Entertainment

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "Chantilly Lace," on the Showtime cable network. The telemovie stars JoBeth Williams, Lindsay Crouse, Helen Slater, Jill Eikenberry, Martha Plimpton, Ally Sheedy, and Talia Shire. The plot revolves around a reunion of old friends, but the lines and action are mostly improvised by the actresses.

Actress and Stanford Theater Professor, Anna Deavere Smith. She performs solo, multi-casted pieces, the scripts of which are transcripts of interviews with real participants of events. "Fires in the Mirrors" (aired on PBS) gave voice to the many facets of the Crown Heights riots.

Bassett recently had the intimidating job of playing the legendary singer in the new film, "What's Love Got to Do with it." Her performance has been widely praised. Bassett's other roles include the mother of a troubled teenager in "Boyz N the Hood," and the wife of the black Muslim leader in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X."

Johnston has four albums to his credit. The latest is, "Unlucky." His previous album, "Can You Fly," brought him to attention of many critics and garnered him much acclaim. Despite his love of hard rock, Johnston's songs have been described as "post-punk honky-tonk. . . performed by a lonely, heartbroken wiseass."

Harris starred in "The Right Stuff," "The Abyss," and David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross." He's now starring in the new film, "The Firm," based on the best-selling thriller by John Grisham.

A concert with the McGarrigle sisters, Kate and Anna. There are new CDs of their first two albums, released in the late 70s: "Kate & Anna McGarrigle" and "Dancer with Bruised Knees." The McGarrigles are known for their close and "subtle harmony." Their music is considered hard to categorize, although it sounds folky. The sisters absorbed an eclectic blend of music when they were growing up in Canada: Victorian ballads, blues, jazz, French-Canadian folk songs, Broadway tunes, and country music.

Nielsen is best known for his comic roles in Airplane! and the Naked Gun films. He's been acting since the late forties, after he was taught radio broadcasting by Lorne Greene. He's just written a "fictional autobiography" called "The Naked Truth," a pun-encrusted look at nearly fifty years of show business.

Sharkey died on Friday from complications related to AIDS. We replay an excerpt from a 1988 interview with him.

Morris has always done impressions: he began lampooning the presidents when Reagan was sworn into office. Since then he's impersonated Bush, and Clinton, as well as presidental contenders, Michael Dukakis, Paul Tsongas, and Ross Perot. He brought his act to the White House Correspondents Association Dinner and comedy clubs around the country.

Handler has played leading roles in seven Broadway productions including, "Six Degrees of Separation," "Brighton Beach Memoirs," and "Master Harold. . . and the boys." He's 32 now; seven years ago he was diagnosed with leukemia. He had a bone marrow transplant, and he's now considered free of the disease. He has a new monologue, "Time on Fire," about his four year struggle with leukemia.

The theater director and actor is a member of playwright David Mamet's circle of theater innovators. Macy has most recently starred in Mamet's new play "Oleanna", and was featured in his film "Homocide". They co-founded the Atlantic Theater Company, an ensemble which performs mainly original works by American writers. Members of the company wrote "A Practical Handbook For The Actor", from notes taken during acting workshops led by Mr. Macy. One critic writes that the ensemble "has rescued theater from the mindless".

Bridges comes from a famous family: his father is Lloyd Bridges, star of the TV series "Sea Hunt"; his brother is actor Beau Bridges. He's starred in the movies like "Starman," "The Last Picture Show," "The Fabulous Baker Boys," and "The Fisher King." Now he's let his hair grow for the new film, "American Heart," directed by Martin Bell. Bridges plays a newly released ex-con who is "cornered" by his teen-age son whom he abandoned.

Belushi is starring in the upcoming ABC series, "Wild Palms," produced by Oliver Stone. It's a thriller set in the future. Belushi plays a television executive caught up in the computer-generated world of illusion that his network broadcasts. Belushi is the brother of the late John Belushi.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Dave," the new film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver.

Ullman is best known for her work with director Ingmar Bergman. She's making her directing debut with the new film, "Sofie," based on a novel by Danish writer Henri Nathansen. Ullman also travels around the world on behalf of starving children, as Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF

Alexander's songs were recorded on early records by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. His new album, "Lonely Just Like Me," is his first release in twenty years.

Verdon starred in "Damn Yankees," "Sweet Charity." "Redhead," and "Chicago." She won four Tony awards, and she's about to receive a lifetime achievement award from the New Dramatists Playwrights Workshop.

Among his many roles in entertainment, Shearer is also one of the creators of and performers in the mock-rock group Spinal Tap. He also does several voices on "The Simpsons." Shearer has a new book of the columns he wrote for the Los Angeles Times Magazine. He'll also be appearing tomorrow at The Museum of Television & Radio in New York City, to talk about his work on "Saturday Night Live" and his syndicated radio program, "Le Show."

O'Toole is the star of "Lawrence of Arabia," "The Lion in the Winter," and "My Favorite Year." He has a new autobiography about the start of his career, called "Loitering with Intent.

Palin is best known for his comedy work with England's legendary Monty Python troupe. But his new movie, "American Friends," is a romance based on the life of his great-grandfather. Edward Palin was a 35 year-old tutor at Oxford University when he met 17-year-old Brita, an American girl touring Europe. Oxford tutors in the Victorian era were sworn to chastity, so Edward Palin left his job to marry Brita. Michael Palin found the story in his great-grandfather's journal.