Quick Takes: Many eyes on Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich, TV star?

Well, OK, let’s not get carried away. But Saturday’s Republican presidential debate — in which sudden front-runner Gingrich faced attacks on multiple fronts after languishing in the polls for months — was the most-watched GOP get-together yet, with 7.6-million viewers tuning in, according to Nielsen.

Moderated by George Stephanopoulos and Diane Sawyer, the ABC debate rumbled past other recent Republican face-offs, including a Fox News telecast on Sept. 22 (6.1 million) and CBS’ live coverage on Nov. 12 (5.5 million).

Fox News is scheduled to host another debate Thursday night in Iowa, then the ball bounces back to ABC Jan. 7 in New Hampshire.

—Scott Collins

‘Kane’ Oscar up for auction again

Orson Welles’ Oscar for co-writing “Citizen Kane” — regarded as one of the best films ever made — is going up for auction again this month.

Los Angeles auction house Nate D. Sanders said Monday it was selling the screenplay Academy Award statuette won by Welles (with Herman J. Mankiewicz) in 1942. He also directed and starred in the film.

Although tarnished by age, the Oscar will carry a reserve price of between $600,000 and $1 million when it goes under the hammer on Dec. 20, auction house spokesman Sam Heller said.

The statuette — the only Oscar given to “Citizen Kane” — failed to meet its undisclosed reserve price when it was last up for auction at Sotheby’s New York in 2007. But the auctioneer and the current seller, who wishes to remain anonymous, believe times have changed for the better when it comes to selling Hollywood memorabilia.

—Reuters

Manilow has hip surgery

Barry Manilow underwent hip repair surgery Monday, the day after completing a seven-year run of shows in Las Vegas, his representative said.

The 68-year-old singer was at a Los Angeles hospital to repair torn abductor muscles and to remove fluid-filled sacs in his hips, spokeswoman Annie Jeeves said.

Manilow will be in recovery for six weeks, then plans to resume performing in Chicago in early February.

—Reuters

‘Face the Nation’ to be one hour

With its Sunday morning political talk show “Face the Nation” doing well in the ratings and entering an election year, CBS will match its rivals by expanding the program to an hour in April.

“Meet the Press” on NBC and “This Week” on ABC already air for an hour each week, but the CBS entry hosted by Bob Schieffer lasts 30 minutes.

“You made it possible,” Schieffer told viewers at the end of Sunday’s show. “We don’t plan to change a thing, no bells and whistles.”

“Meet the Press” still leads this season among all viewers, but in the key news demographic of viewers ages 25 to 54, “Face the Nation” is ahead.

CBS News President David Rhodes said the expansion will be for 20 weeks, through the political conventions, and then will be reevaluated.

—Associated Press

‘Anything Goes’ coming to L.A.

Broadway’s Tony-winning revival of “Anything Goes” will make its way to L.A. in 2012 as part of a national tour, organizers said.

The Cole Porter musical is scheduled to run at the Ahmanson Theatre in November and December 2012.

No casting has been announced for the tour.

—David Ng

Finally

Reality check: Richard Hatch, winner of the first season of the CBS reality series “Survivor,” was released from a Rhode Island prison Monday after serving a nine-month sentence for failing to pay back taxes.