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

POP/ROCK

Two Bands Breaking?: The Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis, two rock bands that were flagship acts of the 1990s, may be fading fast. Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan announced Tuesday on KROQ-FM (106.7) that the band will part ways by the end of the year after wearying of “fighting the good fight against the Britneys of the world,” a reference to Britney Spears and other youth pop acts that have thrived while rock has declined in recent years. The Chicago-based band was scheduled to play Tuesday at Universal Amphitheatre and will continue on tour overseas, the singer said. Corgan told KROQ the band of 13 years made the decision to split before the March release of their newest album, “MACHINA/the machines of God.” Meanwhile, handlers for Oasis confirm that leader Noel Gallagher is temporarily walking away from that band’s world tour. The defection leaves his brother, singer Liam Gallagher, as the only original member on the tour. The Daily Mirror of London reports the walkout was prompted by disputes between the siblings. Noel, the group’s songwriter, will reportedly return for Oasis shows in their native England in the summer.

TELEVISION

Walters Update: Barbara Walters says she probably will return to anchor the Friday edition of ABC’s “20/20” in the fall but may give up some of her entertainment specials. “I just can’t continue with this sort of load,” said Walters, who is also developing another daytime show for ABC in addition to her talk show “The View.” ABC, she said on Monday, “wants to sign me to a very long contract” when her current pact expires in the fall. “They’re being very lovely and gracious,” she said. Alluding to her recent frustration that the kids’ shows ABC now airs before “20/20” hurt her ratings, she said: “Would it be more lovely and gracious if they put [‘Who Wants to Be a] Millionaire’ on Friday night? Sure.” Still, she said, she thinks the older-skewing sitcoms that will lead into her show come fall will be more compatible. And she said she’s happy ABC gave colleague Diane Sawyer the plum Thursday newsmagazine spot (which does have a “Millionaire” lead-in) after Sawyer’s Wednesday show got bumped in favor of a new hospital drama. “Diane deserves every good thing ABC can give her. She’s working very hard [co-hosting ‘Good Morning America’]. I know because I did the ‘Today’ show for 13 years.”

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Gielgud Tribute: Turner Classic Movies pays tribute to Sir John Gielgud with a mini film festival, beginning Thursday at 3 a.m. with “The Prime Minister” (1941). The other movies are “The Barretts of Wimpole Street” (1956) at 5 a.m., “Julius Caesar” (1953) at 7 a.m., “The Loved One” (1965) at 9:30 a.m. and “The Shoes of the Fisherman” (1968) at noon.

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Ads Against Dr. Laura: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation will take out full-page ads today in several newspapers urging companies not to sponsor Laura Schlessinger’s syndicated television show, which is scheduled to premiere in the fall. Some advertisers already have backed away from the program, seeking to avoid controversy stemming from comments about gays and lesbians made by Schlessinger on her radio program.

MUSIC

Trumpeting Jazz: Wynton Marsalis touted plans Tuesday for the world’s first concert halls built especially for jazz, in a 100,000-square-foot complex with a view of New York City’s Central Park. “Everything is going to be integrated: the relationship between one space and another, the relationship between the audience and the musicians will be one fluid motion because that’s how our music is,” Marsalis, who will be artistic director, said of the $103-million jazz center to be built at Columbus Circle. The new complex is scheduled to open in 2003. It will include a 1,100-seat theater and a 600-seat performance atrium with a dance floor and tables. Musicians will perform in front of a 50-foot window overlooking the park from six floors up. In addition, a 140-seat jazz cafe is planned, along with a jazz Hall of Fame, two rehearsal studios and a classroom. The complex, on the site of the New York Coliseum now being razed, also is to house the headquarters of AOL-Time Warner, stores, condominiums, a garage and a hotel.

PEOPLE

New Arrivals: CNN talk show host Larry King and his wife, Shawn Southwick King, welcomed their second son, Cannon Edward King, on Monday. The baby weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces, spokeswoman Deirdre Kline said. The couple already has a 1-year-old boy, Chance Armstrong. . . . Poison lead singer Bret Michaels and his girlfriend, model-actress Kristi Lynn Gibson, have announced the birth of their first child, a girl, Raine Elizabeth Michaels, born Saturday. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces. Said Michaels: “Being in the room when Raine was born is as close as I’ll get to heaven without dying.”

QUICK TAKES

The 11th annual Mariachi USA Festival kicks off at the Hollywood Bowl on Thursday at 6 p.m. . . . Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks answers calls from listeners at 5 p.m. today on KABC-AM’s (790) “Larry Elder Show.” . . . NBC journalist and author Maria Shriver joins Vicki Iovine, author of the “Girlfriends’ Guides” book series, as Iovine hosts the first live chat on her new Web site, https://www.girlfriendsguide.com, Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m.