Oscars find singers for 2 of 3 'Lion' tunes

GOOD MORNING: Grammy, no, Oscar, yes: Elton John will sing his grammy-winning "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (from "The Lion King") at the Oscars. Also chirping March 27 will be Hinton Battle on "The Lion King's" "Circle of Life." But no one is yet set to tackle "The King's" humorous "Hakuna Matata." Randy Newman sings his own "Make Up Your Mind" ("The Paper"), and Patty Smyth sings her "Look What Love Has Done" ("Junior") ... Sixty previous Oscar-winning tunes are now out in a collector's five-CD box from Rhino Entertainment. They range from Fred Astaire on "The Continental" to Richie Havens on "Streets of Philadelphia"... Paul Newman will attend and present at the O's. Gil Cates made a pitch to Marlon Brando. Well, you can't win 'em all ... Jeffrey Kurland, nominated for costumes on "Bullets Over Broadway" (he's been Woody's costume designer for 10-plus years), was set by Darren Star to thread the new CBSeries "Central Park West"-- Woody Allen's neighborhood ... Dee Mosbacher, Oscar-nominated for her short docu "Straight From the Heart," about parents who come to an understanding of their gay and lesbian children, has completed a second docu, "Out for Change: Confronting Homophobia in Women's Sports," featuring tennis champ/legend Martina Navratilova -- who gets the Role Model Award on Saturday at the Biltmore from the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center. Mosbacher next meets with Greg Louganis re a docu on a companion piece to the Navratilova story -- his, on men's sports ... Sony brought in a 55-member global team to L.A. for a three-day strategy session for Michael Jackson's release of his new "HIStory" album ... Jeff Pollack, conducting his three-day confab here, continues his three-year advisory to Sony on movie music contents, and in May, he'll add other studio clients. He's advised tunes for pix including "Sleepless in Seattle,""My Girl II, ""Bad Boys,""To Die For," etc. Because Pollack works with music programmers and a music network, he knows what songs and artists are going to break. The advice comes in handy for pic album$ as well.

WITH CHINA PROBLEMS settled, Jack Valenti next tackles Canadian problems. "They are very restrictive," he reminds. They threw Country Music TV, a U.S.-delivered channel, off their air. Jack also meets again with European producers, offering assistance but trying to remind 'em, "They have to make movies people want to see"... Burt Reynolds narrated "Ancient Whispers," music by Bobby Goldsboro, made on behalf of the American Indian Heritage Foundation with proceeds to indigenous groups around the globe. First copy went to the U.N. Center for Human Rights. "Ancient Whispers" honors great American chiefs and teachers including Cochise. Reynolds is part Cherokee ... Debra Winger's in China working on a BBC docu on the panda's danger of extinction ... Nicky Blair suffered a concussion in a fall at the site of his new Vegas restaurant. He recuped in time to record his role as Hammerhead for the "Spider-man" cartoon series ... Tom Clark, 62, Rock Hudson's longtime friend and press agent, died of heart failure Sunday in Palm Springs. Clark had previously been a member of Howard Strickling's legendary publicity department at MGM ... UTA TV agent Christopher Harbert and wife Laurie welcomed daughter Samantha Reagor H. on Sunday at Cedars-Sinai ..."General Hospital's" John Ingle ("Edward Quartermaine") signed a three-year pact. Ingle was a teacher for 30 years at BevHills High and Hollywood High, where he created performing arts programs at both schools ... Michael Sutton, who plays Stone on "G.H.," also stars in "The Class of 1990" at the Tiffany, bowing tonight. Proceeds to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation ... Former fashion photog Ron Harris, who launched the home workout craze with his "Aerobicise" (earning $ 25 million in the process), has formed his own production company, launches March 17 on the Playboy Channel with a one-hour spec, "Ron Harris' Camera: Up-Close and Dangerous," featuring Donna Perry, Miss November.

KATHARINE HEPBURN DELIGHTED the audience at the Lambs Theater in Manhattan Tuesday p.m. when she showed to see June Havoc in "The Old Lady's Guide to Survival," produced by Daniel Mayer Selznick. Hepburn's no stranger to the Selznick-Mayer family ... The genius of Steven Spielberg's toasted tonight at the AFI Lifetime Achivement award, with reps ranging fromWhoopi Goldberg, of "The Color Purple," to Ben Kingsley from "Schindler's List." George Stevens Jr. exec produces the show, with son Michael carrying on the tradition as producer ... The third generation of family tradition continues with Billy Koch, son of producer Howard W. Koch Jr., celebrating the victory of his first racehorse, No Worries, at Santa Anita. Billy's grandpa, legendary filmmaker Howard W. Koch Sr. , is a vet of thoroughbred horse racing, as well as pix ... The Museum of TV & Radio had a gala send-off to its 12th fest at the Grand Ballroom of the Four Seasons on Monday.