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

ART

De Young’s Troubles Mount: San Francisco’s venerable M.H. de Young Museum, which suffered considerable damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, has suffered another blow. The Federal Council on Arts and the Humanities has notified the museum that the U.S. government will no longer insure major art exhibitions at the De Young because “the potential risk to the U.S. Treasury is too great given the building’s current condition.” In the short term, the decision means that “Masters of Light: Dutch Painters in Utrecht During the Golden Age,” a highly promoted show of Dutch masterpieces scheduled to open Sept. 13, will have to move to the smaller Palace of the Legion of Honor, cutting the number of expected visitors in half. Harry Parker, San Francisco’s fine art museum director, said he believes the federal action was prompted by news stories about the De Young’s seismic hazards. Later this week, Parker is slated to ask the museum’s board of trustees to approve a controversial decision to move the De Young from Golden Gate Park to an undetermined site. In November, voters scotched a $73-million bond issue to rebuild the museum at its current location.

TELEVISION

Ready for Prime Time: Former “Today” host Bryant Gumbel, who begins his new CBS newsmagazine in the fall, has landed another high-profile gig from his new employer: he’ll host the 49th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14. Gumbel will follow in the footsteps of entertainers who have hosted in the past, including Angela Lansbury and Ellen DeGeneres. In announcing the Emmy stint, CBS Entertainment President Les Moonves called Gumbel “one of the most recognizable and respected television personalities in the business,” adding, “his versatility, wit and style make him the ideal choice to successfully and gracefully host any event--news, sports, entertainment.” Said Gumbel: “Although I can’t sing and don’t dance, I welcome this challenge and look forward to an entertaining evening.”

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Bugs, Bugs, Everywhere: “Blooper Bunny,” an eight-minute Bugs Bunny short that was made for theatrical release in 1991 but never was shown because its “behind-the-scenes” format was believed to be too “inside” for worldwide audiences, will air three times on the Cartoon Network this weekend as part of its 48-hour Bugs Bunny marathon. The short will kick off the Bugs fest on Friday at 5 p.m., repeat Saturday at the same time and close out the marathon on Sunday, also at 5 p.m.

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Final ‘MASH’ Farewell: TV’s “MASH” may be long gone, but series creator Larry Gelbart will reunite with two of his stars, Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns) and David Ogden Stiers (Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III) today when the three attend the deactivation ceremony of the 43rd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea, the last MASH unit still in operation. The site was the inspiration for both the feature film and TV series.

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New Game Show: Comedy Central will begin production in Hollywood next week on a new game show, “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” hosted by actor Ben Stein (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”). In the show, which premieres July 28 (weekdays, 7:30 and 11:30 p.m.), contestants will compete in a battle of knowledge against Stein for his daily hosting fee of $5,000. KROQ’s Jimmy “The Sports Guy” Kimmel will be the show’s announcer. In other Comedy Central news, meanwhile, the cable channel will air “The Late Shift,” the 1996 HBO movie about the late-night competition between Jay Leno and David Letterman, on June 18.

LEGAL FILE

No Warrant, No Charge: Weapons charges against “Homicide: Life on the Street” actor Max Perlich have been dropped after a judge ruled that police should have obtained a search warrant before entering Perlich’s Baltimore home and seizing a .45-caliber pistol. Perlich, 29, had been charged in December after allegedly pointing a gun at a neighbor and firing two shots into the air during a dispute over parking. Perlich said he’d fired after being pushed several times by the neighbor.

QUICK TAKES

Actor Peter Scolari (“Newhart”) will play the lead role of Wayne Szalinski in the prime-time television series version of “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” The hourlong syndicated series premieres in September on KCOP-TV Channel 13. . . . Earvin “Magic” Johnson has picked stand-up comedian Barry Sobel, a frequent guest on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,” to be his “sidekick” on Johnson’s upcoming late-night series. Johnson described Sobel as “an outrageously funny performer” with “a genuine offbeat delivery that transcends all ethnic barriers.” . . . CBS has renewed “The Late Late Show With Tom Snyder” for next season. . . . Two celebrity photographers--Giles Harrison, 29, and Andrew O’Brien, 31--were charged Tuesday with misdemeanors of false imprisonment, reckless driving and battery for allegedly ambushing actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a quest for the first post-heart surgery pictures of the actor. The May 1 paparazzi road pursuit led to a car crash that temporarily trapped the “Terminator” star and his wife, Maria Shriver, in their Mercedes-Benz. . . . Rockabilly legend Carl Perkins, 65, was in satisfactory condition in a Memphis hospital following surgery Monday to clear a blockage in his carotid artery, the main artery that supplies blood to the brain. . . . Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and actress Victoria Rowell (“Diagnosis Murder,” “The Young and The Restless”) have split after a nine-year relationship. They have a year-old son, Jasper Armstrong Marsalis.