MOVIESHoming on His Range: Mel Gibson will...

MOVIES

Homing on His Range: Mel Gibson will receive this year’s American Cinematheque Award at the group’s annual Moving Picture Ball, Sept. 29 at the Century Plaza Hotel. Gibson (“Braveheart,” “Lethal Weapon,” “Hamlet”) will be saluted “for the diverse range of characters he has brought to the screen as an actor and for the equally eclectic motion pictures he has involved himself with as a producer and a director.” Previous honorees include Eddie Murphy, Bette Midler, Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg and Sean Connery.

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Music Center Snags Oscars: The annual Oscar show will return to the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion next year. The Academy Awards, which take place March 25, will be broadcast on ABC. The awards have been held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 23 times (the first was in 1969, last in 1994). The 1995 awards were at the Shrine Auditorium.

STAGE

Bea Arthur’s Return: TV’s “Golden Girl” Beatrice Arthur will return to her stage roots for the West Coast premiere of “Bermuda Avenue Triangle,” opening Oct. 1 at the Tiffany Theatre in West Hollywood. The comedy was written by Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna (“It Had to Be You,” “Lovers and Other Strangers”), who also co-star. Charles Nelson Reilly (“Paul Robeson”) will direct, while Paula Holt (“Marvin’s Room,” “Oleanna”) will produce. Arthur won a Tony Award in 1966 for her performance in “Mame.”

TV/RADIO

It’s a Boy: Actress-comedian Roseanne gave birth Sunday to an eight-pound boy named Buck Thomas. Roseanne, 42, underwent in-vitro fertilization in November, the same month she and Tom Arnold were divorced. She married former bodyguard Ben Thomas, the baby’s father and Roseanne’s third husband, on Valentine’s Day. The actress has four other children.

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Cast Switches: ABC has announced several cast changes for its returning series, including the permanent additions of Tom Poston (“Newhart”) to “Grace Under Fire” as Floyd, the father of Russell Norton (Dave Thomas), and Katherine Helmond (“Who’s the Boss?”) as Hayden Fox’s (Craig T. Nelson’s) boss on “Coach.” Other ABC casting announcements include the return of “Roseanne’s” Lecy Goranson, who played Becky on the series until the last two seasons, when she was replaced by Sarah Chalke; and the appearance of Robert Mitchum, who will guest as Winston MacBride’s (Jeff Fahey) father in “The Marshal.” And on “Ellen,” Clea Lewis will turn last season’s recurring role as Audrey Penney into a regular gig, while Jeremy Piven will join the cast as Spence Kovak, Ellen’s cousin and new roommate. “NYPD Blue” also gets two changes: Kim Delaney, whose Detective Diane Russell becomes the newest member of the squad, and Justine Miceli, who expands her role of Detective Adrienne Lesniak.

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Hall of Famers: Humorist and advertising guru Stan Freberg and sportscaster Jack Buck were among those named Tuesday for induction into the Radio Hall of Fame. Others who will be honored Oct. 29 at Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications, where the Hall of Fame is housed, include Jesse B. Blayton Sr., owner of the country’s first black-owned radio station (WERD in Atlanta), and on-air personalities Bob Steele, Herb Kent, Yvonne Daniels and Hal Jackson.

THE ARTS

Open House: More than 100 museums, libraries, theaters and music organizations in the Los Angeles area will open their doors free to the public on Oct. 7, as part of Los Angeles County Open House ‘95, the Los Angeles County Music and Performing Arts Commission will announce today. Participants will include the L.A. County Museum of Art, the Music Center’s Taper and Ahmanson theaters, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Afro-American Museum. The Music Center theaters will offer tours while other theaters, including West Coast Ensemble, Downtown Playhouse and Santa Monica Playhouse, will give free performances. Open House Day is part of National Arts and Humanities Month, coordinated by the National Cultural Alliance.

QUICK TAKES

Robert Blocker, dean of UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture, has been named dean of music at Yale University. Blocker, a concert pianist, will take over the post from composer Ezra Laderman on Sept. 1. . . . Former “General Hospital” heartthrob Antonio Sabato Jr., who also starred in last season’s “Earth 2,” will join Fox’s “Melrose Place” in October in a recurring role as Jack Parezi, a mysterious man from Amanda’s (Heather Locklear) past. . . . Divine Brown, the Hollywood prostitute arrested in June with actor Hugh Grant, has filmed a second TV commercial, this time for local soft-rock radio station KXEZ-FM (Easy 100.3). In the ad, a flirtatious Brown declares “Easy 100.3 is the perfect radio station to listen to while you work.” . . . Bob Jimenez will leave KCBS-TV Channel 2 to join KCOP-TV Channel 13 as anchor of the latter station’s 10 p.m. newscast, starting Oct. 2. . . . Figure- skater- turned- media- personality Nancy Kerrigan, 25, and her manager, Jerry Solomon, 40, will wed Sept. 9 at Boston’s Church of the Covenant.