CLASSICAL MUSICThe Beat Goes On: A strike...

CLASSICAL MUSIC

The Beat Goes On: A strike by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra was averted Thursday night after management offered musicians a new contract proposal. Earlier, union officials said that a walkout by the 107-member orchestra before the evening’s scheduled performance at Lincoln Center was all but certain, and that pickets in “concert dress” would hit the sidewalks at 8 p.m. But at showtime, the musicians took their seats before an audience of 2,740. Neither side revealed specifics of the new contract proposal, but the musicians’ union president said it was “serious.” Under the old contract, which expired last week, Philharmonic members earned a minimum salary of $72,800 with pension benefits totaling $40,000.

TELEVISION

Video ‘Kombat’: New Line Cinema’s summer hit “Mortal Kombat” may have earned a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Assn. of America, but the standards board of cable’s MTV has deemed a video containing footage from some of the movie’s scenes too violent for television. The video in question, for “Juke Joint Jezebel,” a single from the movie’s soundtrack by techno band KMFDM, contains footage taken directly from the movie, including several close-ups of contact fighting and kicks to the head. “The video has excessive violence and commercialization, so we asked them to tone it down,” said an MTV spokeswoman, adding that “there’s a different between watching violent images in a two-hour movie in the context of a story and watching that violence in a two-minute video out of context.” However, a spokeswoman for TVT Records, which released the soundtrack and video, said that the company would not resubmit the video with the “20-plus” edits requested by MTV. “We feel it would totally compromise the artistic quality of the video,” she said. “It’s ironic that a movie can be rated PG-13 yet is not suitable for the 20-something generation.”

More CBS Blues: CBS, already off to the worst start of any prime-time season in its history, got another dose of discouraging news Friday. Nielsen Media Research reported that the premiere of its newspaper drama “New York News” on Thursday night finished third in its 9-10 time period, ahead of ABC’s “The Monroes” but behind Fox’s “New York Undercover” and NBC’s winning “Seinfeld"/"Caroline in the City” combination. On top of that, the late-night ratings released Friday showed that NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” topped CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” in households for the fifth week in a row.

MOVIES

To Universal, All’s Fine, Chi Chi: Golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez has settled his lawsuit over use of his name by a drag queen in the movie “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.” Rodriguez, 59, sued the movie’s producers two weeks ago, saying that use of his name by actor John Leguizamo damaged his reputation. The golfer had asked a judge to make Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment remove the name, even though the movie was already released. The producers had argued it would be impossible to pull or change the movie. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

KUDOS

Gibson Feted: Mel Gibson was to receive the American Cinematheque Award at the group’s annual Moving Picture Ball at the Century Plaza Friday night. Gibson (“Braveheart,” “Lethal Weapon,” “Hamlet”) was being honored “for the diverse range of characters he has brought to the screen as an actor and for the equally eclectic motion pictures he has involved himself with as a producer and a director.” Previous honorees include Bette Midler, Robin Williams and Steven Spielberg.

More Honors: Country star Billy Ray Cyrus on Friday received the first Bob Hope Artists Award, a new honor given by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and named after Hope for his five decades of work on behalf of American troops. Cyrus, who received his award from Hope during the society’s National Patriots’ Awards in Philadelphia, was honored for his efforts to find housing for Vietnam veterans. . . . The “Jenny Jones” show has won a 1995 Nancy Susan Reynolds Award for its program on “People Who Contracted HIV as Teens.” The annual Reynolds awards, sponsored by Advocates for Youth, honor outstanding portrayals of family planning, sexuality and reproductive health in the entertainment media. . . . Director John Woo will receive the Pacesetter Award at the 1995 Diversity Awards, taking place Oct. 10 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

QUICK TAKES

KTLA-TV Channel 5 has added Sunday’s Dodgers/Padres game to its schedule at 1 p.m. The station also says that if either the Dodgers or the Angels are involved in a one-game division playoff on Monday, it will broadcast that game as well. . . . The movies “Giant,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “East of Eden” will be screened continuously today from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Los Angeles’ Farmers Market as part of “Rebel Without a Pause: The James Dean Film Festival,” a free event commemorating the 40-year anniversary of the actor’s death in an automobile accident. . . . Cable’s Comedy Central, which has spent the last several months touting its lack of O.J. Simpson trial coverage with “Just Say No.J.” promotional spots, announced Thursday that it will join the trial’s media frenzy by airing daily comedic reporting segments until jury deliberations are completed. Anchoring the channel’s “O.J. Central” coverage will be none other than “People’s Court” commentator Doug Llewelyn.