MOVIES’Tis the Season for ‘Santa Clause’: “The...

MOVIES

‘Tis the Season for ‘Santa Clause’: “The Santa Clause” is going to town. The Disney movie featuring sitcom star Tim Allen was No. 1 at the box office for the second weekend in a row, according to early industry estimates. The film, in its fourth week of release, took in a moderate $11.5 million during the weekend and appeared likely to hit $100 million in total gross by late this week. There was a sharp drop to second place during a typically slow time at the box office between Thanksgiving and the Christmas moviegoing rush: Paramount’s “Star Trek: Generations” took in $5.5 million. Universal’s “Junior” and Warner Bros.’ “Interview With the Vampire” earned $5.35 million and $5.3 million, respectively, for third and fourth. And in fifth place was Disney’s “A Low Down Dirty Shame” with $4.9 million. “Trapped in Paradise,” the 20th Century Fox film starring Dana Carvey, Nicolas Cage and Jon Lovitz, had a disappointing opening with $2.8 million for seventh place.

STAGE

Hillary’s Room: Flanked by Jack Nicholson and Ted Danson, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton watched her friend Mary Steenburgen perform in “Marvin’s Room” at the Tiffany Theatre in West Hollywood on Friday night and stayed after the show to chat with Steenburgen, Jean Smart and the rest of the cast, according to director Dennis Erdman. The audience also included actors Tom Hanks, Goldie Hawn, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Tom Hulce and David Keith, as well as a contingent of approximately 35 Secret Service agents. About 25 regular theatergoers also were on hand. The show closed Sunday.

TELEVISION

New ‘MacNeil/Lehrer’ Owner: Liberty Media Corp., a subsidiary of cable-TV giant Tele-Communications Inc., has agreed to purchase a two-thirds interest in MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. The company, which produces “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” for PBS, plans to develop programming for cable, the networks and public television. The deal will not affect Robert MacNeil’s plan to give up his co-anchor seat next October, but he will oversee all of the new non-”NewsHour” programming. Nor will the deal affect “NewsHour,” which “is ours, and ours alone,” PBS President Ervin Duggan said, “and it will continue to be so.”

Lorenzo’s Mom: Former film star Arlene Dahl will make a guest appearance in “Renegade,” the syndicated action series that stars her son, Lorenzo Lamas. Lamas also will direct the episode, which will be seen early next year. As a young redhead, Dahl appeared in nearly three-dozen movies, including “My Wild Rose,” “Woman’s World” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” Now 70, she lives in New York with husband Mark Rosen, a fragrance designer. She was married to Lamas’ father, the late Fernando Lamas, from 1954 to 1960.

AWARDS

Asian Americans Celebrated: Comedian Margaret Cho, star of the ABC sitcom “All-American Girl,” was honored Saturday by the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) at its annual benefit gala in Los Angeles. Other honorees included Gary Jacobs, producer of “All-American Girl”; Janet Yang, executive producer of the movie “The Joy Luck Club” and president of Oliver Stone’s Ixtlan Prods.; and Russell Wong, a star of “The Joy Luck Club” as well as the syndicated TV series “Vanishing Son.”

AUCTIONS

Lennon’s Letter: A handwritten letter by ex-Beatle John Lennon bitterly attacking Linda McCartney, the wife of former band-mate Paul McCartney, sold at a Butterfield & Butterfield auction in Hollywood for $92,000 on Saturday. The six-page letter is addressed to the McCartneys and urges Linda to “get off your high horse.” It appears to be in response to her criticism of remarks that Lennon made about the Fab Four in an interview. Other big-ticket items at the auction included a Martin acoustic guitar that Elvis Presley used during the last months of his life, which sold for $54,625. Seven hours of taped telephone conversations between reclusive actress Greta Garbo and her friend Raymond Daum sold for $43,125.

QUICK TAKES

Cicely Tyson, who stars as an attorney on NBC’s “Sweet Justice,” was honored on Saturday at Howard University Law School in Washington for her positive portrayal of African American women on TV. The National Council of Negro Women, the National Assn. of Black Women Attorneys and the Greater Washington Area Chapter, Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Assn. all paid tribute to the actress. . . . Six-time Grammy-winning singer Bonnie Raitt gets her first TV special, “Bonnie Raitt: ‘Longing in Their Hearts’ Concert,” airing Dec. 17 on ABC. The program was recorded live earlier this year during an appearance at Santa Barbara’s historic Arlington Theatre. . . . Comedian-pianist Victor Borge, 84, will bring his antics to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets go on sale today through the center’s box office.