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

TELEVISION

Now Even Miss Cleo’s Birthplace Is Questioned

Her accent notwithstanding, Miss Cleo, the “Jamaican” TV psychic, was actually born in California, according to a birth certificate unearthed in conjunction with a suit being filed against her in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

According to the document, the Miami Herald reports, Miss Cleo was born Youree Dell Harris on Aug. 13, 1962, in California. Her parents are from Texas and California.

The TV personality, spokeswoman for Access Resource Services and Psychic Readers Network, appears on national commercials promising revelations about love, money and other personal matters--for a fee of $4.99 a minute. Sued by the state of Missouri and the Federal Trade Commission, she’s now being challenged by Florida authorities to prove that she’s a renowned shaman from the Caribbean island.

Harris’ attorney, William Cone Jr., said he wouldn’t discuss the document and insisted that Harris, as a contractor of Access Resource Services, should not be party to the state lawsuit, which charges that the company misrepresented costs, billed for services never purchased, harassed consumers with unwanted telemarketing calls and responded to consumer complaints with threatening language.

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Bravo Series to Focus on Book Adaptations

A series about book-to-film adaptations is in the works for next season on the Bravo channel.

The 11 hour-long episodes in “Based on the Book” will look at the process by which well-known books have been transformed into successful films, including “Jaws,” “The Cider House Rules,” “Get Shorty” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”

Other program plans announced by the cable network this week included “Gay Weddings,” an eight-part series that follows “the joys and tribulations” of four gay and lesbian couples as they get ready to marry; “Cirque du Soleil: A Fly on the Wall,” a 13-part series following the famed troupe as it mounts a new show; and “Art Crimes and Mysteries,” six hourlong episodes about art heists.

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‘Will & Grace’ Re-upped by NBC

NBC will dole out at least $3.5 million an episode to keep the Emmy Award-winning “Will & Grace” on the air through the 2004-05 season, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Thursday-night sitcom, which deals with the friendship between a gay man and a straight woman, is the most successful series to come from the network’s in-house production unit.

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POP/ROCK

‘O Brother’ Scores in Country Nominations

With several Grammy and Country Music Assn. awards already in its trophy case, the “O Brother, Where Art Thou” phenomenon now has its sights set on the Academy of Country Music Awards.

The soundtrack, currently the top-selling album in the country, is one of the five nominees announced Thursday in the academy’s album of the year category, and its single “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” was named in the “vocal event” field.

Brooks & Dunn and Toby Keith lead the nominations with six each, including one each in the entertainer of the year competition, where they are joined by Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw.

The Los Angeles-based organization’s 37th annual awards ceremony, to be televised by CBS, will be held May 22 at the Universal Amphitheatre. Tickets are on sale now.

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THE ARTS

Master Chorale Tackles Salonen’s Composition

The Los Angeles Master Chorale will present the North American premiere of an a cappella work called “Two Songs to Poems of Ann Jaderlund” on Saturday--the first choral work by Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Based on love poems by Sweden’s leading living poet, the piece was commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the Swedish Radio Chorus in 2000.

The following week, Grant Gershon, the group’s new music director, will record the piece for RCM, along with Philip Glass’ “Etaipu,” which opened the Master Chorale season. It is set for release in September.

“Esa-Pekka has an extraordinary ear for color and texture as a conductor and composer,” Gershon told The Times. “Both of the pieces are extremely sensuous, in line with the evocative nature of the poetry. And it’s satisfying on both a personal and professional level to be preparing the music of a friend.”

After the Master Chorale’s “Expressions of Love” concert, to be held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Salonen and Gershon will be honored for artistic contributions to the Music Center.

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QUICK TAKES

John Forbes Nash Jr., the schizophrenic, Nobel Prize-winning mathematician whose life was the basis for the Oscar-nominated “A Beautiful Mind,” will talk about the movie on CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday.... James Cameron will make his TV directing debut on the May 3 season finale of Fox’s “Dark Angel,” of which he’s a co-creator.... Riding strong reviews, “The Shield”--the first original drama from FX--drew 4.8 million viewers in its Tuesday premiere, making the police show the most-watched entertainment program in the network’s seven-year history.

Elaine Dutka