TELEVISIONReynolds Hospitalized: Burt Reynolds was hospitalized Wednesday...

TELEVISION

Reynolds Hospitalized: Burt Reynolds was hospitalized Wednesday after suffering chest pains on the San Fernando Valley set of CBS’ “Evening Shade.” The 58-year-old actor, who also complained of dizziness, nausea and faintness, was taken by ambulance to North Hollywood Medical Center where a doctor said tests for heart disease were negative. A spokesman for Reynolds said the actor’s condition “could be a result of a 24-hour virus that Reynolds is prone to or stress that Reynolds has acknowledged in his life over the last year.”

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Baiul’s Story to Be Told: Robert Halmi Jr.’s RHI Entertainment will produce a movie for CBS on the life story of 1994 Olympic gold medalist Oksana Baiul. The project, planned to air worldwide, will follow the triumphs and tragedies of the 16-year-old orphan from Odessa, Ukraine. She won the gold medal at Lillehammer, narrowly edging out U.S. skater Nancy Kerrigan, despite suffering an injury the day before the final competition.

MOVIES

Malaysian Ban Reversed?: The government of Malaysia on Wednesday reversed its blanket ban on Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning movie “Schindler’s List,” but left unclear whether the film would ever be shown in the predominantly Muslim country. Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged that the ban--originally imposed when censors called the movie Jewish “propaganda”--was lifted, but said that the film could still be screened only in accordance with normal censorship guidelines. A government censor has said that regulations require 25 deletions involving “scenes of sex, cruelty, horror and obscene dialogue.” When a demand for similar editing arose in the Philippines last month, Spielberg refused to cut the film. That ban was subsequently overturned by Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos.

THE ARTS

Museum Director Fired: Laguna Art Museum director Charles Desmarais was dismissed by the museum’s board Tuesday after the board president called for “more energy” in the museum’s administration. Desmarais is widely credited with boosting the museum’s stature during his six years at the helm, having mounted several acclaimed exhibitions, including a show last summer that featured custom cars and was one of the most popular in the institution’s 75-year history. In a statement, the board said it failed to work out “differences in management philosophies” with Desmarais. Board President Teri Kennady subsequently said that the museum had exercised a contractual option to “terminate (Desmarais) without cause.” Museum curator Susan M. Anderson has been appointed acting director until a replacement for Desmarais is found.

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Olympic Art Show: J. Carter Brown, director emeritus of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, will direct the central exhibition of Atlanta’s Olympic Arts Festival. “Rings: Five Passions in World Art,” consisting of 100 objects from around the world, is scheduled for July 4-Sept. 24, 1996, at Atlanta’s High Museum, in conjunction with the 1996 Summer Olympics. An international committee of art authorities will help Brown select objects that explore the power of art to evoke five universal emotions: love, anguish, awe, triumph and joy.

POP/ROCK

Heavy Metalers Take No. 1: Heavy metal group Pantera’s new album, “Far Beyond Driven,” sold 186,000 units last week and will enter the nation’s pop chart at No. 1. The ranking bolsters mounting evidence that rock music is thriving again as a commercial force. Other new releases that made strong showings last week include pop veteran Bonnie Raitt’s “Longing in Their Hearts,” which sold 148,000 units to capture No. 2, and the R&B;/rap soundtrack album from the film “Above the Rim,” which sold 108,000 units to claim the No. 4 position.

PEOPLE

Madame President: Actress Lynn Redgrave has been named the first female president of New York’s prestigious live theater club the Players. The group, founded by Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth in 1888, was a men’s club until Helen Hayes joined in 1988. Current members include Dixie Carter, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Jack Lemmon, Gregory Peck and Jason Robards.

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In Court: Singer Grace Slick pleaded innocent on Tuesday to charges of pointing a shotgun at a police officer during a March 5 standoff at her home north of San Francisco. Police say officers had to grab an unloaded shotgun from her after responding to a complaint about shots being fired at the home.

QUICK TAKES

Rock ‘n’ roller Jerry Lee Lewis, 58, is working on his first album in 12 years. Lewis hopes that the album and a connected concert tour will help him pay $3.75 million he owes the IRS in back taxes. . . . Paramount Pictures has begun principal photography on “Star Trek: Generations,” which bridges different time-frames to bring the two Enterprise leaders, Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), face-to-face in the 24th Century. . . . Veteran KNBC-TV anchorman Jess Marlow and Fox News reporter Christina Gonzalez were scheduled to receive the Greater Los Angeles Press Club’s two top awards Wednesday night. Marlow was to receive the Joseph M. Quinn Memorial Award career honor, and Gonzalez was to get the 1993 “Above and Beyond Award” for assisting emergency personnel at the scene of a Westlake apartment building fire. . . . Eleven additional actors have filed suit against “The Arsenio Hall Show,” claiming a casting director for the show fondled their buttocks and genitals during an audition for a spoof of the Thighmaster exercise device. Three other actors filed a similar suit March 10. The casting director, Lawrence Amoros, has since been fired.