DATE: Monday, September 1, 1997             TAG: 9708300087

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Larry Bonko 

                                            LENGTH:   61 lines

BROADWAY-LIKE CAST OF MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY TELETHON AIDS JERRY'S KIDS

TODAY'S LOCAL TV buzz:

Once more for Jerry's kids - As the 32nd ``Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon'' nears its 6:30 p.m. conclusion today on WAVY, look for the suspense to build and build.

Will viewers in Hampton Roads pledge more than the $276,747 they did last year? Will Lewis on his ``Love Network'' break $50 million in 1997? Last year, he got close - $49,146,555.

This year's telethon has the look of Broadway with the cast of ``Rent,'' ``La Boheme,'' ``Riverdance,'' ``Annie'' and ``Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk'' taking part. Locally, WAVY's Bruce Rader will be bringing in da noise and da funk.

Changing partners - It's not official, but insiders say WTVZ will soon join the Warner Brothers network, which is affiliated with WVBT. WTVZ, Channel 33, is a Fox station, but not for long.

Come the fall of 1998, Fox switches to WVBT, which means a new address here for ``The X-Files.'' When the move is made, WVBT is expected to sign on with a 10 p.m. local newscast.

Stop the presses - WTKR says it's changing the name of ``News Channel 3 Live at Nine'' to ``Morning Break With Kurt and Jane'' because on Sept. 8 the show moves to 10 a.m. Jane is Jane Gardner, Kurt is Kurt Williams.

Curtain going up - New Dominion Pictures, producers of a syndicated TV series (``Ghost Stories'') that will be seen around the world this year, scheduled a premiere party in Virginia Beach on Sept. 13. Don't expect series host Rip Torn to be here though.

Tip of the day - It's time you discovered the Local Weather Station on cable with forecasts around the clock. Think of it as The Weather Channel without commercials.

Hail, Poopdeck Pappy - NBC affiliate WAVY, which called itself ``Wonderful WAVY'' when it signed on 40 years ago, celebrates four decades on Channel 10 with a looking-back special Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Names from the past include Lloyd Dobyns, Lee Leonard, Dick Lamb, John Wilson, Len Hathaway, Mark Thomas, Kurt Webster and Horace McManus as Poopdeck.

Random observation - I've never seen anyone on TV try harder to look sincere. I'm talking about the pharmacists in the Eckerd commercials.

Mystery solved - Who owns the mailbox shaped like a golf ball and tee seen recently in a weather shot on WTKR? Several readers called in to say it's owned by the Wallace Cahoons of the Cahoon Plantation on Cedar Road in Chesapeake.

More than grit - Leonard Clark, a reader in Virginia Beach, called to ask what I think of ``Oz,'' the prison drama playing this summer on Home Box Office. ``I find it real gritty,'' Clark said. ``How about you?''

``Oz'' shows more of prison life than I want to see. ``Oz'' is bloody and profane with characters who are sexual predators. Who needs that? MEMO: Phone in your comments or questions about local TV to me on

Infoline at 640-5555, press 2486. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION

Jerry Lewis and Benjamin Cumbo...

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