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

TV & MOVIES

Her Final Answer?: Kathie Lee Gifford announced Tuesday that she is calling it quits after 11 years as Regis Philbin’s on-air partner. “It’s time,” Gifford told Philbin on “Live With Regis & Kathie Lee,” adding that she wanted to spend more time with her family. He asked if she was kidding, and she said no. “I have loved my years with you. You’ve been the greatest professional partner a person could ever, ever have,” Gifford told Philbin on the show. Indicating that the program would go on after Gifford leaves in July (when her contract expires), Philbin replied: “It’s been a lot of fun. We’ll miss you tremendously. It’s going to be a very tough pair of shoes to fill.” Gifford has recently branched out beyond her talk show, performing weekly in the Broadway musical revue “Putting It Together” and appearing last week as a guest host for CBS’ David Letterman. Philbin, of course, has had a tremendous popularity surge in the last year, thanks to his job as host of ABC’s juggernaut “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Philbin’s contract with “Live”--which is a solid fourth in the syndicated talk-show market behind Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Springer and Rosie O’Donnell--runs through August 2001.

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Two Reasons to ‘Cry’: Two lawsuits have been filed against the makers of “Boys Don’t Cry,” the Oscar-nominated film chronicling the 1993 Nebraska slaying of Teena Brandon, a woman who lived as a man named Brandon Teena and was killed after two acquaintances learned her true gender. The film earned Academy Award nominations for both lead actress Hilary Swank, who played Brandon, and for supporting actress Chloe Sevigny, who portrayed Lana Tisdel, Brandon’s girlfriend. The real Tisdel has sued Fox Searchlight Pictures for slander, asking for unspecified damages for her claims that the movie makes references to her as “lazy, white trash and a skanky snake” and falsely implies that she was willing to engage in sexual favors in exchange for alcohol. The second lawsuit accuses Fox Searchlight of abandoning plans to finance another movie on Brandon’s murder after learning that “Boys Don’t Cry” was already in the works. Author Aphrodite Jones alleges that she had a deal with Fox to turn her book about the murders into a film starring Drew Barrymore. Studio officials could not immediately be reached for comment. John Lotter, convicted of killing Brandon and two witnesses, is scheduled to die in Nebraska’s electric chair on April 26, exactly one month after the Oscar ceremony. Accomplice Marvin Nissen, who testified against Lotter, was sentenced to life in prison.

POP/ROCK

Celine Sues Over Pregnancy Report: Celine Dion has filed a $20-million lawsuit against the National Enquirer over a Feb. 1 story that she says falsely claimed the singer was pregnant with twins. Dion’s suit, filed Monday in L.A. Superior Court, alleges invasion of privacy, unfair business practices and intentional infliction of emotional distress. “Since the story came out, everyone has been congratulating me, and I have to keep telling them that it’s not true,” Dion said in a statement. “I only wish it was true, and I hope and pray that some day it will be.” Dion, who has declared her desire to have children but has been unable to conceive, recently “retired” to spend more time with her manager-husband, Rene Angelil. The National Enquirer did not immediately return phone calls.

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Hail to King Carlos: Grammy king Carlos Santana is to be honored with a town square in his Mexican birthplace of Autlan de Navarro, about 90 miles southeast of Guadalajara. Officials in Autlan (population 80,000) are also planning to rename a boulevard in Santana’s honor. Plans call for Carlos Santana Plaza to feature a statue of Santana and other local musicians, including the guitar legend’s father, Jose, who played violin in an Autlan mariachi band. As a young man, Santana--who won a record-tying eight Grammy Awards last week--emigrated to the United States, where he launched his 30-year rock ‘n’ roll career.

QUICK TAKES

Top-selling salsa singer India says she has signed a recording contract with Sony Music and will leave her current label, RMM Records, after releasing a final album for the company in June. India, 27, came to salsa after a successful dance music career in English; the Sony contract will allow her to record in both English and Spanish in a variety of genres. India’s departure from RMM follows the defection of several other stars--including Marc Anthony, Celia Cruz and Jose Alberto--from the independent tropical label. . . . “American Beauty” may have captured most of the early accolades, but at least two Las Vegas oddsmakers are now calling this month’s best picture Oscar race a dead heat between that dark picture and the more uplifting “The Cider House Rules.” Meanwhile, Oscar ballots will be mailed out today to thousands of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences voters. . . . NBC’s “ER” receives the Alzheimer’s Assn.’s Entertainment Award tonight for a five-episode story arc featuring Alan Alda as a doctor facing Alzheimer’s disease. . . . “October Sky,” a fact-based film about a boy whose love for building rockets leads to a career as a NASA engineer, on Thursday receives the American Cinema Foundation’s E Pluribus Unum Award for “excellence in addressing and promoting positive social values.” TV winners include CBS’ “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “JAG.” . . . Also on Thursday, prolific producer Aaron Spelling garners the David Susskind Lifetime Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America.