They Can Sing, but They Can’t Always Act

How does the song go? “They’re gonna put me in the movies; they’re gonna make a big star out of me.” Well, for singers yearning to try their hand at acting on the big screen, the road from pop star to movie star is often paved with broken dreams. Sure, there have been singers who have hit it big in films--Elvis, Barbra Streisand, Frankie Avalon, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and the Beatles. More recently, pop singers such as Madonna, Courtney Love, Janet Jackson and Chris Isaak have all tried their hand at acting, with varying success. But often, the talent that made a singer into a star doesn’t translate to acting. From Donny and Marie Osmond in “Goin’ Coconuts” to onetime teen idol Rick Springfield in “Hard to Hold,” fans may buy their records but don’t always embrace their movies. Singers have featured roles in two of this fall’s higher-profile films: Huey Lewis co-stars with Gwyneth Paltrow and an ensemble cast in “Duets,” and Iceland’s techno-pop singing rage Bjork appears in “Dancer in the Dark,” a role that won her best actress at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. In “Duets,” which was directed by longtime TV producer Bruce Paltrow (Gwyneth’s dad) and opens Friday in limited release, Lewis plays Ricky Dean, a seasoned hustler who prowls the karaoke bars of Middle America hoping to pick up a little cash by tricking people into thinking he can’t sing. In real life, Lewis is best known as lead singer of the rock ‘n’ roll band Huey Lewis & the News, which topped the pop charts in the 1980s with songs such as “The Power of Love” and “This Is It.” However, “Duets” is not his baptism in films. He was featured as fisherman Vern in Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts” and as a music teacher in “Back to the Future.” Disney reportedly was concerned about releasing the R-rated “Duets” because of some violent scenes, though in the final version the violence is mostly off camera and mild by contemporary standards. The brooding and surreal “Dancer in the Dark,” meanwhile, opens next month and is likely to appeal mostly to the art-house crowd.

Placing BET Firmly on Times Square

Black Entertainment Television, which last year expanded its programming with a series of original movies, is stepping into more new territory as it launches its fall season this week. The cable network has just opened a New York studio in Times Square that will be the headquarters for three music-oriented shows that executives maintain will heighten BET’s popularity with young urban viewers. Premiering today at 6 a.m. is “AM@BET,” a daily live series hosted by actor-model Laz Alonzo featuring music videos, news and gossip. “BET:INY,” at 10 a.m., with host Tiffany, will feature a live studio audience, celebrity guests and more music videos. The third new series, “106 & Park,” with hosts AJ Calloway and Free, will have an interactive format and the top 10 videos of the day as voted by BET viewers. The series will air twice daily, at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Returning music shows include “Rap City,” “Tha Basement,” “Cita’s World” and “BET Next,” formerly “Out the Box.” BET will also unveil a nightly hour news block at 8 p.m. with “BET News With Ed Gordon” followed by the interview show “BET Tonight With Tavis Smiley.”

--Compiled by Times staff writers