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

MOVIES

Competition for Scarlett?: The only known copy of “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell’s 1926 comedy “Oh! Lady Godiva!” has turned up at a USC library, long after Atlanta historians had presumed it lost or destroyed. The unpublished skit had been at the school since the early 1970s, but historians were unaware that it existed until they got a call from a university archivist last month. “Oh! Lady Godiva!” is one of only three surviving works of fiction by Mitchell, who ordered the destruction of her personal papers on her death in 1949 (in addition to “GWTW,” the other survivor is the recently published “Lost Laysen,” a South Seas adventure tale about a romantic triangle). The “Godiva” manuscript is a spoof of Atlanta in the ‘20s, said Debra Freer, curator of Atlanta’s Road to Tara Museum. The plot involves a search for a woman to play the role of Lady Godiva, “but they can’t find a woman who hasn’t bobbed her hair,” Freer said.

TV/RADIO

Olympics Residue: Worried about Olympics withdrawal next week once the games end? Never fear. Those nighttime talk hosts, David Letterman and Jay Leno, will be there for prevention. Leno’s “Tonight Show,” on Olympics network NBC, has scheduled a solo appearance by U.S. gymnastics star Kerri Strug for next Friday’s show, and the other gold medal-winning women gymnasts will do a comedy sketch on Monday’s “Late Show With David Letterman.” CBS’ Letterman has also scheduled interviews with four-time gold medal-winning U.S. swimmer Amy Van Dyken on Monday and with gold medal-winning U.S. softball team member--and USC medical doctor--Dot Richardson on Tuesday.

New Season Notes: The WB Network has shuffled its fall prime-time schedule, pairing the new family drama “7th Heaven” with “Savannah” on Mondays and sticking with an all-comedy lineup on Sunday. The fledgling network had initially scheduled two comedies from 8 to 9 p.m. Mondays, which would have had to face rival sitcoms on CBS, NBC and UPN. . . . “Kenan & Kel,” a new buddy comedy for kids featuring two actors from Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy “All That,” gets a “sneak preview” on the cable channel Aug. 17 at 8 p.m. The new series--which begins its regular Saturday 8 p.m. run on Oct. 12--stars Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Rap artist Coolio provides the show’s theme song.

Big Band Plays On: Bob Stone and Lyman Jay, longtime deejays with the now-defunct big-band radio station KGRB-AM, are returning to the airwaves, this time through cable television. Starting this weekend, the duo take over the Sunday 9 to 11 a.m. slot on the L.A.-based Cable Radio Network, carried on most local cable systems including Century, Cablevision and Comcast. The station, billed as an alternative radio source because it emits radio sound through the TV (there is no visual programming), will air Stone and Jay’s “hits of yesteryear” lineup, including music by Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Xavier Cugat, plus selections from contemporary performers like Michael Feinstein and Harry Connick Jr. Stone and Jay will be joined by former KPCC-FM (89.3) host Joe Monte, who will serve up instrumental and vocal “vintage obscurities” from the 1920s and ‘30s.

KCAL Protest: The National Hispanic Media Coalition has filed a petition to deny the sale of KCAL-TV Channel 9 by its owner, the Walt Disney Co., to Young Broadcasting. Coalition President Alex Nogales said Disney holds “a substantial equity interest in Young Broadcasting, with warrants to buy more stock. This is nothing more than a sweetheart deal.” Responding to the complaint, a Disney spokesman said Disney has already announced its intent to sell its Young Broadcasting stock.

ART

New ‘Guernica’ Battle: Pablo Picasso’s famous 20th century painting “Guernica,” painted as a cry against fascism and exiled from Franco’s Spain for decades, is at the center of another battle. The painting, evoking the destruction of the ancient Basque stronghold by German planes during the Spanish Civil War, now hangs in the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid. Museum officials say that their excellent security and climate control, as well as the painting’s fragility, should prevent the work from leaving its home. But the Basque government wants to borrow the work as a centerpiece for next summer’s opening of a new museum with ties to the U.S.-based Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The director of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, 12 miles from Guernica, remains confident he’ll be able to pry “Guernica” from the Reina Sofia in time. With public opinion split, the issue is so politically charged that Spain’s new prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, has been brought into the discussions.

QUICK TAKES

Actor Christopher Reeve, paralyzed in a horse riding accident in May 1995, has given his endorsement to Proposition 216, a ballot measure that proponents say would establish safeguards for Californians in managed health-care systems. . . . Writer-actor Steve Morris has taken over the weekday 5 to 10 a.m. morning drive slot at classical radio station KKGO-FM (105.1). . . . Dave Cooke has been appointed operations manager and program director for talk radio stations KABC-AM (790) and KMPC-AM (710), replacing Al Brady Law. Cooke has worked for 10 years as a consultant for news and talk radio stations in major markets including Dallas, Seattle and New York. Previously, he was news and public affairs director for Los Angeles’ now-defunct KHJ-AM.