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

POP/ROCK

Blessed Event: Michael Jackson announced Monday that his “longtime close friend of 15 years,” Debbie Rowe, is pregnant and will have his child in early 1997. In a statement issued by a Century City public relations firm, Jackson said he wanted to squelch “completely false and irresponsible” statements that Rowe was artificially inseminated and that they have an economic relationship. He did not specify who issued the reports to which he objected. The singer “urges the media to respect his and Debbie’s privacy,” the statement said. “This is a very exciting time for both Michael and Debbie.” Jackson was quoted as saying: “I am thrilled that I will soon be a father and am looking forward, with great anticipation, to having this child. Please respect my privacy and that of Debbie and the child. . . . This is my dream come true.” Jackson’s publicists would not confirm a CNN “Showbiz Today” report that the baby is a boy.

TELEVISION

Animal Kingdom: ABC’s broadcast of “The Lion King” roared to a ratings win Sunday based on estimates from the major cities metered by Nielsen. The animated hit attracted 24% of the available audience from 7-9 p.m., beating “60 Minutes” and “Touched by an Angel.” Fox’s “The X-Files” then took over at 9 p.m., ranking first in its time period with 21% of viewers, mirroring its initial results there a week ago. The ratings race wasn’t as kind to NBC’s “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” which ran fourth, behind CBS’ made-for-TV movie “Mary & Tim,” starring Candice Bergen, ABC’s “To Brave Alaska” and the Fox hit. On the downside for Fox, its new series “Millennium” witnessed audience levels plunge by nearly a third Friday compared to its Oct. 25 premiere, drawing 14% of viewers.

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TNT--Turner Nukes Television: Ted Turner urged a roomful of television executives to raise their standards on Monday, taking a shot at rival Rupert Murdoch’s drive for profits. Time Warner’s new vice chairman offered advice that may seem like heresy to broadcasters: Turn the TV off if you’re sick of what you see. “People are beginning to realize the total effect of watching so much stupid, sleazy, lousy, violent, exploitative” television, Turner said in a lecture at New York’s Museum of Television & Radio. “It’s bad for our society.”

ART

The Gang That Couldn’t Fold Straight: A Mafia turncoat told an Italian court Monday that a long-lost masterpiece by 16th century artist Caravaggio had been destroyed 30 years ago. Francesco Marino Mannoia told a Rome court where he was testifying against former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti in a Mafia trial that he helped steal Caravaggio’s “Nativity” in 1969, but that the painting had been ruined in the process. “I told Judge Falcone that it was pointless looking for a Caravaggio that I myself, together with others, had stolen,” he said, referring to star Mafia investigator Giovanni Falcone who was killed four years ago. “In folding it to transport it more easily, the painting was irredeemably destroyed,” Marino Mannoia said. “When the buyer saw it, he burst into tears and didn’t want it.” The painting, worth an estimated $3 million, was stolen from the Oratorio of San Lorenzo in Palermo in 1969.

STAGE

Redgrave to the Rescue: When it was decided to close a play earlier than expected at one of London’s leading venues, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, schedulers sent an emergency request to Lynn Redgrave in Los Angeles. Would she bring her one-woman play, “Shakespeare for My Father,” to the Haymarket to fill a one-month gap? Redgrave, a member of the famous acting family, agreed to head for London on three days’ notice, according to her husband and producer-director, John Clark. The play, which originated in Southern California in 1993 and last year was at the Canon Theatre, starts previews Thursday in London with an official opening Nov. 13.

LEGAL FILE

Case Closed: Michael Burton, once the bullhorn-wielding prankster known as “The Maintenance Man” on KROQ-FM’s (106.7) morning show with Kevin and Bean, said Monday that he has settled his wrongful-termination suit against the station for an undisclosed sum. Burton, who worked as a janitor in the Burbank office building that houses the KROQ studios before the station’s morning duo put him on the air--first as a rapping weatherman and later as a loud-mouthed public nuisance--had filed suit charging the station with racial and religious discrimination following his firing in October 1995. Under the terms of the settlement, Burton, who worked at KROQ for more than five years, said he is prohibited from revealing financial details. He added that he is currently looking for work in radio and as an actor.

QUICK TAKES

Veteran political and social satirist Mort Sahl, who filled the Tiffany Theater during a recent 10-week run, will return Nov. 27 for 36 more performances. Tickets go on sale today at the theater box office. . . . Because of continued financial belt-tightening, Opera Pacific has canceled the Jan. 31 performance of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” and the March 21 performance of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Subscribers to those dates will be offered alternative tickets or refunds. . . . Carol Channing’s record of nearly 5,000 performances of “Hello Dolly!” without a miss over 35 years was interrupted over the weekend when she was hospitalized in Kalamazoo, Mich., following an attack of dizziness, causing her to miss four performances. The 75-year-old actress was released Sunday and a theater official said she may have suffered from a virus.