ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

POP/ROCK

History Revisited: Forty years after the Beatles legend was born there, Paul McCartney plans to play at Liverpool’s Cavern Club again. “I cannot think of a better way to rock out the end of the century than with a rock ‘n’ roll party at the place where it all began,” McCartney said of his Dec. 14 gig. Just 150 to 200 fans will fit into the cramped British club, which was rebuilt on the same Liverpool site in the ‘80s after the original venue was bulldozed in 1973. McCartney first played the Cavern on Jan. 24, 1958, with his first band, the Quarrymen, which also featured John Lennon and George Harrison. The Beatles’ final performance there was in 1963. McCartney’s return visit--with the five-piece band that he used on his recently released album, “Run Devil Run”--will mark his 281st Cavern Club appearance.

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Eye Wonders?: A top U.S. eye institute said Friday that Stevie Wonder has met with one of its specialists about an experimental operation that may restore vision to some blind people. However, the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins University said that the operation--called intraocular retinal prosthesis--was unlikely to help Wonder, 49, who has been blind since birth. “To date, Mr. Wonder has not been scheduled to be seen at Wilmer. The IRP is still in development and it is not known when it will be available for routine use in patients,” the institute said in a statement, noting that it had nonetheless offered to evaluate the singer to see if the procedure could help. The IRP process connects a microchip stimulated by light and images to the retina and may help some blind people regain sight, researchers said. Wonder reportedly divulged plans to undergo the surgery during a recent Detroit memorial for the sister of Motown Records’ Berry Gordy; however, his L.A. publicist on Friday said she was unaware of any operation. Wonder, meanwhile, was not available for comment.

MOVIES

Once a New Yorker . . .: The quintessential New Yorker, Woody Allen, will again take up his pen to write for New Yorker magazine, editor David Remnick said. “I’ve grown up on Woody’s movies and his prose,” Remnick said following a New York screening this week of Allen’s new film, “Sweet & Lowdown,” which opens Wednesday. “He’s an important writer for the New Yorker, in the same way Robert Benchley and S.J. Perelman were important.” Remnick said Allen’s writing will begin appearing periodically next year. Allen wrote his first piece for the New Yorker in 1966, but has not written for the magazine since 1980.

TELEVISION

Letterman Closing Late-Night Gap: Although still lagging a fair distance in the ratings, CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” closed some of the gap during the November sweeps, pulling into its closest competition with NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” since May 1996 (excluding during the 1998 Winter Olympics). Letterman’s numbers were up 16% in total viewers from last year, with an average of 4.1 million tuning in, whereas Leno was down 1%, with an average of 5.9 million viewers. However, Leno may already be on an upswing, as his numbers last week were his best of the season, with an average of 6.3 million viewers. Letterman’s increase can be attributed in part to an improved performance by CBS’ prime-time shows.

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And in the Kids’ Race: Nickelodeon and the WB finished in a dead heat for first place during sweeps in the Saturday morning race, each averaging about 1.7 million kids between the ages of 2 and 11. The WB powered past other broadcast networks thanks to the popularity of “Pokemon,” while ABC eked out third place with an average of 1.2 million children viewers, to Fox’s 1.1 million. Fox still holds a slight edge over ABC for the season as a whole.

QUICK TAKES

Controversial recording academy President Michael Greene will take calls from listeners tonight from 7 to 8 during a live appearance on KLSX-FM’s (97.1) “C-Notes,” hosted by David Adelson and Roy Trakin. . . . In a new twist on KCET-TV’s familiar pledge drives, pianist Roger Williams will be the first to perform live at the station’s new Familian Plaza when he takes requests from viewers Sunday during pledge breaks from his 6 to 8 p.m. special, “Pop Goes the Ivories.” The cost for requests? A $250 pledge per tune. . . . The Three Tenors are set to perform with the Cleveland Opera Orchestra June 25 at the new Cleveland Browns Stadium. It’ll be the first concert scheduled at the football stadium, with more than 50,000 tickets expected to go on sale. Prices will start at $25. . . . Film producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“Armageddon,” “The Rock”) will be inducted into the Video Business Video Hall of Fame during ceremonies Monday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The 19-year-old Video Hall of Fame honors film industry leaders whose influence has greatly impacted the video industry. . . . Cirque Du Soleil has extended its production “Dralion” at the Irvine Spectrum Center for an additional week, through Jan. 23. . . . Yet another hiring decision by Deborah Borda, the incoming managing director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic: Joan Cumming, executive director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and former marketing director of Los Angeles Opera, will become marketing director of the Philharmonic in January. . . . CBS holds an open casting call today from 2 to 5 p.m. for a 9- to 12-year-old Latino boy for “The Beat,” a multi-ethnic inner-city cop drama being considered for next season. The network is looking for an English-speaking young actor who is “urban, intelligent, sensitive and appealing.” Auditions will take place at CBS Television City, 7800 Beverly Blvd. . . . CBS will repeat its music special from last week, “Celine Dion: All the Way,” tonight) at 9.