The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 9

ft-- ------J i- -i THE COURIER-JOURNAL FEATUBI WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 7. 1994 C3 CBS is changing its sitcom series lineup for the new year I 'if i i i I I 1 A A -rrmnrii-lir' --t limit mitfriTtrM nrl In Asia, the awards will be preceded by an interactive TV show that will allow viewers to pick winners by phone and then compare their picks with the Billboard selections. Charlie's Christmas "A Charlie Brown Christmas" returns at 8 tonight on CBS-32. The oldest, and in many ways the best, of a slew of holiday cartoon shows is 29 this year, but Charles Schulz wasn't happy with his creation in 1965.

The network didn't like the result much at first either. Schulz said he was rushed to come up with a holiday special and only had one day to create the story line. CBS executives thought the show moved too slowly, according to TV Guide. They also didn't like the musical score by jazz pianist Vince Guar-aldi. The score has since become a classic along with the show, which has won all sorts of awards.

Highly rated Rudolph "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" placed first in the ratings on its annual ride two weeks ago, beating out "Full House" and "Wings," not to mention a movie about Madonna. That may renew some people's faith in childlike Presidential gala Want to see a show caught in a time warp? Tune in "A Gala for the President at Ford's Theatre" tonight at 10 on ABC-11. Whoopi Goldberg is the host" for the program, which was taped at the Washington, D. theater where Abraham Lincoln was shot. "We did this show before Halloween, which is a week before the scariest day of the year in this city, which is election day," she says for openers.

She got that part right; the front rows were occupied by the president, his wife and several Democrats, many of whom didn't know they were going to be looking for new jobs by the time this show aired. The variety show is an annual fund-raiser to benefit the theater. Comic Paul Reiser About jokes about the presidency being the only job where the loser is evicted from his house. Paula Poundstone, who does much of her comedy routine lying on her stomach, introduces retired Gen. Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is in the audience, and asks him if he's going to run for Clinton's job.

'Honeymooners' You can celebrate Christmas 1951 TOM DORSEY TV-RADIO CRITIC CBS won the November ratings sweeps on the strength of "Scarlett" and such movies as "The Million Dollar Babies." But many of the network's weekly series scored badly, so the new year will bring several changes, starting the week of Jan. 1. "Touched by an Angel" is being dropped after next Wednesday's episode. "Cybill," starring Cybill Shepherd as a model about to become a grandmother, takes over the 9:30 p.m. Monday slot.

It displaces "Love War," which moves to Wednesday nights at 9:30. "Northern Exposure" also is switching to Wednesdays and will occupy the 10 p.m. slot. "Chicago Hope" will take "Exposure's" Monday 10 p.m. slot.

"Women of the House," at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, finds Delta Burke playing a congresswoman. Robert Pastorelli, who played Eldin on "Murphy Brown," gets his own show, "Double Rush," Wednesdays at 9 p.m. "Double Rush" is about New York bike messengers. "Hearts Afire" will be seen Global Billboard The Billboard Music Awards is the really big show tonight at 8 on Fox-41.

It's not surprising that Heather Lock-lear of "Melrose Place" and talk-show host Dennis Miller are co-hosts for the pop-music awards aimed at younger viewers. The program demonstrates Fox's power to attract such shows with its expansion to South America, Europe and Asia, where Fox-associated companies have TV deals. In 1990, the Billboard joined the cast series Is awards were seen bv about 14 million people. This year, 240 million people are expected to watch around the globe. Tomorrow's best bet: KCT's holiday play "Tiny Tim is Dead" Kentucky Contemporary Theatre's third production of the 1994-95 season puts a somber twist on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Barbara Lebow's poignant play focuses on a band of homeless people during the Christmas season.

As a gift for an 8-year-old boy, the homeless people agree to re-enact "A Christmas Carol." For each character the play has a different ending based on the problems faced in the real world of the homeless. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Dec. 15-17, at KCT, 1001 S.

Third St. Tickets are $10 for tomorrow's T1PSHEET BY KEN NEUHAUSER It's way past time for dad to forgive wayward daughter with "The Honeymooners" tonight at 10 on The Disney Channel (TKR-24), but you may not want to. "The Honeymooners," starring Jackie Gleason and Art Carney, was one of the best sitcoms ever, but this first-season yuletide show was a clunker. Part of the problem is that Pert Kelton, who played bus driver Ralph Kramden's (Gleason's) wife, is no where as good as Audrey Meadows, who replaced her the next season. But the major fault of this episode is that Gleason injected all his other characters, such as Reginald Van Gleason III, into the show, and it just doesn't work.

Tesh gone No, John Tesh has not been fired as co-host of "Entertainment Tonight" at 7 p.m. on WHAS-11. The reason Bob Goen is on every night is because Tesh is taking much of the month off to travel with a 50-piece orchestra promoting his "Family Christmas" album. Tesh, who is an accomplished composer and musician, recently was scheduled for a two-hour session on QVC, but the program had to call it quits after just 22 minutes because the cable shopping network already had sold all 120,000 CDs and tapes of his album. Tom Dorsey's column appears Monday through Thursday.

with characters from "The Nutcracker," will be offered at 12:30 and 3:45 p.m. before and after weekend matinees on Sunday and Dec. 17 and 18, in the Mary Anderson Room at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. Party tickets cost $7.50. Reservations are advised.

Call (502) 584-7777 or (800) 775-7777. By the way, "The Nutcracker" opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with additional performances at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Dec.

15 and Dec. 16, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17 and 18, and 7:30 p.m. Dec.

20-22. Tickets are $15 to $43. Call (502) 584-7777 or (800) 775-7777. "Tipsheet" appears Monday through Thursday in the Features section. in history sex with a 13-year-old girl, has turned down a proposal to conduct media interviews about his forthcoming movie, "Death and the Maiden," from a ship anchored in the Atlantic.

"I didn't like this idea," he told New York magazine. "I'm not going to do it. The film can speak for itself. We don't need to do anything so controversial." Polanski and his former lover, who is now grown, came to a financial settlement this year, said the magazine. He says that Americans have confused attitudes about sex, and that no one would have minded in Paris, where he lives now.

"It's easier to murder someone," he said, "than have a charge of unlawful sexual relations. I would like to come back. But what can I do? Nothing. C'est la vie." LAUGHING LITERARY MAT-TERS: The latest issue of the literary journal ZYZZYVA contains "From Jock to Joke: The Sic Transit of O.J. Simpson," in which Alan Dundes, University of California at Berkeley professor of anthropology and folklore, analyzes an array of instant jokes about the Simpson case.

Not a single one will be repeated here. "Personals" runs Monday through Friday in Features. The San Francisco Chronicle company, Nationwide Insurance, and discovered encouraging news. Nationwide investigated and determined that the other motorist was insured. "We are still trying to collect from the at-fault party's insurance company.

In fact, we are not only representing Nationwide interests but Mr. Stefanelli's as well," said George P. Armes, district claims manager. "Lemme Doit" runs Monday and Wednesday In Features. It attempts to solve readers' problems, Investigate complaints and cut red tape.

Write "Lemme Dolt," The Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, Ky. 40201-7431. Include your name, address and telephone number (only your name and ZIP Code would appear in print).

All letters will be answered, but not all answers will appear In the newspaper. Duke's dastardly deed ANN LANDERS Dear Ann: After four sons, my husband and I got the daughter we wanted. "Melinda" was the can-do-no-wrong apple of her daddy's eye. Shortly before her 17th birthday, Melinda and her 21-year-old boyfriend, "Ike," came to tell us she was pregnant and they wanted to get married. My husband literally threw Ike out of the house and forbade Melinda to see him again.

The next day, we made an appointment with a doctor to have "the problem" taken care of. The day before the appointment, Melinda climbed out her bedroom window and ran off with Ike. We received a card two weeks later telling us that they had gone to another state and gotten married. There was no return address. My husband was furious.

He would not allow anyone to mention her name in our home. He told all family members and friends that he no longer had a daughter, only four sons. We received a birth announcement when Melinda's daughter was born no return address. The postmark was from another state. Three years later, another birth announcement came telling us they had a son.

Again, no address. Out of the blue, received a note from Melinda last week. She wants us to come for a visit. "It's time the kids met their grandparents," she wrote. My husband refuses to go and says if I go, he won't be here when I get back.

We are now sleeping in separate bedrooms, Paul Provenza and Terl Polo have of CBS' "Northern Exposure." The moving to Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. "The Boys Are Back" moves to Saturdays at 9 p.m. followed by "The Five Mrs. Buchanans" at 9:30.

and he hasn't spoken to me for four days. Our sons refuse to take sides. I bought my airline tickets this morning. All I want from you, Ann, is a hand to hold when I board the plane. I need someone to tell me I am doing the right thing.

A GRANDMOTHER IN FORT WAYNE Dear Fort Wayne: Here's my hand to hold when you board the plane. I believe you ore doing the right thing. I pray that your husband will extend his hand when you return and that he will open his heart and home to the new little family. Too many people waste too many years locking each other out of their lives. Time is such a precious commodity.

Lost years can never be recalled. This lesson, too often, is learned the hard way. Dear Ann: I'm so happy! I've just lost 200 pounds. I'm divorcing my husband. I was "Melvin's" fourth wife.

In the 19 years we were married, I did anything and everything for him. Two months ago, he kicked out the tenant who rented the upstairs apartment, and he moved in with another woman. Words cannot describe the humiliation I have suffered at the hands of this polecat. Knowing I will be free has made me feel terrific. Please print my letter and give courage to other women who have been dumped.

Let them know there is life after divorce. STARTING OVER AT 50 IN FLORIDA Dear Starting Over: I admire your spirit. Please write again in six months and let me know how you're doing. Ann Landers appears daily in Features. You can write her at P.O.

Box 11562, Chicago, III. 60611-0562. For a personal reply, enclose a stamped, addressed envelope. Creators Syndicate casserole, peas, tossed salad, fruit cup. WEDNESDAY Sloppy Joes, coleslaw, pickled beets, potato chips, apple.

THURSDAY Pimento and cheese sandwich, cream of potato soup, baked apple slices, vanilla pudding. FRIDAY Baked honey-glazed chicken, green beans, herbed rice, challah, lemon cake. Beverages and bread and butter are available daily. Nutrition centers are operated for people 60 and older in Jefferson, Henry, Trimble, Oldham, Shelby, Bullitt and Spencer counties. Diners must make reservations a day in advance, preferably before 1 p.m., by calling their local centers.

For information, call (502) 574-MEAL. Similar menus are being served at nutrition sites in Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Scott counties in Indiana. For information and reservations, call 812) 945-6325. The CD costs $13.98 and is available at most area record stores and Hawley-Cooke Booksellers. If you'd like to hear Medley live, he'll be presenting several concerts this month.

His schedule includes performances from 7:30 to 9 p.m. tomorrow and Dec. 21 at the Ru-dyard Kipling, 422 W. Oak and 3 p.m. Sunday and 8 p.m.

Dec. 22 in the Recital Hall at the Kentucky School for the Blind, 1867 Frankfort Ave. All the concerts are free. 'Nutcracker' news Take your children to Clara's Tea Party one of several nifty events held in conjunction with the Louisville Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker." Six parties, featuring holiday treats, beverages and get-togethers dogs his role of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A code of silence kept the incident secret for years.

Queen Elizabeth is a passionate dog aficionado; her uncle's crime may have been unforgivable. And has all this publicity changed the life of Bill, Benicia's celebrated Clumber? "Yeah," Steve Robblns said. "He's taking naps in more places than he used to." FLASH: Child star Macaulay Culkin, 14, is getting taller by the minute, which presents a problem to the makers of the forthcoming movie, "Richie Rich." Culkin plays a pre-teen boy. The solution, says Entertainment Weekly: Warner Brothers hired particularly tall actors including Edward Herrmann and John Larroquette to play Culkin's co-stars. Ottavlo Mlssonl of the Mis-soni fashion house in Milan is so very cool, so very relaxed, so very un-awed by celebrity, writes Woody Hochswender in Bazaar, that he "is capable of dozing off in the middle of an interview." Guess the old geezer was pretty impressed by the questions.

POLANSKI REJECTS OFF-SHORE DEAL: Director Roman Polanskl, who can't enter the United States because he faces criminal charges for having had who hit me assumed all responsibility and claimed his insurance would pay for damage to both cars. I called my insurance company to ensure that all damages would be paid by the other driver. In the meantime, I had to pay a $500 deductible and $150 for a rental car, but my insurance company said I'd be reimbursed when it got paid by the other driver's insurance company. It was later discovered that the other driver didn't have insurance. My insurance company said I could take the guy to small-claims court, but my adjuster said, "You can't get blood out of a turnip." What can I do next? Mike Stefanelll Louisville 40223 Dear Reader We notified your performance and $13 ($10 for seniors and students) for all others.

Take canned food for Kentucky Harvest and receive 50 cents-per-can credit (up to $2 a person) to be used as a discount on a ticket for a future KCT production. Call (502) 585-5537 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. A Medley of music Louisville pianistcomposer Michael Medley, who recently signed a record-distribution agreement with Rising Star Records in Atlanta, hopes you'll lend an ear to his new release, "We Three Christmas Piano." It is a collection of original arrangements of traditional holiday favorites, including "Silver Bells" and "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year." Macaulay Culkin He's growing by leaps and bounds 11 cy in the 19th century.

King George an avid hunter, was a passionate breeder. His son, who took the throne in 1936 when his father died, was "a fastidious man who disliked blood sports (and) hated his father's drooling Clumbers." According to Dogworld, "this was especially so after one dared to lift a leg on his royal It was the dog's fatal show of friendship." On the night that his father died, Edward VIII ordered the gamekeeper to shoot every one of the Clumbers at Sandringham, where there was a major kennel. Several pups were smuggled out, but almost 100 dogs were drowned and shot, "even mothers in whelp." "What better way for Edward to get back at his father who had refused permission for him to marry (Wallace) Simpson?" asks Dogworld. The morning after the massacre, Edward learned that he had succeeded his father as president ther ordered nor received. It claims I owe $42.19.

E. Morgan Louisville 40219 Dear Reader The records for Grolier Enterprises Inc. and Security Control Service have been adjusted. Your account has been closed and now reflects a zero balance. Dear Lemme Last April I sent a $3 check to KLO Associates in Newtown, for a sample of Narcisse perfume.

I never received it. I wrote a letter and enclosed a copy of my check but still haven't received my sample. Gloria Heatherly Louisville 40214 Dear Reader The perfume has been scent, er, sent. Dear Lemme I was in an auto accident on April 28. The man PERSONALS LEAH GARCHIK Herewith, from an unlikely source, an insight on why Queen Elizabeth never really cozied up to her uncle, the Duke of Windsor.

Never mind that he abandoned his familial duties as a sovereign for the woman he loved. The real issue was the dogs. Our story unfolds thanks to Bill, the Clumber Spaniel owned by Reed and Steve Bobbins, proprietors of the Captain Walsh House, a bed and breakfast in Benicia, Calif. A picture of Bill, whose breed is quite rare, ran in Better Homes Gardens, Bed Breakfast, when the inn was named one of three best-decorated inns in the United States last summer. The dog was so appealing that editors of Dogworld magazine decided to make him November's coverboy.

The issue ran with a thorough excruciatingly complete history of the Clumber Spaniel. And therein lies the shameful story of the Duke. The Clumber Spaniel was a hunting dog, much beloved by members of the British aristocra- lf AJJ IlillllFlillMIIITMIrHfilrf mill MENUS FOR THE ELDERLY Proliferation of Seuss books is finally halted The following will be served next week at the nutrition centers for the elderly operated by the Title III Nutrition Program of the Department for Human Services. The kosher menu is available only at the Jewish Community Center on Dutchmans Lane. Regular MONDAY Beef tips and noodles, country tomatoes, green beans, cherry Coke delight.

TUESDAY Fish with tartar sauce, spinach, macaroni and cheese, banana. WEDNESDAY Barbecue rib-ette, coleslaw, baked beans, orange sherbet. THURSDAY Baked chicken, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, dressing, chocolate-chip cookies. FRIDAY Chili with spaghetti, beans and tomatoes, tossed salad, lemon pudding. Kosher MONDAY Dressed hamburger, oven-browned potatoes, cookies.

TUESDAY Tupa and noodle LEMME DOIT Dear Lemme In the spring of 1993, I ordered Dr. Seuss books from Grolier Enterprises. I was to receive several books for $1.99 and was obligated to buy several more over a certain period. I have long since fulfilled my obligation and have instructed the company to discontinue sending additional books. However, it continued sending books for several more months.

Finally, the books quit coming. Now I have received a letter from Security Control Service, a collection agency in New Castle, requesting payment for books I nei.