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

POP/ROCK

Sharing His ‘Heartbreak’: Paul McCartney issued a lengthy statement on Tuesday calling the death of his wife of 29 years “a total heartbreak for my family and I. Linda was, and still is, the love of my life.” Linda McCartney--a photographer, vegetarian activist and keyboardist and backup singer for the ex-Beatle’s group Wings--died Friday at age 56 of breast cancer that had spread to her liver. “People who didn’t know her well, because she was a very private person, only ever saw the tip of the iceberg,” McCartney said. “She was the kindest woman I have ever met; the most innocent . . . the toughest woman who didn’t give a damn what other people thought. . . . I am privileged to have been her lover for 30 years.” McCartney also said that “the tribute she would have liked best would be for people to go vegetarian. . . . She got into the food business for one reason only, to save animals from the cruel treatment our society and traditions force upon them.” McCartney added that “in the end, she went quickly with very little discomfort, and surrounded by her loved ones.” His final words to her, he said, were: “You’re up on your beautiful Appaloosa stallion. It’s a fine spring day. We’re riding through the woods. The bluebells are all out, and the sky is clear blue.” Meanwhile, a new album of the couple’s songs is in the works, although details are not yet available. They are said to have recorded six songs together shortly before Linda’s death.

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Fund-Raising Woes: Singer Michael Bolton has hired law and accounting firms to study why, according to Connecticut records, only 15% of the nearly $2.6 million raised in 1995 by the charity formed in his name went to needy women and children for which it was intended. The Michael Bolton Foundation’s executive director said most of the money--$1.6 million--went toward fund-raising, while another large chunk paid for a star-studded charity event. The singer, who grew up in New Haven, Conn., was in London and unavailable for comment, but in a statement he said he “will take any corrective action that may be necessary.” Bolton’s foundation was given an extension for its 1996 fund-raising report and has not yet filed its 1997 report.

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H.O.R.D.E., Verve Tour News: The group Blues Traveler returns after a one-year absence to headline the seventh annual H.O.R.D.E. Festival, which kicks off July 9 in Somerset, Wis., and reaches Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Aug. 27. The Smashing Pumpkins will join the tour for the opener and four other dates in the Midwest. In addition to Blues Traveler, the lineup for the Irvine show will include Ben Harper, Barenaked Ladies, Alana Davis and Fastball. Ticket information has not yet been announced. . . . The Verve announced that its first North American arena tour will start July 28 in Chicago and include an Aug. 14 show at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. Ticket information is pending.

MOVIES

British Oscars: “The Full Monty” won best film honors at Monday night’s 50th annual British Academy Awards, with two of the film’s Sheffield strippers, Robert Carlyle and Tom Wilkinson, named best actor and best supporting actor, respectively. Judi Dench was named best actress for “Mrs. Brown,” and Sigourney Weaver won best supporting actress for “The Ice Storm.” Baz Luhrmann won best director and screenwriter (with co-writer Craig Pearce) for “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.” The American Oscar champ, “Titanic,” went home empty-handed.

RADIO

Tyll on Evenings: Talk host Ed Tyll, who had a brief two-month afternoon-drive gig on KABC-AM (790), is now on KLSX-FM (97.1) from 7 to 10 p.m. He replaces Tim Conway Jr. and Doug Steckler, who left the station after contract negotiations broke down earlier this month. Tyll began filling in for the duo April 8 and was subsequently made full time. Meanwhile KLSX is scheduling a seventh day of talk--on Sundays--to begin May 3. However, the station said it will retain Beatles music and the “Breakfast With the Beatles” show on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

QUICK TAKES

“Broken Vessels,” directed by Scott Ziehl and produced by Roxana Zal, won the audience prize for best feature film at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Monday night. Other winners included Rory Kelly, best director for “Some Girls”; Rocky Collins, best writer for “Pants on Fire”; and “Mad Boy, I’ll Blow Your Blues Away,” directed by Adam Collis, for best short. . . . “Everybody Loves Raymond” star Ray Romano will write a book of his observations about family life for Bantam Books. A fall publication date is scheduled. . . . Best-selling author Jackie Collins will join the daily television fray in June with “Jackie Collins’ Hollywood,” described as an “entertainment and celebrity lifestyle magazine program” celebrating “all that is glamorous, exclusive and au courant about Hollywood.” The half-hour show, distributed by CBS’ Eyemark Entertainment, will air locally on KCBS-TV Channel 2. . . . In what is being billed as its “final broadcast on network television,” CBS will air the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” on May 8 at 8:30 p.m. The Turner network group has acquired rights for subsequent broadcasts on its cable stations. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is planning a future theatrical re-release of the film.

Quotable: “I feel like I’m 25. I feel like I want to play until I’m 125.”--Jazz great Lionel Hampton, who turned 90 on Sunday.