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

TV & RADIO

Threats Squelched: Controversial radio talk-show host Howard Stern told his listeners Tuesday that he and his wife had received death threats from a man who was once convicted of threatening Ronald Reagan with a toy gun. Michael Lance Carvin, 43, was indicted in New York earlier this month on charges of sending threatening postcards, letters and packages to an unnamed target; Stern said on his nationally syndicated show that he was the target. According to court papers, Carvin, now undergoing court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, “guaranteed” that he would kill his target and slit the throat of the man’s wife. Carvin was paroled in 1982 after spending six years in prison for threatening presidents Reagan and Ford.

POP/ROCK

Pumpkins’ Party Plans Smashed: Citing crowd concerns, city officials in Chicago have nixed plans for a free summer concert by hometown group Smashing Pumpkins. Officials said the show, which had been planned for July 7 at Grant Park, would likely attract 100,000 people--twice as many as the lakefront park could hold safely. “It’s one of the biggest heartbreaks I’ve ever had in my life,” singer Billy Corgan said. Soldier Field, a larger venue, was unavailable for July 7, Corgan said, and the band was set on having the concert then because it marks the group’s 10th anniversary.

STAGE

Will Ovitz Be Really Useful?: Entertainment honcho Michael Ovitz is considering buying 30% of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group, the London Times reports. The stake is owned by PolyGram, the music and film group just purchased by Seagram; Lloyd Webber controls the rest of the company. Ovitz--former president of the Walt Disney company--recently entered the commercial theater business by gaining control over Montreal-based Livent (“Ragtime”), and many observers have said he’s trying to match the theatrical acquisitions of his former employer, which staged the Broadway hit “The Lion King.” Meanwhile, London’s Daily Telegraph has said that Lloyd Webber is also attempting to buy PolyGram’s 30% stake, and has made it clear that he does not intend to share control of the company.

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‘Gin’ Replaces ‘Ballyhoo’: “The Gin Game,” with Julie Harris and Charles Durning, has been scheduled for the Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills on Dec. 1-13. The National Actors Theatre production played in Palm Desert earlier this year. The Beverly Hills run will replace a previously announced Sept. 8-19 engagement of “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” on the Broadway/L.A. play series. The “Ballyhoo” tour has been canceled, but producer Jane Harmon said negotiations are underway to mount an independent commercial production of “Ballyhoo” in L.A. in the fall.

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Making Amends?: Singer Michael Crawford, who sued Las Vegas’ MGM Grand in January claiming he was unfairly fired from the $40-million “EFX” after being injured doing the show’s stunts, returned to the hotel over the weekend as part of a world concert tour. The former “Phantom of the Opera” star didn’t let the irony go unnoticed, telling the audience that it was particularly great to return to the hotel on Memorial Day weekend, “when we honor those fallen in the line of duty.” MGM officials have declined comment on Crawford’s lawsuit.

MOVIES

Sketchy Beginnings: “Titanic” director James Cameron, who sketched the pivotal drawings featured in the movie, is coming under fire for reportedly copying some of the drawings from existing works of art. According to New York magazine, three of the drawings in Jack Dawson’s sketchbook so closely resemble famous photographs that questions of copyright infringement--and possible lawsuits--have surfaced. The photographs named in the report are Sally Mann’s “Rodney Plogger at 6:01,” Alfred Stieglitz’s “Georgia O’Keeffe, Hands, 1920,” and Brassai’s “ ‘Bijou’ of Montmartre.” The magazine said that none of the artists or their estates granted permission for their work to be used in “Titanic,” and that Brassai’s widow is contemplating legal action, while the Georgia O’Keefe Foundation, which handles the rights to Stieglitz’s work, is also consulting with attorneys. Meanwhile, Mann, the magazine said, reached an out-of-court settlement with Cameron prior to filing a lawsuit. Paramount, which released the movie, told the magazine: “There were some sketches in the film which were inspired by other works. All necessary arrangements were made to everyone’s satisfaction. But the artists did not really want publicity on this, so they’ve asked for their names not to be disclosed.”

QUICK TAKES

Max Baer Jr., who played the dimwitted Jethro on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” is planning a new $100-million resort in Reno called Jethro’s Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino. Baer plans to begin construction by next summer; attractions would include Granny’s Shotgun Wedding Chapel and Drysdale’s Fancy Eatin’ for the Richins. Baer, 60, has not discussed how he will finance the project. . . . Rock guitarist Robbie Robertson took home the lifetime achievement award at the first Native American Music Awards, held Sunday night in Ledyard, Conn. Robertson, a Mohawk descendant, was honored for helping open the door for American Indian musicians. Among other honorees, the late Jimi Hendrix, who had Cherokee ancestry, became the first inductee in the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame.