Morning Report - News from Aug. 3, 1999

POP MUSIC/JAZZ

La Record Loca: Ricky Martin’s self-titled album has reached an all-time high for U.S. sales by an artist of Latino heritage, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America. The English-language album by the Puerto Rican singer has shipped 5 million copies. (The former record was held by Julio Iglesias, whose 1984 album “1100 Bel Air Place” shipped 4 million.) The industry association says Martin’s success, coupled with that of Jennifer Lopez’s debut album, “On the 6,” highlights the unprecedented boom in sales of Latin music in this country. This month alone, the association reports five Latin artists reaching platinum and gold status, four of them in the Mexican regional category. Mexican ranchero singer Alejandro Fernandez and Puerto Rican merengue star Elvis Crespo both went platinum (1 million sales), and Conjunto Primavera, Los Tigres del Norte and Marco Antonio Solis/Los Bukis all reached gold (500,000 sales).

Hall of Famers: The Latin Jazz Institute will induct Tito Puente, Lalo Schifrin, Eddie Palmieri and Chucho Valdes into its Latin Jazz Hall of Fame in September. The four will be inducted while headlining at the third annual Ritmo y Sabor festival Sept. 18 and 19 at California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles. Festival proceeds provide scholarships for a Latin jazz seminar conducted by the Berklee College of Music.

ODB’s Rap Sheet Grows: Wu-Tang Clan rapper ODB--ordered last week to stand trial in Los Angeles under a new law prohibiting felons from wearing bulletproof vests--was arrested on criminal drug charges in New York over the weekend after police allegedly found several bags believed to contain marijuana and crack cocaine in his Mercedes. Police had searched the vehicle after stopping the rapper, who was driving with a suspended license, allegedly for running a red light. He already faces misdemeanor drug charges in New York from a March arrest in which police allegedly found a small amount of crack cocaine after a traffic stop.

TELEVISION

Will He or Won’t He?: Although “ER” producer John Wells told reporters last week that he’d talked to George Clooney about returning for a guest shot this season, the former series star said Saturday that he most likely will not make a return call to the NBC medical drama. Clooney, who was at an awards dinner in his native Kentucky, said he had told show producers that he would return to help with Julianna Margulies’ exit from the show, but “they didn’t really talk to me about it.” Insiders at producer Warner Bros., meanwhile, say that discussions that have transpired have not been “official.”

AWARDS

Teen Choices: “Cruel Intentions” was named the top film and Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. were named best actress and actor at the 1999 Teen Choice Awards held in Santa Monica on Sunday. Additional honorees included “Dawson’s Creek” (TV series), “Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” Sarah Michelle Gellar (TV actress), TLC (musical group) and ‘N Sync (album). The awards, presented by Seventeen magazine, air Aug. 12 at 8 p.m. on Fox.

QUICK TAKES

Thirty years after her death, singer Patsy Cline is finally getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ceremonies are today at 11:30 a.m. at 6160 Hollywood Blvd.; her husband, Charles Dick, will accept the honor on Cline’s behalf. . . . Robert De Niro filed papers in New York on Monday to divorce his wife of two years. De Niro and former flight attendant Grace Hightower were married in June 1997, and they have a 1-year-old son. . . . NBC has given the four lead actors on “Will & Grace”--Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally--matching silver Porsche Boxster sports cars to thank them for the sitcom’s first-season success. The network previously gave “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer a new Viper. . . . Houston Grand Opera music director Patrick Summers will step in for Carl St.Clair as conductor of the Pacific Symphony’s “Night in Old Vienna” program Saturday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. St.Clair, music director of the Santa Ana-based Pacific, has relinquished conducting duties for the rest of the summer after the accidental drowning last week of his 18-month-old son, Cole. A replacement for his scheduled Aug. 28 concert has not yet been announced.