WARWICK SAYS NO GO TO ‘GOLD’

Dionne Warwick has announced that she will not return to host the seventh season of Paramount’s syndicated contemporary music show “Solid Gold.” In a statement released Tuesday, Warwick’s manager, Joseph Grant, said that the 44-year-old singer was breaking off negotiations with Paramount after two months of being unable to come to terms.

Paramount executives, however, said the negotiations are continuing; Frank Kelly, Paramount’s vice president of programming, said, “As of Tuesday, our business affairs people were talking with her representatives, so I interpret that as a continuation. There are always maneuvers and negotiations, but from our standpoint we’re still talking.”

A Warwick associate suggested that the singer took the initiative in announcing her departure so that Paramount could not make it look as if it were dropping her from the show for a second time. Warwick hosted the first season of “Solid Gold” in 1980-81, and then, according to the source, when renegotiations reached an impasse, Paramount announced that it was replacing her with Marilyn McCoo. McCoo hosted the show for the next three years, with Andy Gibb, Rex Smith and other co-hosts. Los Angeles deejay Rick Dees hosted the fifth season.

Warwick’s return to the contemporary hit milieu of “Solid Gold” this past season coincided with the biggest hit of her 23-year recording career: “That’s What Friends Are For,” a collaboration with Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight.