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

MOVIES

Mickey’s Defense: The Walt Disney Co. on Friday fired back at a coalition of about 40 Latino and community-based groups that said they are boycotting Disneyland and other Disney subsidiaries due to alleged discrimination against Latinos. In a statement, Disney executives said: “The Walt Disney Co. is proud of its effort in ensuring equal employment opportunities for all races and genders, and we have an ongoing commitment to continue to strive for ever-increasing diversity in our work force. We have worked and will continue to work with responsible local and national organizations to create a positive partnership and agenda for expanding our cooperation with and overall support of the Hispanic community.” The statement concluded: “We think it is especially significant that other local and national Hispanic organizations are not participating in this boycott and do not support the action.” Disney did not specify which groups it was referring to.

Travolta Headed to Court: A Los Angeles judge has indicated he will let a jury decide a breach of contract lawsuit filed against John Travolta last year when he pulled out of Roman Polanski’s movie, “The Double.” A trial on the suit, filed by the production company Liteoffer Ltd. and distributor Mandalay Entertainment, is scheduled to begin July 14. Travolta, who said he never signed a contract and had agreed to the part only with screenplay approval, had asked the judge to dismiss the suit. “The Double” was never made, despite reports that Steve Martin was replacing Travolta.

Charge It!: With environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. and movie characters such as “Back to the Future’s” Doc Brown on hand, Universal Studios on Friday became what is believed to be the first American entertainment complex to offer public charging stations for electric vehicles. Use of the two chargers, installed by Edison EV in the Universal CityWalk garage, will be free to Universal City customers. In addition, parking will be complimentary for all electric vehicles through the end of the year.

POP/ROCK

‘New’ Recording: “Patsy Cline: Live at the Cimarron Ballroom,” a new album of music by the late country crooner killed in a plane crash in 1963, will be released July 29 by MCA Records. The album--culled from tapes found in a house where Cline once lived--contains 17 songs from a 1961 concert in Tulsa, Okla. The show was her first following a near-fatal car accident that left her with a broken wrist, dislocated hip and facial cuts. The album includes the then-28-year-old Cline’s comments to the audience joking about female drivers and her recovery. In addition to hits such as “Walking After Midnight,” the album contains three songs Cline never recorded in a studio--”Shake, Rattle and Roll,” “Stupid Cupid” and “When My Dreamboat Comes Home.”

TELEVISION

Cosby to Take Stand: Bill Cosby will testify at the upcoming extortion trial of the woman who says she is his illegitimate daughter, but New York prosecutors have asked a federal judge to forbid Autumn Jackson’s attorney from asking Cosby about the validity of her claim. “It is irrelevant whether Bill Cosby is or is not the father of Autumn Jackson,” the letter said. “The questions for the jury will be whether the defendants threatened to claim to the tabloids that Bill Cosby was Autumn Jackson’s father if they were not paid money.” Prosecutors also want to bar other information, including Cosby’s net worth. The trial is set for July 7.

ART

Gallery Closing: After nine years, Santa Monica’s Tatistcheff/Rogers Gallery will close following a farewell reception today from 3 to 6 p.m. On view will be a group exhibition, the 83rd mounted by the gallery, featuring “favorite artists” of gallery director Terrence Rogers, who is closing the gallery at 2042 Broadway due to health problems. Rogers, who told of his battle with AIDS and a kidney disease in a recent letter to his supporters, said he will continue as a private art dealer, consultant and curator.

QUICK TAKES

Virgin Interactive is developing a series of 3-D computer games based on TV’s “Star Trek: Voyager,” scheduled for release in 1999 and 2000. . . . Oprah Winfrey has donated $1 million to the Boston-based group A Better Chance, and will serve as national spokesperson for the organization, which helps urban minority students attend top college preparatory schools. . . . “Babylon 5” will leave the land of syndication for cable, when it begins its fifth season in January on cable’s TNT. . . . Musician Bob Seger, 52, was charged with impaired driving and failing to provide a breath sample after running his 1997 BMW off a Canadian highway in northern Ontario on Wednesday night. A court date is set for July 30. . . . To the strains of “Thanks for the Memories,” Monitor Radio’s morning broadcast signed off for the last time Friday, 13 years after the Christian Science Church began its news programming for public radio. The service was ended because of cost constraints. . . . Dudley Moore’s estranged wife, Nicole Rothschild Moore, has sued the actor for more than $10 million, claiming that he “relentlessly assaulted, battered, threatened and terrorized” her over the course of the six-year relationship. The couple, who have a 2-year-old son, were married in 1994; Dudley Moore filed for divorce in 1996. The actor’s publicist had no comment.