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

TV/RADIO

Stringfield Scores for NBC: Fueled by speculation over whether or not Sherry Stringfield would really leave “ER” (she did), Thursday’s episode of the NBC drama drew more than 24.7 million households and 42% of the audience, to score the highest Nielsen ratings for any TV program this season. “ER” also helped make NBC’s entire prime-time lineup--which averaged 34% of the audience--the highest-rated night this season, and helped “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”--with 24% of the audience--post its best overnight numbers since Hugh Grant’s post-Divine Brown appearance in July 1995.

Pilot Flying for Oscars: At a time when some production companies are giving up on their series even before the dreaded network cancellations (recent examples include Fox’s “Party Girl” and CBS’ “EZ Streets”), DreamWorks is showing unusual faith in one of its TV pilots--even though the show failed to get picked up by any network. The pilot, called “Dear Diary,” stars “Cheers” alum Bebe Neuwirth as a magazine art director who keeps a diary of her daily adventures. And although it will not be seen on television, Neuwirth fans will be able to catch it--at a movie theater. In what DreamWorks said was designed to qualify the TV pilot for Academy Award consideration for best short film, DreamWorks will screen “Dear Diary” at AMC Century City twice daily from Nov. 27-Dec. 1.

‘Loveline’ Hung Up: MTV on Friday postponed its scheduled Monday premiere of “Loveline,” a television version of the nationally syndicated call-in show originating on L.A. radio station KROQ-FM (106.7). The TV version was similarly yanked in August, just three weeks before its scheduled syndication premiere, when distributor Twentieth Television had second thoughts. This time, “Loveline” has been halted because of a threatened lawsuit by deejay Jim “The Poorman” Trenton, who originated KROQ’s “Loveline” in 1983, and has claimed ownership of the program in lawsuits against several entities. In a letter to Trenton’s lawyer, MTV Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Robin E. Silverman wrote that the cable network would investigate the matter before deciding whether to proceed with the show. However, an MTV spokeswoman said Friday that “Loveline’s” premiere would soon be rescheduled.

More O.J.: Reenactments of O.J. Simpson’s civil trial testimony will be featured on E! Entertainment Television starting Monday during its regular recap show, “The O.J. Civil Trial.” The summary show, which airs at 5 p.m. and repeats at 10 p.m., will expand from one hour to 90 minutes for the duration of Simpson’s testimony, with reenactments appearing the day after each day’s testimony. Meanwhile, the recap show has given E! a slight boost in ratings for those time slots, but current ratings are still far below what the network received when it aired gavel-to-gavel coverage of Simpson’s criminal trial.

Feeding the Hungry: The UPN series “Sparks!” will give a walk-on role to anyone who donates 500 cans of food to Los Angeles’ Union Rescue Mission today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when series stars Robin Givens, James Avery and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. will be among the celebrities to collect canned goods and serve an early Thanksgiving meal to the homeless. . . . On Monday, radio station KKBT-FM (92.3 “The Beat”) will hold its annual Food for Life Drive benefiting Minority AIDS Project. During live broadcasts, deejay Diana Steele will collect donated food from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Westminster Mall, while deejay Theo will do the same from 2-6 p.m. at the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Plaza.

ART

Drawings Rediscovered: The latest in a series of revelations of artworks long thought to have been lost or destroyed during World War II will be unveiled in an exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Dec. 3-March 31. “Master Drawings Rediscovered: Treasures From Prewar German Collections” features 89 drawings by 13 artists including large groups of work by Goya, Daumier, Signac and Archipenko, and single pieces by Delacroix, Cezanne and Toulouse-Lautrec. Like the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artworks shown last year at the Hermitage, the drawings were looted from German private collections during the war and secretly stored at the museum. Abrams is publishing an illustrated catalog of the drawings show.

QUICK TAKES

“ER star” George Clooney, currently at work on Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Batman and Robin,” has solidified his ties to the studio by signing a three-year deal to develop and produce features, some of which he may star in. The pact partners Clooney with producer Robert Lawrence (“Clueless,” “Down Periscope”). . . . “Dallas” star Larry Hagman is set to return to CBS with “Orleans,” a mid-season drama scheduled to premiere in January and occupy the Wednesday 10-11 p.m. slot. CBS also plans to air a new newsmagazine, “Coast to Coast,” on Wednesday nights at 9. . . . MGM Domestic Television will hold an open casting call Monday for “Fame L.A.,” its planned syndicated series based on the 1980 movie “Fame.” Singers, dancers, pianists, guitarists and comics, ages 18-28 are invited, with auditions starting at 10 a.m. at the Palace in Hollywood.. . . . A Los Angeles jury on Friday rejected gopher Fred Moroz’s attempt to collect damages from actor Chevy Chase, whom Moroz said left him “twisting in the wind” after he unknowingly picked up prescription drugs for the actor in 1994, leading to his arrest.