ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.
ENTERTAINMENT
Branching Out: Actors Steve Buscemi and Kelsey Grammer were both nominated by the Directors Guild of America on Tuesday for their behind-the-camera television work. Buscemi was singled out for his directing efforts on an episode of NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street,” competing with fellow dramatic series directing nominees Paris Barclay (“NYPD Blue”), Chris Carter (“The X-Files”), Adam Davidson (“Law and Order”) and Mark Tinker (“NYPD Blue”). Grammer’s directing turn on “Frasier,” meanwhile, was nominated in the TV comedy category, along with James Burrows (“Will & Grace”), Pamela Fryman (“Just Shoot Me”), Todd Holland (“The Larry Sanders Show”) and Thomas Schlamme (“Sports Night”). Other DGA nominees include Allan Arkush (“The Temptations”), Steve Barron (“Merlin”), Rob Cohen (“The Rat Pack”), Michael Cristofer (“Gia”) and John Turteltaub (“From the Earth to the Moon”) for outstanding directorial achievement in TV movies. Winners will be announced March 6.
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A Welcoming Face: Cuban-born producer Emilio Estefan, the husband and musical partner of Gloria Estefan, became the unplanned welcoming committee for a group of Cuban refugees on Monday. Estefan was apparently jogging in Miami’s South Beach when he saw the 11 refugees come ashore in a crude, handmade boat. “I saw them come in, and I saw them crying when they touched down,” Estefan said. “They were so cold; I brought them a little Cuban coffee just to welcome them to the land of freedom.” The men, who were taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol, said they left Cuba within the last week aboard a small wooden diesel-powered vessel.
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Intocables Mourned: A memorial service was held in Monterrey, Mexico, on Monday for two members of the tejano music group Intocables and the band’s road manager, who were killed in an automobile crash between the city and the U.S. border Sunday. Members of the band, which had four platinum albums that popularized its norten~o style, were riding in a van when it blew a tire, skidded and flipped. Killed instantly were percussionist Jose Angel “Pepe” Farias, 23, and singer-bassist Silvestre Rodriguez Jr., 28. Road manager Jose Angel Gonzalez died en route to the hospital, and four other band members were hospitalized.
ART
MOMA Merger: Manhattan’s venerable Museum of Modern Art has entered into a surprise merger agreement with the P.S.1 Center for Contemporary Art, which has occupied a former public school building in Long Island City, Queens, since 1970. Details of the relationship remain to be worked out, although P.S.1 founding director Alanna Heiss will become a deputy director of MOMA and report to its director, Glenn Lowry. MOMA is also acquiring a warehouse near P.S.1 for storage and office space, in anticipation of a major expansion project at its West 53rd Street location. The organizations, separated by just two subway stops, will maintain artistic autonomy.
QUICK TAKES
CBS will give the new action series “Sons of Thunder” a six-week tryout in “Walker, Texas Ranger’s” 10 p.m. Saturday slot starting March 6, with the Chuck Norris series to return in late April. In addition, “Payne,” a sitcom starring John Larroquette, premieres March 15, joining the network’s Wednesday lineup two days later in place of the Faith Ford comedy “Maggie Winters,” which goes on hiatus. . . . Billy Joel will do a rare small-venue show at the Joint in Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel on April 3. Tickets ($50) go on sale this weekend. . . . NBC picked up a leading six TV Guide Awards Monday night, including favorite comedy series (“Frasier”), drama (“ER”), late-night show (“Tonight Show With Jay Leno”) and news program (“Dateline NBC”). The magazine’s readers also voted CBS’ “Martial Law” favorite new series. . . . The UCLA Center for the Performing Arts has rescheduled its Royce Hall Organ series for next season due to complications with reinstalling the organ pipes after a seismic upgrade done as a result of the Northridge earthquake. The series was to have begun Tuesday.