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

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Wynn’s Latest Purchase: Casino mogul Steve Wynn has purchased Henri Matisse’s 1928 painting “Odalisque” for his art gallery in Las Vegas’ Bellagio resort. Valued at $2 million, the painting has taken a controversial journey--from a top Paris gallery to the hands of Nazi looters to a U.S. art museum--before reaching the Las Vegas Strip. Wynn bought the painting from the family of the late Paris art gallery owner Paul Rosenberg, to whom the painting was returned in June after hanging for years in the Seattle Art Museum. Rosenberg’s heirs had claimed in federal court that the painting was one of hundreds of masterpieces stolen from the dealer by Nazis.

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Pop Chart: Nine Inch Nails’ first album in five years, a two-disc set titled “The Fragile,” entered the national pop charts Wednesday at No. 1, selling an estimated 228,800 copies, according to SoundScan. Two other new releases also debuted in the Top 10: Barbra Streisand’s “A Love Like Ours” (No. 6 with sales of 145,000) and Brian McKnight’s “Back at One” (No. 7, 144,000). Other new releases by Tori Amos, comedian Adam Sandler and former Soundgarten singer Chris Cornell debuted at Nos. 12, 16 and 18, respectively.

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Moore’s Diagnosis: Actor Dudley Moore announced Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare degenerative brain disorder related to Parkinson’s disease. Moore, 64, suffered symptoms for five years before being diagnosed. “I hope that by revealing my illness today, I can bring attention to this rare malady that afflicts thousands of people, many of whom remain undiagnosed,” Moore said. Symptoms of PSP, which strikes late-middle-aged adults, include falling, imbalance, slow movements, vision problems and difficulties with walking, speech and swallowing. Moore is considered in the early stages of the disease and is able to walk short distances without assistance.

QUICK TAKES

One page of John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for the mysterious Beatles song “I Am the Walrus” will be auctioned at Christie’s in London today. Oasis band members Noel and Liam Gallagher are reported to be among those who will battle for the lyric sheet, which is expected to fetch more than $115,000. . . . Citing crowd concerns, New York’s posh Sherry-Netherland Hotel has gone to court to try to stop CBS from using a nearby plaza in front of the General Motors Building to stage its upcoming Bryant Gumbel-hosted morning program, “The Early Show.” A CBS spokesman said: “We don’t have any comment except to say we intend to be good neighbors.” . . . Despite having the flu, musician Roger Williams plans to celebrate his 75th birthday today by playing piano for 12 hours straight at Steinway Hall in Phoenix.