THE ARTSUnveiled: The American Civil Liberties Union...

THE ARTS

Unveiled: The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday introduced its latest fund-raising tool--a lithograph by Los Angeles artist Robbie Conal. The black-and-white image, depicting four past ACLU cases and the words “Sooner or Later, Everyone Needs the ACLU,” will also be plastered on dozens of Los Angeles Gannett Outdoor bus shelters in early 1995, with plans in the works to add shelters in other cities at a later date. The lithograph--50 of which will be for sale at $1,000 each--depicts a monkey, representing the Scopes “monkey trial” over the teaching of evolution in schools; Lt. Col. Oliver North, for whom the ACLU argued to protect his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination; a stoic Japanese American woman and her child, representing those interned in their own country during World War II, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, whom the ACLU supported against efforts to remove her work from a California student test.

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Bolshoi Protest: Dancers, singers and musicians of Moscow’s famed Bolshoi Theater threatened Wednesday to stage their first strike to block major artistic and business changes ordered by President Boris Yeltsin. About 500 Bolshoi members attended a meeting to protest the reforms, which would introduce a contract system for hiring artists and set up a 15-member board to run Russia’s premier theater. Unless their demands are met, Bolshoi performers will delay a Dec. 8 ballet performance by 20 minutes, and are prepared to go on strike afterward, a Bolshoi spokesman said. A culture ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday that the government intends to stand firm in its bid for reform.

TELEVISION

Ethnic Fairy Tales: Actors including Danny Glover, Jimmy Smits, Jay Leno, Margaret Cho, Whoopi Goldberg, Denzel Washington and Edward James Olmos will lend their voices to “Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child,” a new HBO series of ethnically diverse animated fairy tales scheduled to premiere on the cable network in March. The series, narrated by actor Robert Guillaume, features 13 beloved classics--including “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella” and “The Frog Prince”--drawn so that “children of different races will find themselves reflected” in the fables’ retelling. The series’ first installment, “Jack and the Beanstalk,” features voices including Harry Belafonte, Jackee Harry and Tone Loc. Future episodes include “Hansel and Gretel” with Cheech Marin, Rosie Perez and Liz Torres; and “Beauty and the Beast” with Debbie Allen, Gregory Hines, Vanessa Williams and Paul Winfield.

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Short of Time: The scheduled return this month of NBC’s “The Martin Short Show,” which was yanked off the air in September after only two airings, has come up short. NBC executives said Short, who was the comedy’s executive producer as well as its star, is currently making a film and will not be available until next year. They added that the comedian will then do six more episodes that will air before the end of the season.

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Tribute to the King: “Elvis: The Tribute,” a two-hour special including footage from October’s Elvis Presley pay-per-view tribute concert in Nashville, will air Dec. 15 on ABC. Hosted by actor-musician John Stamos (“Full House”), the ABC special will include never-before-seen concert footage of Presley, vintage film and TV clips (including a montage of every Elvis screen kiss), and a tour of Graceland led by Stamos. Among the performances culled from the pay-per-view tribute will be Michael Bolton’s rendition of Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock,” Melissa Etheridge doing “Burning Love,” U2 performing “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Tony Bennett singing “Love Me Tender.”

POP/ROCK

Billboard Chart: Kenny G’s holiday album, “Miracle,” was the top performer in a Thanksgiving week that saw record sales approach 15 million copies--19% more than the previous week and 7% more than during the same period last year. The pop saxophonist’s album sold about 240,000 copies, kicking off what retailers predict will be a lucrative holiday shopping season. In second place was Boyz II Men’s “II,” which sold 217,000 copies. And the group’s single “I’ll Make Love to You” remains in the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart for the 14th consecutive week, tying Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” as the longest-reigning single in pop history. Another notable Top 10 album entry was Frank Sinatra’s “Duets II,” which sold 103,000 units and will rank No. 9 during its second week in the stores.

QUICK TAKES

Singer-songwriter Billy Joel will receive the Century Award, Billboard Magazine’s highest accolade, during the 1994 Billboard Music Awards, which airs on Fox next Wednesday. . . . Miramax films has given an English translation to the title of Robert Altman’s much-anticipated fashion comedy starring the likes of Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts and Kim Basinger. The film, previously known only as “Pret-a-Porter,” will be released in America under the title “Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter).” It premieres in New York on Dec. 12. . . . Movie producers Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck (“Driving Miss Daisy”) have signed an exclusive, three-year production deal with 20th Century Fox. . . . CBS News President Eric Ober inked a new multiyear contract, ending speculation that he might leave the network next year.