TELEVISIONNo ‘Ace Ventura’? New Line Television has...

TELEVISION

No ‘Ace Ventura’? New Line Television has announced plans for an animated series based on the current Jim Carrey box-office hit “Dumb and Dumber.” The half-hour series, set to premiere Sept. 16 on ABC, marks the second cartoon series inspired by Carrey’s antics. New Line is also working on an animated version of the funnyman’s last box-office hit, “The Mask,” which debuts in the fall on CBS. Hanna-Barbera will draw “Dumb and Dumber,” while “The Mask” will come from Film Roman. Carrey is not personally involved with either TV project. . . . Meanwhile, two additional new animated series will join “Dumb and Dumber” on the ABC Saturday morning schedule Sept. 16: “Madeline,” inspired by the classic children’s books by Ludwig Bemelmans, and “What-A-Mess,” following the “carefree, comic misadventures” of a scruffy Afghan hound puppy.

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Soapy Mornings: KCBS Channel 2 is shifting around its daytime schedule in an effort to make room for both O.J. Simpson murder trial coverage and soap operas. Starting today, the new Channel 2 soap schedule, which will continue indefinitely, is “The Guiding Light” at 9 a.m., “The Young and the Restless” at 11 a.m., “The Bold and the Beautiful” at noon, and “As the World Turns” at 12:30 p.m. KCBS’ Simpson coverage, with anchors Michael Tuck and Ann Martin, will start at 1:30 p.m. and continue through the rest of the day’s proceedings. The station will also air Simpson trial coverage at the top of each morning hour.

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Comedy Specials: Comedians Garry Shandling and Tracey Ullman will each host HBO comedy specials from next month’s upcoming U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo. Shandling will host “The 1995 Young Comedians Show” on March 25, while Emmy-winner Ullman will headline a new “Women of the Night” special that will air in May. Ullman also returns to HBO in the fall, to supply the voice of Lulu for the animated “The Little Lulu Show,” based on a 1935 comic strip by Marjorie Henderson Buell.

MOVIES

Harvard High Jinks: Actress Michelle Pfeiffer knows how to treat those bad boys of Harvard--with a crack of the whip! Pfeiffer, who on Monday received the University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals 1995 Woman of the Year award, joined in the irreverent celebration with a reprise of her sultry, hissing Cat Woman role in “Batman Returns.” Two obliging seniors submitted to the onstage punishment--then gave a smiling thumbs-up after Pfeiffer lightly tapped them on their behinds. Pfeiffer also had an idea for using the small brass pudding pot honoring acting excellence: “My daughter is just starting potty training. I thought perhaps I could get her started here.” Actor Tom Hanks, the Hasty Pudding Man of the Year, will be honored next Tuesday.

THE ARTS

Economic Impact Study: A new study from the Los Angeles County Music and Performing Arts Commission debunks the typical artist’s image as a starving aesthete who works in solitude. Billed as the “largest regional study made in the United States on the role individual artists play on our local economy,” the survey of more than 2,000 artists found an average 1992 income of $38,000, with 53% of that coming from arts activities. The study, part of a statewide California Arts Council study on the economic impact of the arts, also found that 35% of artists surveyed employ more than 10 others to help in their art-making, at an average annual cost of $8,211 each. The study also found that 86% of artists vote, 50% work as volunteers and 74% contribute to charities. Said Laura Zucker, the commission’s executive director: “Although we always thought that the contributions that artists make to our society were important, we were staggered to find out how much artists contribute to our bottom line. . . . The arts industries now employ more people than the defense industry--over 150,000--in Los Angeles County.”

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Theatrical Box-Office Hit: Steve Martin’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” at the Westwood Playhouse, recouped its investment as of Sunday and is now turning a profit. Originally capitalized at $350,000, it has grossed more than $2 million from nearly 58,000 theatergoers. It has just been extended through June 25.

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Keep on Dancing: The National Endowment for the Arts has announced $7.8 million in dance grants for fiscal 1995, with 11 Southern California choreographers, companies and presenters receiving a total of $269,500. Top local grantees include Bella Lewitzky ($75,000), the AMAN Folk Ensemble ($65,000), the Jazz Tap Ensemble ($48,000), Ramya Harishankar ($20,000) and Danza Floricanto USA ($14,000).

QUICK TAKES

Entertainer Gene Kelly, 82, was in fair condition Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was recuperating from a mild stroke. Kelly suffered a more serious stroke last July. Although no firm date is set for Kelly’s release, a hospital spokesman said doctors hope to send him home by the weekend. . . . Actor Robert De Niro will present director Martin Scorsese with the American Society of Cinematographers Board of Governors Award on Feb. 26 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The two have worked together on a number of films including “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “Good Fellas,” “Cape Fear,” and the currently-under-production “Casino.”