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Roseanne, Planet Hollywood Reviving Game Show

From Wire Services

King World has teamed with Roseanne and the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain to arrange a reworking of the TV classic “Hollywood Squares” with a new moniker, “Planet Hollywood Squares,” it was announced at the opening of the Beverly Hills eatery.

Roseanne, along with King World President Michael King and Planet Hollywood Chairman Keith Barish said on Sunday, that they will have “major movie and TV stars” on board to revive the famed game format for TV.

Roseanne said that she will give the show a contemporary edge. It was not clear if she will host the new show, and a press spokesperson could not expand on the announcement.

The show will tie in to the 28-location restaurant chain, which features Hollywood memorabilia.

The new show comes with star name associations, as Planet Hollywood’s shareholders include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and restaurateur Robert Earl.

Oprah quitting talk show?

King World Productions says it has allowed Oprah Winfrey and her production company to delay their decision on whether to continue doing “The Oprah Winfrey Show” beyond the 1995-96 season.

Under the terms of the agreement between Winfrey production company Harpo Inc. and King World, Winfrey was scheduled to declare her future intentions on Friday. But a statement from King World said they agreed to let the star of the highest-rated syndicated talk show postpone her decision due to “the busy production schedule” resulting from the start of her program’s 10th anniversary season.

King World has the exclusive rights to distribute “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in first-run syndication through the 1999-2000 season. But Winfrey and her production company have the right to end production for each season after the 1995-96 season.

The delay is solely related to Winfrey’s production schedule, a King World source said. But the announcement is likely to cause further speculation that Winfrey is thinking about packing it in.

Winfrey said in a recent interview with Good Housekeeping magazine that she has begun to tire of the daily grind of her show. “As I contemplate how many more years I can do this, I sometimes consider a magazine format like Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters have - maybe once a week or once a month.”

Exercise videos slump

The exercise gravy train greased by Cher and Cindy Crawford has come to a screeching halt, but it’s not enough to derail a few suppliers from releasing star-driven tapes during the fourth quarter. Among the big names getting physical in the coming months are Claudia Schiffer, Carnie Wilson, Linda Evans and Yvette Mimieux.

Overall, 1995 consumer spending on exercise videos has dropped a whopping 32 percent, according to New York-based video consultant Alexander & Associates.

The firm does not isolate celebrity video sales performance, but distribution sources indicate that Buena Vista Home Video’s “Your Personal Best With Elle Macpherson” didn’t have nearly the muscle Crawford had in the early ‘90s. The two Crawford tapes released by GoodTimes Home Video have sold in excess of 3 million units worldwide, according to the company. Buena Vista shipped out 1 million units of the Macpherson tape, but sources say as much as 40 percent has come back.

Celebrity tapes have also taken a dive at Suncoast Motion Picture Co., according to president Gary Ross.

Not one star-driven exercise tape is among the chain’s top 200 sellers, he says.