POP/ROCK - March 4, 1995

R.E.M. Drummer Recuperating: R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry, 36, was said to be “in good hands and good spirits” in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday after undergoing brain surgery to halt bleeding from a ruptured aneurysm, or hemorrhage, on the right outer surface of his brain. Berry’s condition was discovered after he left midway through a Swiss concert Wednesday night complaining of an acute migraine headache. The band’s label, Warner Bros. Records, described Friday’s craniotomy as “uneventful and 100% successful” and said doctors predict he’ll be able to “pick up his drumsticks” within two to three weeks; he suffered no brain impairment and is expected to recover fully. Berry will spend up to 10 days recuperating in Switzerland, where R.E.M. was in the midst of a European tour. The remaining European dates have been postponed indefinitely, and there’s no word yet on how this could affect the U.S. tour, which is to start May 5 in Phoenix, with scheduled shows at the San Diego Sports Arena (May 7), the Forum (May 9), Pond of Anaheim (May 12-13) and Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion (May 14).

TELEVISION

More CBS Shifts: CBS is moving its Tuesday night movie to Wednesdays starting March 22 with the 9 p.m. presentation of “Single White Female,” starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh. That will force out “Northern Exposure,” which will disappear after March 15, but will return in a different time slot in late April. Starting March 21, the Tuesday night hole will be filled by “Rescue 911” at 9 p.m., followed at 10 with the return of “Burke’s Law,” starring Gene Barry, Peter Barton and Danny Kamekona. In other changes, the network will premiere “The Wright Verdicts,” a new Friday night courtroom drama from “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf and starring Tom Conti, on March 31 at 9 p.m., replacing “Under Suspicion,” which may or may not return at a future date. The changes mark CBS’ second major schedule shift announced in the past month, all in an effort to bring up ratings for the network, now in third place.

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DreamWorksomething: A comedy pilot from “Family Ties” producer Gary David Goldberg starring Timothy Busfield (“thirtysomething”) is the first project under development at DreamWorks SKG--the company headed by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. A DreamWorks spokesperson confirmed Friday that the project, part of DreamWorks’ previously announced deal with ABC, is planned as a candidate for the network’s fall schedule. It focuses on a group of longtime friends who previously played on a championship basketball team.

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Sudsy Crossover: CBS is uniting its prime-time mystery series “Diagnosis Murder” with its daytime soap “The Young and the Restless” in a crossover episode filmed this week and set to air April 28. In the “Diagnosis” episode, a murderer is stalking several “Y&R;” cast members. Not surprisingly, the plot revolves around actress Victoria Rowell, who stars in both series.

STAGE

‘Smokey Joe’s’ Reviews: The Leiber & Stoller revue “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” recently seen at the Doolittle Theatre, drew mixed reviews from New York critics at its Broadway opening Thursday. Ben Brantley of the New York Times found “some big, crowd-pleasing voices” but said “the grit has been carefully removed.” Linda Winer-Bernheimer of Newsday liked the second half a lot more than the first. “A breezy, bouncy evening,” decreed the Daily News. And the New York Post said it was “niftily staged . . . with sleek, sharp and seamless choreography . . . sensationally well performed.”

EVENTS

Celebrity Waiters: Celebrities will don aprons and wait tables at Santa Monica Boulevard’s Palm Restaurant Sunday night as part of a Comic Relief event to raise funds for health care for Los Angeles’ homeless population. Scheduled to participate: Richard Lewis, William Devane, Marilyn Kentz and Caryl Kristensen (“The Mommies”), Bobby Collins (VH1’s “Stand-up Spotlight”), Peter Tilden (KABC Talk Radio) and Michael Tucci (“Diagnosis Murder”). The second annual “Celebrity Server Dinner” starts at 7 p.m.; tickets are $150 per person.

QUICK TAKES

Long Beach Opera’s two upcoming performances of Rossini’s “The Turk in Italy,” originally scheduled for Cal State Long Beach’s Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, have been moved to the Long Beach Convention Center’s Center Theater. The times will remain the same: Sunday at 2 p.m. and Wednesday at 8 p.m. . . . Barbra Streisand will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree, her first, from Massachusetts’ Brandeis University during the school’s May 21 commencement. Streisand was chosen because of her support of human rights issues and her contribution to the arts; other honorary degree recipients include philanthropist Walter Annenberg. . . . CBS correspondent Troy Roberts has been named co-anchor of the “CBS Morning News,” effective Monday. He will be joined by recently named co-anchor Jane Robelot, who starts March 20. . . . Actress Jean Stapleton will appear as a spiritualist in South Coast Repertory’s “Blithe Spirit,” opening April 14 in Costa Mesa.