Morning Report - News from Oct. 26, 1999

TELEVISION

More Viewing Casualties: Two more freshman series got the ax Monday as Fox executives canceled the low-rated Friday night dramas “Ryan Caulfield: Year One” and “Harsh Realm,” from “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter. Fox declined comment, but sources said the network will put movies into that 8-10 p.m. block, beginning Nov. 5 with “The Nutty Professor,” followed through the month by “Seven,” “Happy Gilmore” and the already announced “Jumanji” on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

‘Opening the Door’: As part of a major national campaign to help prevent the effects of intolerance among adolescents, Court TV airs “Opening the Door to Diversity: Voices From the Middle School” today. The hourlong, commercial-free presentation, co-hosted by NBC’s Al Roker and Court TV anchor Catherine Crier, features 27 Littleton, Colo., and Denver-area middle students and video links with other middle schoolers in Hayward, Calif; Cheyenne, Wyo.; and Chicago. President Clinton will respond to questions from the participating students. An initiative against intolerance was begun by Clinton shortly after the massacre at Columbine High School on April 20. The live session will air here at 9 a.m. and then will be rebroadcast at 4 and 8 p.m. to encourage family viewing. The event is part of a broadcast-diversity schedule on Court TV that includes an episode of NBC’s “Homicide” at 5 and 9 p.m. and a movie, “Passing Glory,” produced by Quincy Jones and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, starring Andre Braugher, from 6 to 8 p.m.

PEOPLE

Regarding Henry’s Family: AFI Associates--a major support group of the American Film Institute--presents the third annual Platinum Circle Award today to the family of Henry Fonda: his children Jane and Peter, and grandchildren Bridget, Justin and Troy. The award is given, the associates said, “to an entire family whose creative contributions have enhanced the entertainment community.” Honorary co-chairs at the awards ceremonies at a luncheon in Beverly Hills are Fonda’s widow, Shirlee, and Ted Turner, Jane Fonda’s husband. “We are pleased to honor a family with such a long and distinguished history in entertainment,” said Barbara Tannenbaum, president of AFI Associates, noting that the proceeds will go toward “training future filmmakers and film preservation.” Last year’s award went to Debbie Reynolds’ family, and the year before that to the family of Walter Matthau.

POP/ROCK

Turmoil With ‘Tweenies’: A controversy has been kicked up by two new singing groups in England whose members are girls under the age of 12. Some worry that the pop posturing of the new groups, BreZe and Best Frenz, may have adverse effects on young fans. “I think we are going to see 9- and 10-year-old girls pressured to play more mature roles than they are emotionally ready for,” child psychologist Richard Woolfson told BBC Radio. “The clothes and attitudes that are being represented are those of adulthood.” Youth pop is all the rage both in the U.S. and beyond, with singing teens Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera enjoying some of this year’s best album sales. But some also fear that this new wave of prepubescent U.K. groups--or “Tweenies”--may be bad for the performers themselves. The travails of the music industry are hard for children to handle, pop producer Pete Waterman told Reuters. “This is the most difficult job in the world. Nothing can prepare them for the downside of this business. You cannot teach a child about the feeling of a record only reaching 31 in the charts.”

Rocky Future: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum may be heading toward a rocky financial record. Board Chairman Lee Howley said in a letter to trustees this month that the hall “may not be able to be self-sustaining over the long term” without more money, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. “We have special events, we ask [participants] for money and, generally, they’ve been pretty generous,” he said. “But we haven’t built a commitment to this organization in terms of endowment, which takes time.” The hall is expected to bring in $16.2 million this year, about one-third from admissions. Attendance has declined every year since the hall opened in 1995.

QUICK TAKES

Country singer Johnny Cash, 67, hospitalized in Nashville last week with pneumonia, is slowly improving. Baptist Hospital spokeswoman Melissa Ausbrook said Cash was upgraded from serious to stable condition on Sunday. . . . Glenda Jackson, 63--who won Oscars as best actress for “Women in Love” (1971) and “A Touch of Class” (1974)--now a member of Parliament, had emergency surgery this weekend to remove her appendix. Her son, Dan Hodges, said that “she’s feeling fine” and is expected to remain in the hospital for several days.