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

PEOPLE

Wilder Battling Cancer: Comic actor Gene Wilder, 64, devastated by the death of wife Gilda Radner from cancer in 1989, is battling the disease himself. The frizzy-haired star of the 1970s comedies “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein” is being treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan to prevent a recurrence of lymphoma, the hospital said Friday. Wilder was diagnosed with the disease last year. The hospital said in a statement that Wilder was “successfully treated and is in remission.” No further details were provided, and calls to Wilder’s Los Angeles-based representatives were not immediately returned. Radner, Wilder’s third wife and one of the original “Saturday Night Live” stars, died of ovarian cancer. Wilder has since remarried. In 1993, he opened Gilda’s Club--a support center in New York City for cancer patients and their families--in her memory.

POP/ROCK

Selena Forever: A musical, “Selena Forever,” will open in San Antonio on March 21 as the latest tribute to the slain Tejano singer. It will feature 35 singers, actors, dancers and musicians, and nearly 30 songs--10 of them numbers that Selena performed. The other songs are a mix of Latin pop and Tejano. One of the first five shows will be in Selena’s hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. “We’re tapping into a different public here,” Fernando Rivas, who composed the score, told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. “It’s a Latino mind-set, but I’m hoping the Anglo world will find this good. I’m hoping it will cross over.” Rebecca Valadez, 21, and Veronica Vasquez, 24, of San Antonio will share the lead role. And there’s a Los Angeles connection: Denise Stefanie Gonzalez, 11, of Los Angeles will play Selena as a child. Selena Quintanilla Perez was 23 when she was gunned down in a Corpus Christi motel room on March 31, 1995. Yolanda Saldivar, who had been president of Selena’s fan club, is serving a life sentence for the murder.

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Elton John Tribute: Phil Collins, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and Gloria Estefan are among those scheduled to participate in a Feb. 21 tribute to Elton John taking place on the 20th Century Fox lot. John is being feted as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ MusiCares Person of the Year, in recognition of both his musical and philanthropic achievements. Additional scheduled participants for the pre-Grammy Awards tribute include Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Melissa Etheridge, Mary J. Blige, Diana Krall, Moby and Lulu. John will also receive the Grammy Legend Award during the 42nd annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 23.

TELEVISION

‘Homicide’ Revisited: Court TV will air a marathon of episodes drawn from the final season of NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday. And the series’ final two episodes--”Identity Crisis” and “Forgive Us Our Trespasses”--will be replayed Feb. 13 from 3 to 5 p.m. as a lead-in to the “Homicide” reunion movie airing on NBC that evening at 9.

RADIO

Jazz Notes: At midnight tonight, KLON-FM (88.1), the Long Beach-based public radio station with a 24-hour jazz format, begins airing “Worldwide Jazz,” a syndicated program now in its 16th season. The weekly one-hour broadcast will bring jazz audiences to Nick Vollebregt’s Jazzcafe in Laren, the Netherlands, and to other overseas jazz clubs. Jazz artists such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Davide “Fathead” Newman and Monty Alexander regularly showcase their work at these clubs along with the Frits Bayens Big Band. . . . Beginning Sunday at 7 p.m., KLON debuts the three-hour “John Clayton Jazz: Inside America’s Music,” a weekly program exploring jazz classics, jazz rarities and new releases with music commentary and guests. . . . And KLON veteran James Janisse, who had been on overnight, now airs weekdays 6 to 10 a.m. Chuck Niles loses an hour and is now on 3 to 6 p.m., while Alfredo Cruz, who did morning drive, moves to 6 to 9 p.m.

QUICK TAKES

Tonight’s “America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back” on Fox focuses on what kids can do to survive if there’s a shooting at their school. Most of the program--which includes an interview with Springfield, Ore., school shooting survivor Tony Case--was filmed at Los Angeles’ Manual Arts High School. . . . KFI-AM (640) talk-show host Laura Schlessinger will receive the Chairman’s Award at the 57th National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Anaheim on Saturday. NRB Chairman David Clark called Schlessinger “a breath of fresh air [who] speaks to human issues from a surprisingly traditional perspective.” . . . President Clinton will appear on CNN’s “Moneyline,” co-anchored by Willow Bay and Stuart Varney, Monday at 3:30 p.m. and rebroadcast at 8:30 p.m., to discuss his budget proposal for fiscal year 2001, which will have been submitted to Congress earlier that day. . . . Staples Center was named best new major concert venue of the year at the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards ceremony Thursday night in Las Vegas.