PEOPLE WATCHSeparation Acknowledged: The Hollywood marriage of...

PEOPLE WATCH

Separation Acknowledged: The Hollywood marriage of actor Richard Gere and supermodel Cindy Crawford may be coming to an end. The pair have separated, they said in a statement Thursday. “This personal and painful decision was made between us in July,” they said. “Since that time we have been trying to work things out, but due to the recent conjecture in the press, we have decided to make a statement at this time.” The superstar couple, whose rumored marital woes had become fodder for tabloid reports worldwide, were married three years ago. Meanwhile, reports about trouble in another celebrity marriage--the one between Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley--were denied this week by both Jackson’s publicist and his manager, Bob Jones, who told New York Newsday that stories about an alleged breakup were “100% total lie!”

STAGE

Early Christmas Present: The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts has received a $250,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development as seed money toward a capital campaign that aims to move the theater group from its current 99-seat facility in a former jail in Lincoln Heights to a new, $3.5-million, 299-seat theater on Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles. Bilingual Foundation President Carmen Zapata declined to disclose the exact site of the proposed theater, saying negotiations were still in progress. She said the federal grant was initiated through Rep. Esteban Torres (D-La Puente).

JAZZ

Marsalis Septet Disbanding: Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, performing with his jazz septet through Sunday at New York’s Village Vanguard, announced this week that the engagement would mark the influential band’s final performances together. The breakup was necessitated, a spokeswoman said, by the many other activities on Marsalis’ plate: He will be spending more time at New York’s Lincoln Center, where he helps run the jazz program, and he has been commissioned to compose a new piece for a chamber music ensemble. Marsalis also plans to spend time studying with cultural historian Albert Murray, collaborating with other musicians, and perhaps working with a new quartet or a big band at Lincoln Center. In the immediate future, his first book: “Sweet Swing--Blues on the Road,” a memoir about being on the road with his jazz band, hits stores Dec. 12.

TELEVISION

Top Deejays to Try TV: Juan Carlos Hidalgo and El Peladillo (a.k.a. Jesus Garcia), the morning duo on Spanish-language radio station KLAX-FM (97.9), who currently rank as Los Angeles’ No. 1-rated morning team, are working on a TV pilot--in English--for KCAL Channel 9. The comedy/variety program is being produced by writer-producer Jeff Valdez, who created the KTLA Channel 5 series “Comedy Compadres.” Valdez, meanwhile, may soon have additional shows in the works, since he’s just signed a one-year deal with TriStar Television to develop Latino TV fare.

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Se Habla Espanol: The nation’s first Spanish-language movie channel, CineLatino, a 24-hour, commercial-free cable service featuring uncut Spanish-language films from around the world, launched on Thursday. The channel is being offered to cable systems in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, and is also available via the Solidaridad I satellite. The channel also aims to oversee the production of 52 new cable films each year.

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Chung Saved?: Sources at CBS said Thursday that it appears that Connie Chung’s newsmagazine, “Eye to Eye,” has been saved from cancellation or being turned into specials. Chung’s “Eye to Eye” is expected to move to Friday nights, while Dan Rather’s “48 Hours” will go to Thursday nights. “Northern Exposure” is said to be moving to Wednesday nights, while the drama “Chicago Hope” is likely to get the coveted Monday night time slot now occupied by “Northern Exposure.” CBS is expected to announce its schedule changes as early as today, with three and possibly four nights of programming affected. Among the prime-time shows expected to be added to the network’s schedule: four new sitcoms starring Delta Burke, Cybill Shepherd, Robert Pastorelli and Valerie Harper, and two new one-hour dramas, including one about an African American family starring James Earl Jones.

POP/ROCK

Rap Video: An edited version of the controversial video “Natural Born Killaz” by rap stars Dr. Dre and Ice Cube will begin airing Saturday morning at 1 a.m. on “Yo! MTV Raps.” The music cable channel is expected to trim graphic violence from the video, including re-enactments of the gruesome stabbings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman, as well as the shotgun ambush of Jose and Kitty Menendez. During the making of the video, representatives for the families and victims rights groups chastised the rappers for “ridiculing a tragedy.” An unedited version of the video ran last week on CBS-TV’s “Hard Copy” and is a favorite request on the Video Jukebox cable music channel.