POP/ROCKNominees: Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men...

POP/ROCK

Nominees: Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men led the field with four nominations each Tuesday for the 22nd annual American Music Awards. Both were named in the category of favorite adult contemporary artist, where they will compete with double nominee Michael Bolton. Carey was also named in the favorite pop/rock female artist category, in which she will vie with Janet Jackson and Bonnie Raitt, and her “Music Box” was nominated for favorite album in both the pop/rock and soul/rhythm & blues fields. Boyz II Men’s additional nominations were for favorite soul/R&B; group, soul/R&B; single and pop/rock single (the later two nominations for “I’ll Make Love to You”). Receiving three nominations each were the groups Ace of Base, All-4-One, Counting Crows and Salt-N-Pepa. The winners--who are selected by a national sampling of 20,000 members of the public--will be announced at the Shrine Auditorium on Jan. 30, with the three-hour awards show televised that night on ABC.

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Blues, Jackson Style: Several members of the Jackson family, including brothers Tito and Jermaine, father Joe Jackson and uncle Luther Jackson are scheduled to perform at West Hollywood’s House of Blues on Dec. 21. The show, called “A Night of Blues With the Jacksons” is being billed as the family’s first Los Angeles appearance in more than a decade.

MOVIES

Here Comes the Judge: “Beavis and Butt-head” creator Mike Judge has signed a two-year deal with 20th Century Fox to write, produce and direct both live-action and animated films and TV shows. The deal is reportedly worth nearly $2 million and excludes all “Beavis and Butt-head” projects, which remain on Viacom’s MTV.

TELEVISION

Latest Talk Offering: Former “Cosby Show” co-star Tempestt Bledsoe is the latest personality to enter the daytime chat arena. Columbia TriStar Television Distribution, the syndicator responsible for the hit talk show “Ricki Lake,” announced Tuesday that it would offer “Tempestt” starting next fall. Dick Clark Productions will produce the show, featuring relationship-oriented topics aimed at young adults.

ART

Biennial Bound for Prague: In an unprecedented collaboration, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York will send its 1995 “Biennial Exhibition” to Prague. After its New York appearance (March 15-June 25), the 68th show of cutting-edge contemporary American art will be presented as one of several inaugural exhibitions at Prague’s new Museum of Modern Art (Sept. 21-Dec. 3). Klaus Kertess, the Whitney’s adjunct curator for drawings, is organizing the exhibition with film and video curator John G. Hanhardt.

LEGAL FILE

Newton, the Highest Bidder: Wayne Newton didn’t let Chapter 11 bankruptcy stop him from bidding nearly $163,000 at Sotheby’s auction house, his creditors charge. What’s worse, the entertainer paid far more for some items than they were worth, said Jennifer Smith, a lawyer for Newton’s creditors who catalogued his lavish spending in Reno, Nev., court documents. Since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 1992, Newton has made about a dozen purchases from Sotheby’s, the documents show. Among them: A cigarette case belonging to the late Errol Flynn (estimated value $900-$1,200; Newton’s purchase price was $7,150), and a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir entitled “Nu” (estimated value $18,000-$24,000; bought for $43,700). A federal bankruptcy court hearing is scheduled today on Newton’s proposed financial reorganization plan.

QUICK TAKES

TV anchor Deborah Norville marked her seventh wedding anniversary Monday by giving birth to a son at New York Hospital, the 7-pound, 2-ounce Kyle Maximilian. Norville and her husband, businessman Karl Wellner, have another son, 3 1/2-year-old Karl Nikolai. . . . Dana King will leave his co-anchor spot on “The CBS Morning News” in January to host “Day & Date,” a new daily, live news and feature show that is being developed by CBS and Group W, which will also syndicate the program. A second host for “Day & Date” will be announced at a later date. . . . The video release of Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” has sold more than 20 million copies, making it the holiday season’s best selling video.

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Quotable: “I recognize that some people think that (the network is) sending ’48 Hours’ to the guillotine. I don’t know what the intention was, but I will say this: If that was the intention, then my intention is to beat the guillotine.”

Anchor Dan Rather, discussing CBS’ decision to move”48 Hours”

to Thursday nights at 10, opposite NBC’s powerhouse hospital drama, “ER.”