Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

THE ARTS

Senate Initiates NEA Rescue Efforts: Breaking with Republicans in the House, the GOP-controlled Senate took the first step Friday toward saving the National Endowment for the Arts. The Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee approved a spending bill that includes a $100-million budget for the agency--a slight increase from its current $99.5 million. The bill, which funds a variety of agencies, now goes to the full Appropriations Committee. Earlier this week, the House passed a bill that would kill the NEA, long a target of criticism among Republicans in that chamber. But in the Senate, the bid to keep the agency alive was led by Republican Sen. Slade Gorton of Washington, the subcommittee chairman. And the NEA funding proposal won praise from both Republican and Democratic subcommittee members. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) predicted the NEA funding proposal will “sail through the Senate.” She added: “Usually it’s Republicans versus Democrats, but in this case it’s the House versus the Senate.” Further indication of Senate support for the NEA came earlier this week, when Sen. James Jeffords (R-Vt.) introduced a bill to reauthorize the agency for the next five years. Meanwhile, NEA Chair Jane Alexander guests tonight on John Hockenberry’s “Edgewise,” airing at 7 p.m. on cable’s MSNBC.

New Getty Grants: The wealthy J. Paul Getty Trust, which on Thursday announced the appointment of Cal State University Chancellor Barry Munitz as its new president and chief executive, has also announced two new grant programs to spread its riches. The first--organizational assessment grants to enable recipients to evaluate their operations, programming and finances to develop long-term strategies--has already been awarded to three grantees: the Craft & Folk Art Museum ($120,000), Santa Monica Museum of Art ($15,000) and Santa Monica’s 18th Street Arts Complex ($8,500). Applications are being taken through Sept. 19 for the second initiative, which will provide grants enabling local institutions to create or improve on-line text-and-image catalogs of their collections.

TELEVISION

Catholics vs. ABC: Two months before Disney-owned ABC premieres its new drama “Nothing Sacred” about a young big-city priest, a Catholic group is demanding it be pulled from the schedule, saying the show’s look at the priesthood is “sick.” “They’re belittling what is sacred,” said Bernadette Brady, vice president of the Catholic League. Brady said she had seen the series pilot, and called it a “very, very negative portrayal of the priesthood.” ABC is standing by the Thursday-night show, however, saying it offers an honest portrayal of a young priest. Executive Producer David Manson said that clerics have been involved in the show, and that the pilot’s script was reviewed by the L.A. Roman Catholic Diocese. In addition, ABC cited a review by the Catholic magazine America saying that “Nothing Sacred” shows the human side of priests and nuns just as “ER” does with doctors. The 350,000-member Catholic League has had run-ins with Disney before; in 1995 the group called on Catholics to boycott Disney because of the movie “Priest,” which was released by Disney subsidiary Miramax Films.

CBS Plans for Sagal, Selleck: Longtime “Married . . . With Children” star Katey Sagal has signed a deal with CBS to develop a new series, targeted for fall 1998. No details are available on the premise for the series, which is likely to be a sitcom, although a drama has not been ruled out. . . . Tom Selleck’s planned CBS sitcom, meanwhile, won’t be on the air until “March, at the earliest,” according to CBS Entertainment President Les Moonves. Initial scripts for the series “didn’t work,” Moonves said, noting that about two dozen writers are currently pitching various concepts for the show. Selleck, meanwhile, was closed-mouthed, saying, “I wish Les wouldn’t talk about this.”

Turning to the Tube: Music producer Emilio Estefan Jr. has signed an overall development and production deal with the Universal Television Group, covering such areas as network comedies, variety shows, TV movies and cable programs. Estefan--who spearheaded wife Gloria Estefan’s rise to stardom--discovered Grammy-winner Jon Secada and has also produced for artists including Julio Iglesias and Madonna. Said Estefan: “I am very excited to have the opportunity to fulfill one of my goals: creating quality programming for the untapped market of second-generation Hispanics who speak fluent English and Spanish.”

QUICK TAKES

Kathy Bates, Martin Landau, Tom Arnold, Janeane Garofalo, Bill Maher, Sid Caesar, Michelle Phillips and Lynn Redgrave are among the celebrities scheduled to stop by radio station KGIL-AM (1260) today to share Beatles memories with talk-show host Martin Lewis during a seven-hour farewell to the station’s all-Beatles format. The marathon, starting at 10 a.m., will precede the station’s scheduled 5 p.m. switch to a new format of Broadway and Hollywood show tunes. . . . A Humphrey Bogart postage stamp will be issued later this month as part of the Postal Service’s “Legends of Hollywood” series, which has previously issued stamps featuring Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Actress Lauren Bacall, Bogart’s widow, will be on hand when the stamp is dedicated July 31 at Mann’s Chinese Theater. . . . Lorne Michaels, creator and executive producer of NBC’s late-night staple “Saturday Night Live,” has signed a deal with NBC to develop and produce new programming for other time periods on the network’s schedule. The deal, which creates a new production entity called SNL Studios, also extends Michaels’ “Saturday Night Live” run.