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

TELEVISION

Leno Overcomes the Springsteen Factor

Bruce Springsteen’s heavily promoted two-night stint on CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” last week may have helped the singer’s new album top the charts, but it didn’t shake up the late-night ratings.

“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” maintained its advantage by averaging 5.5 million viewers a night for the week, according to Nielsen estimates released Thursday. That was the NBC show’s largest audience since May and its widest margin of victory over Letterman (at 3.8 million) in three weeks.

ABC’s “Nightline,” which also featured an hour with Springsteen, averaged 3.7 million viewers for the week.

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‘Six Feet Under’ Is a Copycat, Suit Claims

A writer has filed suit against Time Warner Entertainment, claiming that “The Funk Parlor,” a script she wrote in 1997, formed the basis for HBO’s Emmy-nominated series “Six Feet Under.”

Her project, about a family-run funeral home, was registered with the Writers Guild of America in 1998 and is being made into an independent feature film by fellow plaintiff Funky Films, Variety reports.

In the papers, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Gwen O’Donnell claimed that Chris Albrecht, then head of original programming at the network and now HBO’s CEO, had access to her screenplay in the summer of 1999. Shortly thereafter, HBO approached writer Alan Ball about creating “Six Feet Under.”

Alleging violation of federal copyright laws, the complaint seeks damages of more than $20 million for Funky Films and $10 million for O’Donnell.

“We haven’t seen the lawsuit but ‘Six Feet Under’ springs from the imagination of Alan Ball,” an HBO spokesman said Thursday. “Anyone who suggests otherwise doesn’t know what they are talking about.”

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THE ARTS

Greece Faults British Museum Security

The Greek government, miffed about the theft of a valuable archaic marble head from the British Museum last week, has demanded an apology.

In a letter to Neil MacGregor, new director of the museum, Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos asked that his country be kept apprised of the progress of the investigation into the theft of the 2,500-year-old sculpture worth at least $40,000 that disappeared from a museum gallery on MacGregor’s first day in office.

Particularly upsetting, Greek authorities say, is the fact that--because of budget constraints at the financially strapped museum--no full-time guard had been on duty in the gallery.

“We understand that safeguarding the antiquities is never easy,” said a Greek government official. “But one would have thought that when an institution like the British Museum is host to so many foreign treasures, it would be extra vigilant.... No artwork has ever been stolen from the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.”

The issue of security is particularly touchy in light of the dispute over Greece’s Elgin Marbles on display at the British Museum. The British have contended that no Greek museum is adequate to house them.

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Police Find Rubens, Stolen in ’86 Heist

A Rubens masterpiece, stolen from an Irish collection in a heist 16 years ago, has been recovered in Dublin, police said.

The 1615 painting, “Head of a Man,” was one of 18 stolen from Dublin’s Russborough House in a daring 1986 raid that made international headlines. The culprits: a gang led by the notorious criminal Martin Cahill (“The General”), who was shot to death in 1994.

The loot, containing works by Goya and Vermeer, was so well-known that the thieves had a hard time unloading it. Several paintings were found near the mansion the day after the robbery, and others later turned up in Istanbul and Belgium. Now that “Head of a Man” has been found, only a pair of Venetian scenes are still missing.

Investigators feared Cahill had taken the location of the lost Rubens to his grave. But, acting on a tip, detectives found it in excellent condition in northern Dublin. They returned the painting to a foundation started by Russborough House’s owner, and it will go on display at the Irish National Gallery.

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QUICK TAKES

Mort Sahl will perform at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood Thursday nights at 10 through the end of October. Tickets: $25.... Miramax Films is remaking the 1996 “Shall We Dance?,” which set a U.S. box office record for a Japanese movie. Peter Chelsom (“Serendipity”) will direct.... News Corp., whose Fox TV is a leader in the so-called reality genre, is thinking of creating a Fox Reality Channel, serving up shows such as “Cops” and “America’s Most Wanted” around the clock.... The 10th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be held Feb. 8 and run on TNT.

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Elaine Dutka