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TELEVISIONAll-Star ‘Wizard of Oz’: Rocker Roger Daltrey...

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TELEVISION

All-Star ‘Wizard of Oz’: Rocker Roger Daltrey will play the Tin Man, singer Jackson Browne the Scarecrow and Broadway star Nathan Lane the Cowardly Lion in “ ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in Concert,” being taped Nov. 5 at New York’s Lincoln Center for a Nov. 22 airing on cable’s TNT. The program, benefiting the Children’s Defense Fund, also features Natalie Cole as Glinda the Good Witch, Joel Grey as the Wizard, singer Jewel as Dorothy, Sissy Spacek as Auntie Em, Debra Winger as the Wicked Witch of the West, and the Boys Choir of Harlem as the Munchkins. Actress Alfre Woodard will host the show, which also includes appearances by Ry Cooder, Mandy Patinkin, David Sanborn, Carly Simon and Ronnie Spector. Key scenes from the classic story will be performed, as will the full score from the 1939 MGM movie. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the event’s honorary chair.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Oct. 27, 1995 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Friday October 27, 1995 Home Edition Calendar Part F Page 2 Entertainment Desk 1 inches; 21 words Type of Material: Correction
Church’s series-- Actor Thomas Haden Church’s current Fox series is “Ned & Stacey.” The incorrect series was named in Thursday’s Morning Report.

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Viewing Notes: Comedy Central has purchased 85 episodes of “The Tracey Ullman Show”--which aired on Fox from 1987 to 1990 and spawned the current Fox series “The Simpsons”--as well as 72 episodes of “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” which ran on Showtime from 1988 to ’90. Both critically lauded programs are slated to begin airing on the cable network Dec. 4. . . . “Wings” co-star turned Fox’s “Partners” principal Thomas Haden Church returns to the earlier show for his farewell episode Oct. 31 on NBC. His character, Lowell Mather, says farewell to the “Wings” gang when he joins the federal Witness Protection Program after witnessing a gang murder. . . . Walt Disney Television is updating the 1969 Disney movie “The Love Bug” in a new two-hour TV movie set to air on ABC later this season. . . . “Audubon’s Animals,” a weekly half-hour educational series produced by the National Audubon Society, will premiere on the Disney Channel in 1996. Brad Kane, the voice of Disney’s “Aladdin,” will narrate.

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Prosecute? Nyet!: Lorne Michaels should be happy that bad reviews and disgruntled viewers are the worst punishment heaped on his “Saturday Night Live.” In Russia, a show with similar satirical themes has narrowly escaped criminal charges for making fun of government officials. The program, a popular satire called “Kukly” (Russian for puppets), lampoons President Boris Yeltsin and others using life-size puppets with huge heads, oversized mouths and comical expressions. Russian prosecutors had launched legal action against “Kukly” in July, maintaining that the show’s portrayal of Yeltsin constituted an offense punishable by two years of corrective labor. After a public uproar, however, Russia’s new top law enforcement official has closed the criminal case.

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POP/ROCK

Ladies Reign: Women hold the top three spots in this week’s national album sales chart. Mariah Carey’s “Daydream” sold 170,000 copies to remain No. 1 for the third consecutive week, Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” sold 153,000 copies to take second place and Janet Jackson’s “Design of a Decade 1986-96” greatest-hits package sold 111,000 copies to move up one place to No. 3. Meanwhile, sales of Green Day’s “Insomniac” fell by almost half during its second week in the stores, dropping from 172,000 to 96,000 to slide from No. 2 to No. 6. And on the singles chart, Carey’s “Fantasy” fell to second place with 97,000 copies sold, while Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” sold 114,000 copies to return to No. 1 after more than a month out of that spot.

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Gone, but Not Forgotten: Lynyrd Skynyrd, the influential rock band that lost three of its members, including singer Ronnie Van Zant, in a 1977 plane crash, is remembered in “Freebird . . . the Movie,” a concert film scheduled for theatrical release early next year in major cities including Los Angeles. The film, produced by Cabin Fever Entertainment, features never-before-seen concert footage from a 1976 show at England’s Knebworth Fair as well as 1977 shows in New Jersey’s Asbury Park, San Francisco and Oakland. Fifteen songs are featured, including the hits “Gimme Three Steps,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and the band’s signature anthem, “Free Bird.” Also included are personal home movies and interviews with surviving Lynyrd Skynyrd members and the widows of those who died. The movie is co-executive produced by Van Zant’s widow, Judy Van Zant Jenness.

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Discussing Rap and Hip-Hop: Public Enemy’s Chuck D., KRS-One, Bushwick Bill and Compton Mayor Omar Bradley are among those expected to attend “Working Toward a United Hip-Hop Nation II,” a four-day rap and hip-hop conference that kicks off today at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Rap and hip-hop professionals will lead interactive public workshops and panel discussions on a variety of topics, including the controversy surrounding the music.

QUICK TAKES

For the Elvis fan who has everything: Memphis-based Leader Federal Bank is issuing a new Elvis Presley MasterCard, featuring three images of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll from 1968 and 1969. A portion of the card’s proceeds will go to the philanthropic Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation. . . . Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction”) has joined the cast of New Line Cinema’s thriller “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” starring Geena Davis and directed by Renny Harlin. . . . Actress Glenn Close will receive the 1995 Liberty Award from the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund at the Petersen Automotive Museum today, for her role on the Emmy-winning TV movie “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story.”

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