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

POP/ROCK

Identity Confirmed: The Los Angeles County coroner has identified remains found in a ravine as those of former Iron Butterfly bass player Philip “Taylor” Kramer, who disappeared four years ago. The skeletal remains were positively identified using dental records, said Scott Carrier, a coroner’s spokesman. The cause of death has not yet been determined. Hikers found the remains last Saturday inside a wrecked van in the bottom of a ravine. The van matched the description of the vehicle Kramer was driving when he disappeared on Feb. 12, 1995, while driving to pick up a friend. Kramer, who joined Iron Butterfly in 1975 during an attempt to revive the group, was 42 when he disappeared.

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Honors for Ricky: Ricky Martin, the current pop sensation, and teen vocal group 98 Degrees will be honored by the American Society of Young Musicians on June 15 at its seventh annual spring benefit concert at the House of Blues in West Hollywood. The society honors musical artists whom they believe inspire the music community and bring fresh and innovative sounds. Martin is being feted for the “hot Latin/rock sound which he has popularized” and 98 Degrees for its “blue-eyed soul” style. At the event, rock ‘n roll pioneer Little Richard will be inducted into ASYM’s Hall of Fame and singer Al Jarreau will be honored for his lifelong vocal innovations in jazz music.

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Sign of the Times?: A year after featuring such acclaimed pop-rock veterans as Joni Mitchell, Pete Townshend and Lou Reed, the organizers of a Fourth of July show on the original Woodstock music festival grounds have announced this year’s headliner will be . . . teen pop queen Britney Spears. To organizer Alan Gerry, bringing in Spears shows that “far more than a chapter from America’s musical past, this venue is now part of our nation’s musical future.”

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Grapes of Wrath: Dave Matthews will be playing hurt--and probably with a new guitar--when he performs a sold-out concert tonight in Virginia City, Va. The namesake of the Dave Matthews Band suffered two broken ribs in a bizarre grape-catching accident during some late-night horseplay in Boston last week, publicist Ambrosia Healy said. “It was just a silly accident,” Healy noted. “They were throwing grapes and catching them in their mouths.” She said Matthews fell back in his chair trying to catch a grape and landed on his guitar.

TELEVISION

KCET Online and Offscreen: KCET-TV has entered into an agreement with TriOmegaNet Communications Inc. to partner as an Internet service provider under the label KCET.Net. Scheduled to begin in September, the service will be offered to anyone who wishes to support the station while gaining access to the Internet. KCET will receive royalties on all subscriptions to KCET.Net while partnering with TriOmega to promote other projects for PBS’ community. . . . KCET also announced that it has become a founder station in Electric SchoolHouse, a new online educational resource offering parents and teachers unrestricted Internet access while creating customized controls for children and students.

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From Comedy to Cartoons: John Cleese, a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, is narrator of four individual cartoon shorts within the popular “Disney’s Mickey MouseWorks” animated television series airing Saturdays at 11 a.m. on ABC. The “MouseWorks” interpretation of “Around the World in 80 Days” premieres today. Cleese also narrates “Mickey’s Mechanical House,” a Dr. Seuss-like poem reciting the mishaps of inhabiting a fully-mechanized dwelling, and all three “Mouse Tales” shorts created for the series’ first two seasons: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Nutcracker” and “80 Days.”

LEGAL FILE

Inheritance Denied: The illegitimate daughter of Hank Williams Sr. isn’t entitled to $12 million from his estate, a Montgomery, Ala., judge has ruled. Jett Williams--born five days after the country legend died in 1953--said that she was denied the inheritance because Robert Stewart, her father’s longtime attorney, and Irene Smith, her father’s sister, hid the fact that she was Williams’ daughter. Circuit Judge Gene Reese ruled this week that since another court found that Stewart and Smith were not personally liable for any damages, Jett Williams is not entitled to collect from the bonding company, which insured Williams Sr.’s estate. The country star’s son, Hank Williams Jr., once tried to block her from collecting any money from the estate. They settled for an undisclosed sum.

QUICK TAKES

The Iron Maiden concert at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre that was announced to go on sale today has been taken off the schedule. . . . Actress Linda Lavin will be the featured guest Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the Skirball Cultural Center’s “In the Spotlight” series, hosted by arts writer Barbara Isenberg. . . . Christopher Reeve has been given a four-year appointment to New York’s Spinal Cord Injury Research Board by Gov. George Pataki. The board will recommend to state officials which spinal cord research projects should get money from a special state fund. . . . Dennis Muren, the Oscar-winning expert responsible for the spectacular special effects in “Titanic” and the “Star Wars” films, has gotten Star No. 2,137 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Directors George Lucas and James Cameron were on hand to watch. Muren has won nine Academy Awards--eight for visual effects and one for technical achievement. . . . Those wanting to see the first digitally projected movie--”Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace”--can catch it at Pacific’s Winnetka 20 and AMC’s Burbank 14, starting June 18.