ANIMATIONMickey’s Birth: The earliest known drawings of...

ANIMATION

Mickey’s Birth: The earliest known drawings of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, estimated to be worth several million dollars apiece, were donated Thursday to the nascent International Museum of Cartoon Art in Boca Raton, Fla. The six 1927 graphite pencil drawings, given by Diamond Comic Distributors President Stephen A. Geppi, are storyboards for “Plane Crazy,” Mickey’s first animated short, drawn by legendary Disney animator Ub Iwerks. The drawings, each 9-by-10-inches, depict Mickey attempting to build a plane and learn to fly, with Minnie as his passenger. Charles Lindbergh’s Atlantic crossing serves as a backdrop. The International Museum of Cartoon Art is scheduled to open its first phase in early 1996, with full operations slated for 1997.

TELEVISION

‘Life’-Saving Plea: Operation “Life” Support, a San Francisco group formed in November to save ABC’s critically acclaimed, but low-rated, teen Angst show “My So-Called Life,” took out full-page ads in the entertainment trades Daily Variety and Hollywood Reporter on Thursday urging ABC Entertainment President Ted Harbert to “be ‘Life’s’ champion.” The show, which was scheduled to complete its 19-episode season run Thursday night, was hailed in the ad as evoking “the response that all art evokes in the human heart (and) the response which transcends Nielsen ratings and the ‘bottom line.’ ” The ad, in the form of an eight-paragraph letter to Harbert, also stated that in the last 58 days, Operation “Life” Support has received nearly 11,000 e-mail messages seeking to save the show as well as viewer contributions of more than $6,000. ABC has not yet announced if the show will return in the fall.

*

Grand Jury Called: A New Jersey state grand jury will hear allegations that “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer had sex with a 15-year-old girl. Prosecutor Nicholas L. Bissell Jr. in Somerville said the case will be presented Feb. 23. No criminal complaint has been filed but Bissell said a grand jury is needed to sort through conflicting evidence. Grammer has denied the allegations, which surfaced late last year. Grammer’s attorney said he has sworn statements in which the girl says nothing happened, and that her family pressured her into making the charges for financial gain.

*

‘Sally’s’ New Look: Just in time for the February ratings sweeps, the “Sally Jessy Raphael” show will unveil a new set Monday. The daytime talk-show hostess calls the set “more comfortable and more suited to my vision,” while executive producer Maurice Tunick said: “We feel that the new soft color evokes a more feminine, empathetic mood. It reflects Sally’s tactile nature, her warmth and concern for others.”

MOVIES

Video Details: It’s official. Disney’s animated hit film, “The Lion King,” will be released on home video March 3, Buena Vista announced Thursday. The video, to be sold for only a limited time, will mark the quickest theater-to-video turnaround ever for a full-length animated Disney feature. The tape, which will be available in both English and French-language versions, will be priced at $26.99, with a collector’s edition priced at $79.99.

*

Producers Guild Picks: The Producers Guild of America on Thursday announced nominees for its annual Golden Laurel Awards, with feature film nods going to the producers of “Forrest Gump” (Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch and Steve Starkey), “Four Weddings and a Funeral” (Duncan Kenworthy), “Pulp Fiction” (Lawrence Bender), “Quiz Show” (Robert Redford, Michael Jacobs, Julie Krainin and Michael Nozik), and “The Shawshank Redemption” (Niki Marvin). Also announced were the guild’s TV nominations, with series producing nods going to “The Late Show With David Letterman,” “ER,” “Frasier,” “Law & Order,” “Mad About You” and “Picket Fences.” Awards will be presented March 8 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

PERFORMING ARTS

Top Grosses: For the second year in a row, the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts has been named the top-grossing California venue among theaters with less than 3,000 seats by the trade publication Performance Magazine. The center, which brought in more than $3.8 million in 1994, was also ranked seventh for all U.S. theaters of its size, the only California house to make the Top 10.

*

On-Stage Injury: Experimental modern dancer and choreographer Molissa Fenley was injured during a performance at New York’s Joyce Theater Tuesday night, collapsing on the ground with her back to the audience before a stagehand ran out of the wings and the curtain was brought down, the New York Times reported Thursday. Fenley, who canceled her remaining season performances, was diagnosed with an “acute cartilage and ligament injury” to her left knee. Fenley was hurt during “Bridge of Dreams,” the last of three premieres she danced Tuesday.

QUICK TAKES

In its second week on the air, CBS’ “Late Late Show With Tom Snyder” pulled into a virtual ratings tie with NBC’s “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” increasing Snyder’s national ratings for last week by 13%, according to figures released Thursday. . . . Entertainer Liza Minnelli has set Feb. 8 for her first performance since having hip replacement surgery less than two months ago. Minnelli will perform at the Fifth Annual Britannia Award, which honors the career of actor Anthony Hopkins. The event takes place at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. . . . Former President Jimmy Carter presented Peter Ustinov with the International Child Survival Award in Atlanta on Wednesday night, recognizing the actor’s work on behalf of UNICEF.