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

THE ARTS

Clinton Names Arts Medalists: Dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, who was honored by President Clinton in Washington earlier this month at the Kennedy Center Honors, will be making a return visit to the nation’s capital next week as one of 12 recipients of the 2000 National Medal of Arts. Other recipients include Clinton pal Barbra Streisand, theater director Harold Prince, violinist Itzhak Perlman, jazz musician Benny Carter, and visual artists Chuck Close and Claes Oldenburg. The awards, established by Congress in 1984, recognize those who, “in the president’s judgment, are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States.” The honorees, who also include poet Maya Angelou, country singer Eddy Arnold, playwright Horton Foote, Chicago arts patron Lewis Manilow and the cultural programming division of National Public Radio, will be feted by the president and first lady Wednesday with an awards ceremony and a White House dinner.

Medalists, Part II: In a separate honor to be bestowed at the same ceremonies Wednesday, President Clinton has selected producer Quincy Jones as one of a dozen 2000 National Humanities Medalists recognized as “distinguished individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to American cultural life and thought.” Other medalists include retired PBS producer Judy Crichton (“The American Experience”), African American art curator David Driskell (LACMA’s 1976 exhibition “Two Centuries of Black American Art, 1750-1950”), and authors Ernest J. Gaines (“A Lesson Before Dying”), Robert N. Bellah (“Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life”) and Toni Morrison (“Beloved”).

POP/ROCK

No Moping Allowed: After giving his concession speech Wednesday night, Al Gore went ahead with a previously planned party for his supporters at his Washington home. The event quickly turned into an impromptu all-star jam, with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers joining the party’s house band for an hourlong set that included Gore’s personal request, “American Girl,” and the ironically titled tune “I Won’t Back Down.” Tipper Gore joined in on the drums, Blues Traveler’s John Popper played the harmonica and Stevie Wonder and Jon Bon Jovi both took turns at the mike. The musicians were all in Washington for Thursday’s taping of TNT’s “A Very Special Christmas From Washington” concert special airing Tuesday.

TV & RADIO

Upping the Ante: ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which has lost a bit of its ratings luster in recent weeks, is sweetening its prize pot. With the Jan. 4 edition, the bounty will jump to $1.71 million, with an extra $10,000 to be added to the pool with each show in which contestants do not correctly answer the 15th question. The initial $710,000 addition marks $10,000 for each of 71 telecasts held since July 11--the date of the last $1-million winner.

Stern und Drang: Is today Howard Stern’s last day on the air? For weeks, regular listeners of the radio personality’s morning show, aired locally on KLSX-FM (97.1), have heard Stern make discussions of his ongoing negotiations with Viacom Inc.’s Infinity Broadcasting Corp. part of his morning carnival of strippers, celebrities and various other human oddities. Stern and his crew are set to go on vacation after today, but many see a new deal as inevitable, given that Stern’s hard-core fan base is anchored in radio. The shock jock has indicated in recent days that talks for a new contract are progressing (he has also made plans to broadcast a week of shows in Los Angeles in January). Stern’s agent, Don Buchwald, did not return phone calls Thursday.

Tube Notes: Ellen DeGeneres taped a guest appearance on NBC’s “Will & Grace” this week to air during February sweeps. Her character? A “savvy nun” who looks to turn a profit at Grace’s (Debra Messing) expense. . . . HBO is expected to premiere a new original series, “The Mind of the Married Man,” sometime next year. The comedy, set at a big-city daily newspaper, is created by and co-stars Mike Binder, a filmmaker and former stand-up comic. . . . NBC will bring back its summer series, “Mysterious Ways,” starring Adrian Pasdar and Rae Dawn Chong, on Jan. 1, airing in the Monday 8-9 p.m. time slot. . . . Actress Amy Carlson, who began a recurring role as a firefighter on NBC’s “Third Watch” earlier this season, has been made a regular cast member of the show.

QUICK TAKES

After only a little more than a year in operation, Los Angeles’ Staples Center has been nominated for Arena of the Year by the concert trade magazine Pollstar, vying with such venerable sites as New York’s Madison Square Garden. . . . Capitalizing on its popularity with teenage girls, ‘N Sync is releasing a line of lip balms, with each group member represented by a different fruity flavor. The products, from Famous Fixins Inc., are expected to be in stores nationwide by February. . . . In another example of the resurgence of Beatlemania, fans stood in line in London for up to a full day and traveled from as far away as Poland for Paul McCartney’s first-ever book signing Wednesday. . . . Speaking of McCartney, Madonna’s official fan club Web site is reporting that the Material Girl will wear a gown designed by the former Beatle’s daughter, Stella McCartney, when she weds film director Guy Ritchie in Scotland next weekend. . . . The producers of the Broadway version of “The Full Monty” are planning a touring version that will open in Toronto on May 22, with subsequent Los Angeles performances, though no date or theater has been announced. . . . Reprise Records President Howie Klein and filmmaker Gary Ross (“Pleasantville”) received Bill of Rights Awards from the ACLU on Thursday for their efforts to “preserve civil liberties and civil rights.”