FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, August 5, 1997

NAKED ACTION: No nudes, er, news is not bad news for Brad Pitt. A judge said today he'll consider extending a court injunction against Playgirl that's preventing the magazine from printing more editions of an issue featuring in-the-buff pictures of Mr. Pitt.

CASA O.J.: It's never too late to buy O.J. Simpson's Brentwood mansion. The house was auctioned off last month to a bank for $2.6 million, and now that bank is putting the pad back on the market. The asking price: $3.95 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

JERRY'S KIDS: A gaggle of Jerry Lewis wannabes invaded Hollywood today to audition for their hero's Labor Day Telethon. The winning clone(s) will join the real Lewis for some gags on air.

DAD RAPS: The father of Tupac Shakur is back on the stand today in Los Angeles. William Garland is suing for what he says is his fair share of the late rapper's estate. (That would be half.) Yesterday, Garland said he took care of Shakur--sporadically--until the age of 5, when he moved away with his mother.

COVER HIM: Eriq LaSalle's ER co-stars are banding behind the Emmy-nominated actor, refusing to do anymore TV Guide interviews until LaSalle's long-delayed cover story runs in the magazine. Making good on the threat, Noah Wyle last week nixed his own potential cover story with the mag.

CABLE GUY: CNN couldn't get Tom Brokaw, so it got Rick Kaplan. Who? Kaplan's a veteran ABC executive who was hired by CNN today as its new president. His prime objective: Snag a brand-name anchor for the network's evening newscast.

COUNTRY AWARDS: Nominations for the 31st annual Country Music Association Awards were announced in Nashville today--and a relative old-timer (George Strait) and a relative newcomer (Deana Carter) lead the herd with five nominations each. Carter is best known for asking the musical question, "Did I Shave My Legs for This?" The awards ceremony will be broadcast September 24 on CBS.

ROCK OF AGES: American Bandstand turns 40 today. The show, that encouraged generations of teen-agers to show off their best disco moves, and such, for the camera, actually isn't in production anymore, but that didn't stop longtime host Dick Clark from celebrating. He joined fans and veteran performers, such as Connie Francis, in unveiling a marker outside the West Philadelphia TV station where it all began.

CONCERT DEATHS: Officials in Washington state say two people died last weekend while attending concerts there by cult rock band, Phish. One man fell out of a car, another--dropped off at a hospital yesterday--apparently succumbed to a drug overdose.

MORE PHISH: Last weekend's events are unlikely to damper fans' enthusiasm for the band. In fact, thousands of them are ready to build a mini-city with the rockers. Phish is taking over an old Air Force base in Maine, where August 15-17, the band will host "The Great Went," three whole days of all Phish, all the time, with most of the comforts of home. Including ATMs.

REMEMBERING MARILYN: Today also marks the 35th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death. Members of her fan club will hold a memorial service for the late screen siren at a cemetery chapel in Los Angeles. Her biographer and movie stand-in are among those expected to attend. Monroe was found dead August 5, 1962. She was 36.

ICING "FROST"? Billy Bob Thornton's in; George Clooney's out, as potential Jack Frost material, a live-action retelling of Frosty the Snowman, planned for a Christmas 1998 release. For all the casting news, see The Dotted Line.

SUMMER RERUNS: Like you haven't heard this one before: Seinfeld was the top-rated TV show, for the week ended August 3. Rounding out the top five: 20/20, ER, Suddenly Susan and 60 Minutes. For all the industry stats, see By The Numbers.

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE: Tim Allen's fish-out-of-water comedy, Jungle 2 Jungle, is the new top video rental in the land (and the jungle, no doubt), for the week ended August 3.

TO DI FOR: Princess Diana's hand-me-downs continue to be hot ticket item among the gold-card set. A celebrity auction on tony Martha's Vineyard yesterday netted $25,000 for one of Di's old frocks, actually a burgundy velvet dress. This follows the Di-fest at Christie's in New York earlier this summer.

MARITAL STATUS: 1980s pop star Sheena Easton (For Your Eyes Only) has married for the third time, her manager confirmed yesterday. Easton, 38, wed documentary director Timothy Douglas Delarm, 35, on July 28.

JACKO'S KINDERGARTEN: Pop star Michael Jackson's pledge to donate $20,000 to a kindergarten in a German town devastated by floods has run into a slight problem: The town doesn't have a kindergarten. A spokesman for Jackson's concert organizer says the money will go to a like facility.

CBS EYES EMMYS: CBS is taking full advantage of any extra attention it'll receive for broadcasting the 49th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14. It'll launch three of its new shows--George & Leo, with Bob Newhart, Michael Hayes, with David Caruso, and The Gregory Hines Show--the very next night, one week before the official start of the fall season.

EMMY SKIRMISH: The rival TV academies (NATAS and ATAS) are fighting over the newest Emmy category: best TV commercial. NATAS says art and commerce should not mix, ATAS thinks TV spots deserve a statuette. A judge will decide.

ROLLING STONE: Rock oldie Bob Dylan played more than a dozen songs as he opened a month-long tour with indie darling Ani DiFranco last night in Lenox, Maine--part of his first concert tour since he was hospitalized in May for a chest ailment. Word is Dylan looked great. Sounded pretty good, too.