AWARDSBest in Country Music: The Academy of...

AWARDS

Best in Country Music: The Academy of Country Music on Monday announced the nominees for its 30th annual awards show, set for the Universal Amphitheatre and NBC television on May 10. There were plenty of familiar names among the selections with entertainer of the year nods going to Alabama, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire. Brooks and Jackson were also tapped for top male vocalist, along with Joe Diffie, Vince Gill and George Strait. Top female vocalist picks included McEntire, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Faith Hill, Patty Loveless and Pam Tillis. Other top nominations included: single record of the year--”Don’t Take the Girl” (Tim McGraw), “I Swear” (John Michael Montgomery), “Livin’ On Love,” (Jackson), “Third Rock From the Sun” (Diffie) and “Tryin’ to Get Over You” (Gill); album of the year--”In Pieces” (Brooks), “Not a Moment Too Soon” (McGraw), “Stones in the Road” (Carpenter), “When Love Finds You” (Gill) and “Who I Am” (Jackson).

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Best in Comedy: The comedy world honored its own Sunday at the 9th annual American Comedy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium. But on a night that Jim Carrey and Jerry Seinfeld were billed as the biggest on-stage talent, both were beat out in their respective categories. Seinfeld was bested by Kelsey Grammer (“Frasier”) in the funniest TV actor category, while Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump”) aced out Carrey (“Ace Ventura, Pet Detective”) for funniest actor in a movie. Other winners included film actress, Jamie Lee Curtis (“True Lies”); TV actress, Helen Hunt (“Mad About You”); supporting film actors, Dianne Wiest (“Bullets Over Broadway”) and Martin Landau (“Ed Wood”); supporting TV actors, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Seinfeld”) and David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”); and stand-up comics, George Wallace and Margaret Smith. In a night that included a performance by the legendary Henny Youngman, lifetime achievement awards went to Audrey Meadows and Bob Hope. But the top tribute, the creative achievement award, went to that fellow who doesn’t get any respect--Rodney Dangerfield. The awards will be televised March 6 on ABC.

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More Nominees (Lots More): Blockbuster Entertainment came out with its nominees for its new awards show, which will be televised on CBS June 6. The show’s categories range from motion pictures to home videos to music, with nominations keyed to the biggest sellers or renters in those areas. Customers of Blockbuster Music will be asked to cast electronic votes March 1-29 at more than 3,400 Blockbuster Music and Video stores nationwide. At first glance, the list of nominees looks like more than 3,400 too, but it’s really only 111. (Country music has 49 nominees.)

TELEVISION

ABC Lineup Shifts: ABC announced new time periods for “Grace Under Fire,” “Roseanne” and “Ellen.” Beginning March 29, “Grace,” now airing Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., will move to Wednesdays at 9 p.m.; “Roseanne,” now on Wednesdays at 9 p.m., will come on an hour earlier, and “Ellen,” currently on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m., will move to 8:30 p.m. In another change, a new half-hour comedy, “Bringing Up Jack,” will begin airing Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on March 29 after previewing a night earlier at that time. And on March 24, “Sister, Sister,” now on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., will move to Fridays at 8:30 p.m., replacing “Boy Meets World.” The latter is slated to return to the schedule in the same time period in May with original episodes. “All-American Girl,” currently on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., completes its full season run of 19 original episodes on March 15 (with a repeat scheduled for March 22). ABC said it remains a strong candidate for renewal when next season’s schedule is determined in May.

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Bacchus Behaves: John Larroquette, a recovering alcoholic who plays a recovering alcoholic on his NBC-TV sitcom, spent Sunday night as Bacchus, god of wine and mirth, as part of the notoriously drunken Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. This year, Bacchus drank root beer. Larroquette was featured in a parade that is a warm-up for today’s Fat Tuesday celebrations. “I may be the first Bacchus ever to toast with Barq’s,” said Larroquette, a New Orleans native.

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Classic Choice: Ted Turner has signed a classic movie actress to promote his classic movie channel: Jane Powell. She was the girl-next-door star of such movies as “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in the 1940s and ‘50s, appearing in more than 20 films, mostly musicals. Powell will do on-air promotions and appear at trade shows in support of Turner Classic Movies, a 24-hour cable network that shows strictly old flicks.

STAGE

‘Assassins’ Upgrade Delayed: The move of the Stephen Sondheim/John Weidman production “Assassins” from a 73-seat theater to a 498-seater at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, which had been slated for next week, has been delayed for the third time. The new opening date is March 31, with previews starting March 28. Producer-director Peter Ellenstein said enough money is now in the bank to open the show, but attributed the latest delay to a local investor’s withdrawal--two weeks ago--of approximately one-third of the $250,000 needed for the move. This forced a suspension of preparations until replacement money was provided by impresario James A. Doolittle. The production will close in the small Theatre 4 on March 12 before moving to the larger Tom Bradley Theatre.