Company Town : Fox Exec Named Group Head at Law Firm

Los Angeles law firm Latham & Watkins, as expected, confirmed it is hiring Fox Inc. Executive Vice President George Vradenburg III as a partner to head the firm’s new Entertainment Media Industries Practice Group.

Vradenburg, the former general counsel at CBS, is a respected industry lawyer who has played a leading role working on such industrywide issues as trade and broadcast regulations, and in smoothing relations between Hollywood and local government agencies. Vradenburg joined Fox in 1991. He said he plans to continue working on larger industry issues.

* Creative Artists Agency Chairman Michael S. Ovitz was named to the Council on Foreign Relations, a private group that studies foreign policy.

* Frank Lomento has joined MGM/UA Distribution Co. as vice president of national publicity. He previously was at Savoy Pictures.

* Marisa Pickar was named media representative for the worldwide anti-piracy operation of the Motion Picture Assn. of America. Separately, the MPAA named Lori Bushman as director of worldwide market research.

* Elizabeth Clark was named vice president of publicity for Castle Rock Entertainment.

* ITT Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp.’s subsidiary, Rainbow Programming Holdings, named David Checketts president of Madison Square Garden. Checketts, interim president since last September, was previously president of the New York Knicks.

* Barbara Palmer was promoted to director, field promotions, for the Motion Picture Group of Paramount Pictures.

* Howard Green was promoted to executive vice president, sales operations, for Fox Inc.’s Twentieth Television unit.

* Laura Merry was named vice president, royalties, MCA Music Entertainment Group. Separately, MCA Records promoted Eamon Sherlock to vice president, international.