GARCIA REMEMBEREDA Matter of Timing: The death...

GARCIA REMEMBERED

A Matter of Timing: The death of Grateful Dead front man Jerry Garcia on Wednesday coincided with the already scheduled airing on Orange County TV station KOCE Channel 50 Wednesday night of “Dead Ahead--The Grateful Dead in Concert,” featuring the band’s 1980 Halloween night performance at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Although the station received a handful of calls questioning the timing, the concert--which is airing on public TV stations throughout the country as part of a nationwide pledge drive--brought KOCE its second-highest total for a single night of pledges, second only to last year’s airing of the fabled “Three Tenors” concert. In all, the station received 371 pledges totaling $41,978. KOCE, which had scheduled the Dead concert three months ago and said it gave no thought to canceling the broadcast, will repeat the program Saturday at 10:10 p.m. Meanwhile, Los Angeles’ KCET Channel 28 will air the show Aug. 28 at 9 p.m.

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More Memories: The Los Angeles Alliance for Survival will host a free vigil and remembrance for Garcia on Saturday at noon in front of the Venice Beach Pavilion at Windward Avenue and Oceanfront Walk. . . . “Tie-Died: Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Most Deadicated Fans,” Andrew Behar’s documentary film about the legions of Grateful Dead fans, known as “Deadheads,” will open in Los Angeles on Sept. 22. The documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, does not include any Dead music because the band would not give its permission. . . . And on cable TV, VH1 will air the half-hour special “VH1 News: A Tribute to Jerry Garcia,” today at 6:30 p.m.

TV and RADIO

The Show Goes On: Garcia’s death may alter plans at ABC’s “Roseanne,” which had been working on an episode where Roseanne the television character would give birth to her baby during a Grateful Dead concert. But the episode had not yet been filmed, and no decision has been made on whether to scrap it entirely. Meanwhile, “Roseanne’s” production schedule will not be upset by the recent real-life birth of Roseanne’s baby by C-section. Spokespersons for the comedy said that the cast and crew had filmed three or four episodes last month in anticipation of the birth, and that they expect to resume production after six or seven weeks.

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Letterman’s Take: CBS talk show host David Letterman has weighed in with his two cents’ worth about his network’s acquisition by Westinghouse. On his program Wednesday night, Letterman launched into a series of rough jokes and mock threats against Westinghouse chief and new CBS owner Michael Jordan. Although guest and “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather demurred from any negative comments about Jordan or last week’s purchase of CBS, Letterman dared Jordan to a “boxing match . . . and I’ll take him down in two rounds.” Letterman ended the show staring into the camera and addressing Jordan: “I’ll be in your face and down your pants!” . . . Meanwhile, Bill Wendell, who’s been Letterman’s announcer for 13 years, is quitting “Late Show” at the end of the month. Sources say Wendell’s fed up because the job doesn’t give him enough to do.

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Brown’s Plug Pulled: Radio station KXEZ-FM (100.3) has removed its television commercial featuring Divine Brown, the prostitute arrested on a charge of lewd conduct along with actor Hugh Grant last month. The 30-second spot, in which Brown claimed she and Grant had been listening to the station while in his car just before their arrests, began airing Tuesday in the Los Angeles area, but the station was flooded with complaints. “Easy 100.3 is the perfect radio station to listen to--while you work,” said Brown in the commercial. Acting general manager George Wolfson said he initially thought the ad was funny, but he dropped it after receiving calls from parents and teachers charging that it promoted promiscuity.

FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT

Wizardry on Ice: Ten-time Grammy winner Bobby McFerrin will provide the singing and speaking voices of 36 different characters (all except Dorothy) for the first full-length production of “The Wizard of Oz on Ice.” Produced by Kenneth Feld (“Seigfried and Roy,” Broadway’s “Fool Moon”), the $9-million show premieres in St. Louis in September and will arrive at the Los Angeles Sports Arena for an April 2-7 run. Among those involved in the production, choreographer and creative consultant Robin Cousins, a 1980 Olympic gold medalist, and production designer Mark Fisher, who designed the look of recent R.E.M. and Rolling Stones concert tours.

QUICK TAKES

A major revival of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” and the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain’s production of J.B. Priestley’s thriller “An Inspector Calls” have been added to the Center Theatre Group-Ahmanson Theatre’s 1995-96 season. “Candide” will open the season, playing Nov. 8-Dec. 24 (previews start Oct. 31), and “An Inspector Calls” will run May 15-June 30 (previews start May 7). . . . Richard H. Frank has been reelected as president of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Frank begins his new two-year term Oct. 11.