Greece to Pursue Getty Over Antiquities

The Greek government said yesterday that it was taking legal action against the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles in a fresh bid to win back four ancient artifacts it says had been stolen before the museum purchased them in 1993. The culture minister, Kostas Karamanlis, said in a statement that "orders had been given for the immediate start of legal proceedings" against the Getty, the only American museum to face such legal action from Greece. It did not give further details. Greece first challenged the Getty nine years ago about the four objects, dating from the fourth century B.C., and renewed its efforts for their return last May. This month, the Getty returned three artifacts to Italy shortly before the opening of the criminal trial in Rome of Marion True, the museum's former antiquities curator, who is charged with conspiring to import looted antiquities. American museums with big antiquities collections, like the Getty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, are coming under growing pressure from countries that are the source of many archaeological relics to disclose specific details of how they acquired such works and to open talks on their return. ANTHEE CARASSAVA

NBC's Stunts Don't Draw Crowds

Thanks to a ratings sweeps stunt by NBC's "Medium," viewers now know that 3-D technology is as feeble as ever. Parts of Monday night's episode - the psychic visions of Patricia Arquette's character - were broadcast in 3-D; a TV Guide insert provided the glasses. The show was introduced with old footage of Rod Serling of "Twilight Zone" fame, his voice digitally altered to say, "You are now entering the 'Medium' zone." NBC's "Las Vegas" also made mischief to draw more viewers: Lara Flynn Boyle's character was blown off a roof by high winds and died. Despite such tricks, NBC placed third in the pecking order, which is where it usually stands on Mondays. Both "Medium" (13.26 million) and "Las Vegas" (12.16 million) performed slightly better than their averages, but neither one drew its best 18-to-49 ratings of the season. In that age group, ABC was No. 1 for the night, with its combination of "Wife Swap" and "Monday Night Football." CBS's lineup drew the most viewers over all. Its "CSI: Miami" was the night's most-watched show, delivering 18.83 million viewers. KATE AURTHUR

Landmark Building Saved

A building in Brownsville, Tex., listed last year as one of the country's 11 most endangered historic places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has been saved from demolition. The George Kraigher House, a 1937 structure that may have been the first International Style house in Texas, will be leased by the city to the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College for 99 years. The house, designed by Richard J. Neutra, was bought by the city in 1999, but has fallen victim to neglect, vandalism, water damage and termites. The new lease, for $1 a year, takes effect on Jan. 1.

Glitter Denies Abuse

Gary Glitter, the 1970's British glam-rocker who was arrested last weekend in Vietnam, has denied accusations of child molestating, telling the police that he was teaching English to young girls, the Vietnamese state newspaper reported yesterday. "When they met me, they all told me that they were older than 20," he said. The newspaper, Thanh Nien, said the police had identified five girls who admitted to having sex with Mr. Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd. One of the girls was 12, the paper said. The age of consent in Vietnam is 16, and sex with minors is punishable by up to 12 years in jail.

Honoring World TV

Oprah Winfrey, a BBC program on the use of music at Auschwitz, the Canadian sitcom "The Newsroom," a Danish crime drama and a German documentary on the Allied bombing of Dresden were among the winners at the International Emmy Awards ceremony on Monday night at the New York Hilton. Ms. Winfrey was given the Founders Award by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in honor of her broadcast career and her philanthropy. "Holocaust: A Musical Memorial Film From Auschwitz" won for arts programming; "The Newsroom" took the comedy prize; "The Drama of Dresden" won the documentary prize; "The Eagle," called a "crime odyssey," and the movie "Young Andersen" won for Denmark; the BBC automotive program "Top Gear" won in the nonscripted category; Thierry Frémont, from France, was named best actor for "Murder in Mind"; and He Lin, from China, was named best actress for "Slave Mother."

Soundtracks

Patti LaBelle and Jill Scott are not in the cast of the new Broadway musical "The Color Purple," but they have been enlisted to record a single for the cast album that will be sent to radio stations in January. The song, "What About Love?" by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, who wrote the lyrics and music for the show, was recorded on Monday, said a spokesman for Angel Records, which will release the full album - with the show's cast - on Jan. 24. The show, based on the book by Alice Walker and the movie by Steven Spielberg, is in previews and will open on Dec. 1 at the Broadway Theater, 1681 Broadway, at 53rd Street. ... "The Aristocrats," the film about a legendarily dirty joke, is not exactly known for its music. That's why the soundtrack to the film, to be released on Dec. 6 by V2, contains none of it - just comedians from the movie talking about the joke and telling versions of it. Among the 92 comedians on the disc are Gilbert Gottfried, Paul Reiser, George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Lewis Black and Sarah Silverman.

Footnotes

Ormsby Wilkins has been named music director of American Ballet Theater. Mr. Wilkins, 54, who was born in Sydney, Australia, has been the music director of the National Ballet of Canada since 1990, and a guest conductor with Ballet Theater since 2000. His appointment takes effect immediately. ... A collection of poems written by Bob Dylan as a student at the University of Minnesota in 1960 sold for $78,000 at Christie's in New York on Monday, Reuters reported. The 16 pages of poems, handwritten in pencil, were the earliest Dylan manuscript ever offered for auction, and fetched the highest auction price to date for Mr. Dylan, according to Christie's. The poetry was acquired by an unidentified private European bidder.