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

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THE ARTS

Another Warhol Record: Andy Warhol’s 1964 silk-screen “Orange Marilyn” sold for a dizzying $17.3 million at Sotheby’s in New York Thursday night, more than quadrupling the previous Warhol record of $4.1 million. Earlier this week, rival auctioneer Christie’s set a record for a Warhol self-portrait, at $2.42 million. Also setting a record Thursday was a Lucian Freud painting that fetched $5.8 million. The evening’s total sales amassed $35.7 million, Sotheby’s strongest contemporary art sale since 1990.

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Cliburn OK After Collapse: Pianist Van Cliburn was discharged from a hospital early Friday after collapsing on stage Thursday before a packed house in his hometown of Fort Worth. Doctors at All Saints Episcopal Hospital said that Cliburn, 63, suffered a fainting spell, and that the smoky haze hanging over much of Texas Thursday--caused by wildfires in Mexico--may have been a factor. A hospital administrator said Cliburn was sitting up in bed, joking with friends and asking for food shortly after he arrived. Horrified concert-goers at Fort Worth’s new Bass Performance Hall saw the beloved pianist collapse and fall to the floor about 9 p.m. after starting the third movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. In 1994, Cliburn cut short a concert at the Hollywood Bowl after suffering a dizzy spell.

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Jay Is for Jurassic: May 31 is the date and West Hollywood’s Tiffany Theater the place for sleight-of-hand artist Ricky Jay’s benefit performance for Culver City’s haven of pseudo-science, the Museum of Jurassic Technology. The event is Jay’s way of helping museum director David Wilson raise money to buy the complex that houses the museum. Single tickets are $375, pairs $675--each option including a one-year subscription to Jay’s own Journal of Anomalies. The benefit is expected to raise about $50,000. Added to recent grants--including $250,000 from the Lannan Foundation and $125,000 from the Ahmanson Foundation--the museum would be nearly halfway to the $1 million needed to buy the complex. Complex owners are giving the museum until May 1999 to raise the rest. Ticket information: (310) 836-6131.

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ENTERTAINMENT

More Ado About ‘Seinfeld’: The Media Action Network for Asian Americans has blasted “Seinfeld” for so-called ethnic slurs. The advocacy group on Friday demanded a public apology from NBC for the April 9 episode in which heroin was referred to as the “Chinaman’s nightcap.” MANAA also called for the reference to be edited out of future broadcasts. NBC officials declined comment. . . . Meanwhile, the Hispanic Assn. on Corporate Responsibility, which had protested “Seinfeld’s” penultimate episode, “Puerto Rican Day,” because of what it called negative stereotyping of Puerto Ricans, said Friday that it is considering filing for a legal injunction against the episode’s future airing in syndication. The group said it will also urge federal broadcasting regulators to stop future airings of the episode. Castle Rock, the producer of “Seinfeld,” said Friday that “no decision has been made” as to whether the episode will be offered for future airings.

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Michael Jackson’s New Cause: Pop star Michael Jackson held a Los Angeles press conference Friday to announce his plans to organize and headline a series of concerts to benefit his new charity, the World Peace Foundation for Children. The first event is scheduled for Oct. 11, in Seoul, and Jackson said Luciano Pavarotti and Elizabeth Taylor will be among the performers taking part. The charity expects to host similar concerts every two to three years in various countries around the world.

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No Animals Allowed: An upcoming episode of the controversial “Jerry Springer” show that deals with bestiality will not be shown on KCAL-TV Channel 9, which broadcasts the talk show. Stations that air the syndicated “Springer” were sent an alternate episode for the May 22 show in case of objections over the subject matter. “Springer” has continually drawn fire for its violence, which producers have said will be toned down in future installments.

QUICK TAKES

Bob Hope, who turns 95 on May 29, is donating his collection of more than 50 years worth of jokes, personal papers and radio, television and movie material to the Library of Congress. The Hope family is also donating several million dollars to fund a permanent home for the collection, the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment, to be located in the library’s Jefferson Building. . . . Ruling that the song was a parody, an L.A. judge has dismissed Mattel Inc.’s copyright infringement suit against MCA Records over “Barbie Girl,” by the Danish group Aqua. MCA said Friday that a home video featuring “Barbie Girl”--in which the doll is described as a “blond bimbo”--is slated for a June release. . . . A London judge has upheld the denial of $3 million in insurance claims over the death of Grateful Dead band leader Jerry Garcia, ruling that the policy holders didn’t reveal the guitarist’s prior health problems. Garcia had suffered heart problems and used heroin and cocaine for years. After his death in 1995 at age 53, PolyGram Holdings and Metropolitan Entertainment filed claims with five insurers, who all refused to pay. . . . “Today” co-anchor Matt Lauer, 40, has announced his engagement to Dutch model Annette Roque, 32. No wedding date has been set. . . . Former teen star David Cassidy will be at Tower Records on Sunset at Monday at 6 p.m. to perform songs from his new album, “Old Dog, New Tricks.”

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