Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

TELEVISION

Tesh Leaving ‘ET’: Anchor John Tesh is leaving “Entertainment Tonight,” the syndicated newsmagazine he has co-anchored since 1986. Tesh, whose last day in the anchor chair will be May 30, is leaving “ET” to devote more time to his musical career; known for his best-selling album “Live at Red Rocks,” Tesh will embark on a four-month cross-country concert tour beginning June 12. Last summer, “ET’s” producers, Paramount Pictures, attempted to gain a restraining order to keep Tesh from taking a three-month hiatus from the show to devote more time to his musical activities; the parties reached a compromise under which Tesh remained with the show but was given a few extra days off.

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Alcott Manuscript Sold: The unpublished Louisa May Alcott novel that caused a stir when it was discovered in a library at Harvard University by two professors has been snapped up for six figures by L.A.-based Cosgrove Meurer Productions in partnership with Canadian distributor Alliance Communications. “It’s a wonderful, sweet, family, classic kind of story,” said Cosgrove Meurer partner Terry Dunn Meurer, whose company bid against such heavy hitters as the Walt Disney Co., TriStar Pictures and MTM Enterprises for rights to the handwritten text, dated 1849, when the “Little Women” author was about 17. Meurer, whose company is best known as the producers of TV’s “Unsolved Mysteries,” said there’s no determination yet on what form the project will take, although “a miniseries is certainly a possibility, or it would make a lovely movie. It’s got everything--greed and jealousy, love and money, rags to riches; just lots of wonderful elements.” Publishing rights, meanwhile, went to Dutton’s Children’s Books. The manuscript was sold by two university professors who came across the work while researching at Harvard several years ago. They are sharing the proceeds with three Alcott heirs.

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Lifetime Achievement Emmy: Phil Donahue will receive the lifetime achievement Emmy Award for daytime television during the 23rd Daytime Emmy Awards broadcast next Wednesday on CBS. Donahue, credited with launching the first audience-participation TV talk show in 1967, has previously received nine Emmys for outstanding talk show host--more than any other host. Meanwhile, Donahue, whose syndicated show ends its 25-year run late this summer, has had discussions with CBS News about possibly hosting a prime-time documentary.

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The Whale Cometh: Cable’s USA Network has announced plans for a $12-million four-hour miniseries adaptation of Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” to be executive-produced by Robert Halmi Sr. and Francis Ford Coppola, for broadcast in late 1997. Also in 1997, USA’s sister network, the Sci-Fi Channel, will air movie adaptations of two classics, Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” and Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

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NBC Continues Ratings Hold: A miscalculation based on the length of a hockey game on Fox on Sunday caused Nielsen Media Research to delay release of its weekly prime-time ratings Tuesday, but data provided by the networks showed that NBC handily won the competition again last week. CBS was second in households, while ABC was second among prized viewers aged 18 to 49. For a record third straight week, NBC had the six top-rated programs: “ER,” “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” “Caroline in the City,” “The Single Guy” and the Sunday night telecast of “A Few Good Men.” The full Nielsen list will be released today.

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Looking at Race: ABC News’ “Nightline” will examine race in America with a full week of broadcasts starting Monday. The five-part series, anchored and reported by Ted Koppel, will launch a “Nightline” feature that will delve into race-related topics under the banner “America in Black and White.”

LEGAL FILE

‘Squall’s’ Sea of Discontent: Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre (“Lawrence of Arabia,” “Dr. Zhivago”) has filed a $150,000 breach-of-contract suit against director Ridley Scott, claiming he had a contract guaranteeing him $450,000 to provide the soundtrack for Scott’s film “White Squall” but was paid only $300,000 after the score wasn’t used. The lawsuit states Scott dumped Jarre’s work “without even listening to the full score.” A spokesman for Scott could not be reached for comment.

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Evicted From ‘Melrose Place’?: Actress Hunter Tylo, who says she quit her soap opera role as Dr. Taylor Forrester on “The Bold and the Beautiful” to join Fox’s “Melrose Place” next season, has sued Spelling Entertainment Group and Spelling Television, claiming that she was evicted from the nighttime soap because she’s pregnant. Spelling attorney Sally Suchil responded to Tylo’s suit by saying that the character Tylo was to have portrayed “is simply incompatible with her pregnancy” and that “Melrose Place” has offered her a different character for the 1997 season.

STAGE

More of Hotchkis’ ‘Flesh’: Five new performances have been added for Joan Hotchkis’ performance piece “Elements of Flesh (or Screwing Saved My Ass)” at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica. Dates are Thursday, May 23, May 27, June 3 and June 10. Although most previously scheduled dates are sold out, a few tickets also remain for the Sunday performance.