.” Provenza will replace series star Rob Morrow, who plays Dr. Joel Fleischman, and will arrive on the Nov. 21 episode as a married doctor moving from Los Angeles. Morrow, who co-stars in the film “Quiz Show,” will make his final appearance in the 100th episode of “Northern Exposure,” scheduled to air Jan. 9. . . . In another network switch, the “NYPD Blue” episode in which Jimmy Smits steps in for departing star David Caruso is scheduled to air on Nov. 15.

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The Curtis ‘Chronicles’: Actress Jamie Lee Curtis (“True Lies”) is scheduled to star in Turner Network Television’s adaptation of Wendy Wasserstein’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Heidi Chronicles.” The cable TV movie will film this fall for a premiere in 1995. Wasserstein will adapt her play in consultation with Dan Sullivan, the play’s original director; producer Kathleen Kennedy (“Jurassic Park”) will consult on the production.

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New Chairman: Henry Cauthen, a public broadcasting executive from South Carolina, has been elected chairman of the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, succeeding Washington public relations executive Sheila Tate. Cauthen has been president of the South Carolina Educational Television Network since 1965. He was appointed to the CPB board by President George Bush in 1990. The nine-member board on Tuesday adopted an amended $285.6-million budget for fiscal 1995.

MOVIES

‘Higgins’ Beeched Again: Wednesday’s news that Michelle Pfeiffer will team with Robert Redford for 20th Century Fox’s “Up Close and Personal” means that she will not do another big-budget Fox project--the previously announced “Higgins and Beech,” in which she was to co-star with Richard Gere. Sources said that Pfeiffer pulled out of the on-again, off-again “H&B;” because she was unhappy with the way the project was shaping up. A Fox spokesman would not comment on whether Gere will still make the film, which was to begin filming in March, but he did say the whole project may be on hold.

LEGAL FILE

Change of Heart: Citing a desire to curb publicity over their divorce, Burt Reynolds on Wednesday decided not to file a lawsuit against his ex-wife Loni Anderson. Reynolds’ attorneys had said Tuesday that they planned to file a civil damage lawsuit against Anderson, from whom Reynolds was divorced in June. Earlier this month, Anderson filed a motion charging that Reynolds had missed an alimony payment. She also said he did not return $37,000 worth of her possessions, including a 1987 Cadillac. A hearing on Anderson’s motion is set for Oct. 6 in Florida. A hearing in California next month will make final determinations of custody and child support payments for the couple’s 6-year-old son, Quinton.

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Voight, Pels Settle: Actor Jon Voight (“Coming Home”) has retracted his allegations that former business partner Laura Pels refused to finance a film venture because he would not have sex with her. An undisclosed settlement between the two parties should end a yearlong legal scuffle that began with Pels suing Voight for embezzlement, followed by Voight suing Pels for breach of contract, and Pels suing Voight for libel. The two had been partners in a movie production company.

THE ARTS

NEA Budget Approved: The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a $168-million 1995 budget for the National Endowment for the Arts. The budget, approved by the House on Tuesday, now goes to President Clinton for an expected signature. The budget, reflecting a 2% cut from this year’s funding, is $3 million less than Clinton had wanted but still represents a victory for the NEA, which had been targeted in an earlier Senate version for a 5% cut.

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Scenery Found Intact: A truckload of scenery for Verdi’s “Aida” that had been stolen over the weekend in Ontario was found Wednesday morning. The truck was carrying San Francisco Opera sets to be used this weekend by Opera Pacific at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Rob Foreman, an Opera Pacific carpenter, spotted the rig’s trailer, minus the cab, on a rural road near Corona. The sets and equipment were intact. Foreman will collect the $2,500 reward offered for the sets’ return, opera officials said.

QUICK TAKES

Director John Avildsen (“Rocky,” “The Karate Kid”) has signed on to direct Howard Stern’s planned theatrical movie based on Stern’s book “Private Parts.” . . . “The X-Files” star Gillian Anderson, 25, gave birth to a daughter, Piper Anderson, in a Vancouver, Canada, hospital on Sunday.