Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

TELEVISION

Mr. Green Jeans’ New Pal: The new Captain Kangaroo is a bearded, third-generation Connecticut native who has a passion for storytelling and has been seen in such feature films as “Preacher’s Wife� and “I.Q.� Children’s TV producer Saban Entertainment announced Thursday that John McDonough, 43, will star in its nationally syndicated “The All New Captain Kangaroo,� which premieres September on KCOP-TV Channel 13. McDonough, who was selected over about 1,000 other candidates and has received two regional Emmys for his Connecticut public television series “Environment 2000,� will be joined on the new program by many of the original show’s classic characters, including Mr. Green Jeans, Mr. Moose, Bunny Rabbit and Grandfather Clock. “John is a beloved legend in his Connecticut hometown,� said Rob Loos, producer of “The All New Captain Kangaroo.� “With the debut of this new series, we get to share him with all of America.� Also joining the show will be Margo McKnight, a Busch Gardens zoo conservationist; Chuck Cureau, an animal expert from Sea World; and Joey the Kangaroo.

Angelou Joining Directors’ Ranks: Renowned poet and author Maya Angelou (“The Heart of a Woman,� “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings�) will make her directorial debut with the tentatively titled “Down in the Delta,� a film for cable’s Showtime about an African American family’s efforts to escape the demoralizing drug culture of their Chicago housing project. Alfre Woodard and Wesley Snipes will star in the TV movie, which begins production in Toronto on July 7.

MOVIES & VIDEO

The Lost Web Site: “The Lost World’s� dinosaurs proved to be no match for computer hackers this week when the home page for the movie’s Web site (https://www.lost-world.com) was altered--with the film’s trademark dinosaur logo replaced with a profile of a prehistoric-looking duck, accompanied by the title “The Lost Pond: Jurassic Duck.� A Universal spokesman, who called the prank “amusing,� said the studio was alerted Wednesday morning and quickly restored the page to its original appearance. “We’re taking a closer look at our firewalls, obviously,� the spokesman said. . . . While “The Lost World� continues to eat up a dino-sized share of the box office, the original “Jurassic Park�--first released on sell-through video in October 1994--has climbed to No. 1 on this week’s VideoScan sales chart, topping the No. 2 video, Disney’s “101 Dalmatians,� by about 25%.

Nazi Ties Confirmed: Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, the former Dalai Lama tutor whose best-selling biography is the basis of the upcoming Brad Pitt film “Seven Years in Tibet,� has acknowledged that he was once a member of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party. Harrer, 84, told Austrian state radio APA that he was a member of the National Socialists and accepted an invitation to join the Nazi SS elite as a sports trainer. Harrer was commenting on an 80-page file from the Berlin state archives, published Thursday in a German magazine, which mentioned a Heinrich Harrer as an SS member carrying a rank equivalent to sergeant. The magazine also published a photograph of Harrer with Hitler, who reportedly congratulated Harrer for a record-breaking mountaineering expedition during a 1938 ceremony attended by 30,000. Harrer said that his SS membership was an unfortunate episode but added that he just had to “grin and bear it. I don’t think I need to stress again that I have a clear conscience,� he told APA, stressing that he was only required to carry out sports duties for the SS.

RADIO

Entering ‘The Zone’: Comic talk host Stephanie Miller and comedian Merrill Markoe, a former head writer for David Letterman when he was at NBC, will land on KTZN-AM (710 “The Zone�) next Monday. Miller, who left KFI-AM (640) in 1995 to do a syndicated late-night TV show, will take the weekday 3-6 p.m. slot, currently occupied by Joe Crummey. Crummey will pair with Markoe, writer of “Merrill Markoe’s Guide to Love,� in the 9 a.m.-noon slot. Yolanda Gaskins, currently in that time period, will switch to 6-9 p.m. And Doug McIntyre, who was on from 7-9 p.m., moves to weekends, 10 p.m.-1 a.m. KTZN Program Director Dave Cooke said the changes are “all about counter-programming,� adding: “Joe and Merrill--topical talk with humor--are completely different than [KFI’s] Rush [Limbaugh] or [KABC’s] Michael Jackson. And Stephanie, who is more satirical and humor-based, is better counter-programming to [KFI’s] John [Kobylt] and Ken [Chiampou], and Larry Elder on KABC.�

QUICK TAKES

The producers of NBC’s “ER� are said to be mulling over an idea to broadcast the series’ fourth season opener live--although the principals have yet to investigate what logistic problems might be involved in such a feat. The series resumes production sometime in July. . . . Scott Hicks will follow up his Academy Award-nominated directorial turn on “Shine� by making a movie version of David Guterson’s best-selling novel “Snow Falling on Cedars,� for Universal Pictures. The story, to be adapted by Oscar winner Ronald Bass (“Rain Man�), is a tale of prejudice, justice and redemption centered around a Japanese man accused of murder. . . . Casting has been announced for Neil Simon’s “Proposals,� opening July 16 at the Ahmanson Theatre. Barry Newman will play the man at the center of the plot, with Kelly Bishop as his ex-wife, Suzanne Cryer as his daughter, L. Scott Caldwell as a housekeeper and Mel Winkler as the housekeeper’s husband.