POP/ROCKDJ’s Ashes Placed in Hall of FameAlan...

POP/ROCK

DJ’s Ashes Placed in Hall of Fame

Alan Freed was there at the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, and now the music’s Hall of Fame will be his final resting place.

The late Cleveland disc jockey is credited with coining the term “rock ‘n’ roll” and staging some of the first concerts for the nascent music, which is why he was a member of the first induction class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Now Freed, who died in 1965, has been brought into the hall in a more literal fashion: A brass urn with his ashes has been sealed up within the walls of the Ohio museum.

Freed’s family attended a private ceremony at the Hall of Fame this month to inter his remains.

“It is a tremendous honor to have him come to us here,” said Hall of Fame President Terry Stewart.

This month also marks the 50th anniversary of the Moondog Coronation Ball, the Cleveland Arena concert that ended in chaos when 20,000 fans stormed the doors of the 10,000-seat venue--an outcome that showed the surging popularity and unpredictability of the then-new youth music scene.

An exhibit on Freed is planned for the hall in coming months, family member Judith Fisher Freed said Monday.

*

U2’s Bono Goes to Bat for Pal Facing Charges

When Peter Buck of R.E.M. needed someone to vouch for his character in a British courtroom, he called in a famous friend: Bono of U2.

In an odd pop culture moment, the famed rock singer took the stand on Monday to testify that guitarist Buck is a quiet family man. Buck is facing assault and other charges after an alleged drunken rampage aboard a transatlantic British Airways flight last April.

“I just wanted to stand up and be heard,” Bono said of his appearance. “It didn’t add up to the person whose arm I had to twist to go to a boxing match because he thought it was an aggressive sport.”

Prosecutors say Buck, 45, was a “drunken lout” on the flight, gulped down 15 glasses of wine, grappled with crew members, flipped a food trolley and at one point seemed intent on exiting the plane midair. Buck has testified he took a powerful sleeping pill at the start of the Seattle-to-London flight and does not remember the alleged behavior.

His famous friend said the accusations don’t jibe with his 17-year friendship with Buck. “I have never ever seen him drunk,” Bono said. “I have absolutely never seen him taking drugs.”

*

MOVIES

Oliver Stone Drops in for Chat With Arafat

Oliver Stone filmed a Monday meeting with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat for a new project that the Oscar-winning director and screenwriter describes as a documentary about world conflicts.

Stone, no stranger to controversy and political fare, trekked to Arafat’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where roiling tensions have put the leader in a hot seat. Eighteen months of bloodshed have turned the world’s eyes to the Middle East once again, and Stone says there are lessons to be mined from such confrontations.

“There’s always a similarity in world conflicts everywhere you go,” he told Reuters. “What is the common denominator? Maybe pride, maybe human ego, maybe the sense of humiliation, all these factors.”

Stone said he had already interviewed “a series of Israeli leaders” for the project and hinted that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was among them. An Israeli government spokesman could not immediately confirm that such meetings had taken place.

The director declined to offer more details, but a production team member said the documentary would focus on 72-year-old Arafat. Stone was also in Havana last month meeting with Fidel Castro for an apparently separate documentary that, according to Variety, is tentatively titled “Looking for Fidel.”

*

TELEVISION

‘Wall Street Week’ Host Booted From Show

Louis Rukeyser’s stock with his bosses has dropped off the chart.

The host of “Wall Street Week With Louis Rukeyser” criticized executives of Maryland Public Television on the air Friday and will not be returning to the popular financial show, according to the organization’s leaders.

Rukeyser, a partner in the show with Maryland Public Television for 32 years, had been upset about plans to “reinvent” the program by reducing the camera time for the 69-year-old host, bringing in Fortune magazine as a partner and aiming for a younger audience.

Rukeyser had said before Friday that he planned to honor his contract and remain through June, but after his on-air characterization of MPT’s moves in the matter as “dumb, deceptive and almost unbelievable graceless behavior,” the program’s producers opted to cut ties now.

Rukeyser, who also publishes a monthly newsletter, told Dow Jones Newswire on Monday that he plans to unveil a programming venture with a new partner. “There’s no question we’re going to go forward,” Rukeyser said, “the only question is with who.”

*

QUICK TAKES

Film critics David Ansen of Newsweek, Peter Rainer of New York magazine, Richard Schickel of Time and Kenneth Turan of The Times will discuss “The A List: The National Society of Film Critics’ 100 Essential Films” at 7:30 p.m. April 3 at Pasadena Public Library. Larry Mantle, host of “Air Talk” on KPCC-FM (89.3), will moderate the discussion, which will be taped for broadcast on his show.... “L.A. Law: The Movie,” a two-hour drama reuniting original cast members of the popular series, will air May 12 on NBC.... The recently renovated Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena will reopen April 13 with the exhibition “New Works, New Spaces,” and a free weekend celebration.