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

THE ARTS

Acting NEA Head: President Clinton has appointed Kathryn Higgins, deputy secretary of the U.S. Labor Department, as acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, following the recent departure of actress Jane Alexander. Higgins, who will continue her Labor Department duties, will head the NEA until Clinton appoints--and the Senate confirms--Alexander’s permanent replacement. Scott Shanklin-Peterson, the NEA’s senior deputy chairman, will continue to oversee the endowment’s day-to-day operations.

MOVIES

New Rat Pack?: Screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi is working to line up an A+ talent list for his Dean Martin biography, including Tom Hanks as Martin and John Travolta as Frank Sinatra. Pileggi told Variety columnist Army Archerd that his hoped-for list also includes Hugh Grant as Peter Lawford, Adam Sandler as Joey Bishop and Jim Carrey as Jerry Lewis. Martin Scorsese--who previously teamed with Pileggi on “GoodFellas” and “Casino”--is directing the Warner Bros. film. The studio had no comment on Pileggi’s talent list; no deals are signed yet for the roles.

TELEVISION

Medical Phone Library: CBS News on Monday will launch CBS HealthLine, a 99-cents-a-minute call-in service produced in conjunction with “CBS This Morning.” The information line, at (900) CALL-CBS, will offer more than 300 reports on topics including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, aging, sexual health and pregnancy, all narrated by CBS correspondent John Roberts.

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Lilith Fair Broadcast: The Lilith Fair--the all-female summer concert tour that made a sold-out appearance in July at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre--will be seen Nov. 28 on pay-per-view. Filmed at the tour’s Toronto stop, the TV lineup includes organizer Sarah McLachlan along with Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Shawn Colvin, the Indigo Girls and Meredith Brooks. A portion of proceeds from the broadcast will go to singer Tori Amos’ charity, RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), and to LifeBeat, the music industry’s AIDS awareness organization.

POP/ROCK

Case Closed: The Oregon Catholic Press has settled its lawsuit against the producers of the Princess Diana funeral album after Decca Records Ltd. agreed to put stickers acknowledging the origin of “Prayer of St. Francis,” Diana’s favorite hymn. Lawyers would not disclose if the settlement included a payout; Oregon Catholic Press had sought $10 million because the album was released without naming the song’s composer, Sebastian Temple.

QUICK TAKES

MTV will carry the final original series installment of “Beavis & Butt-head,” the hit animated comedy created by Mike Judge (in his pre-”King of the Hill” days) on Nov. 28 at 10 p.m. The episode’s title: “Beavis and Butt-head Are Dead.” The day before, the duo appear in their own hourlong Thanksgiving Day special at 11 a.m. . . . ABC has picked up its Thursday night drama, “Cracker,” for the full season. . . . “Star Trek: The Experience,” a theme park-type attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton, will open to the public on Jan. 4.