Wimbledon's Williams to present sports pic award

By ARMY ARCHERD

GOOD MORNING: Sports notes: Wimbledon winner Serena Williams heads to Hollywood Wednesday to present the first Best Sports Movie award at the ESPY Awards. The event, live on ESPN, emanates from the Kodak Theater. The sports pic is chosen by a panel of film crix; Samuel L. Jackson hosts the show. Participants include Tim Allen, Toni Braxton, Brian McKnight, Shannon Elizabeth, Julius Erving, Jeri Ryan, John Madden, David Spade, Kiefer Sutherland and Vivica A. Fox … There'll be a seven-minute delay for the start (5:07 p.m. PDT) of "Major League Baseball's Memorable Moments" on Fox, to make room for a tribute to the late Ted Williams. Hank Aaron receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom at 2 p.m. in Washington and quick-jets to Milwaukee to participate in the parade of champs who will march on field to launch the show, produced by Don Mischer. And viewers will be lured to the screen during a break between the fourth and fifth innings with another parade of champions. A few of those to be seen include Cal Ripken, Barry Bonds, Kirk Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Ichiro Suzuki, Luis Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa.

WITH A DECEMBER DATE set in London for "The Producers" (with original co-stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick), another B'way show has its Blighty bow set. It's "Mr. Goldwyn" starring Alan King, who says he'll open March 10 at the Comedy Theater in the West End and will play through the end of June. And he'll open at the Wilshire in L.A. in September, after which King tells me he'll tour the show nationally. "It's fun," he says, while admitting it cost him valuable paydates in his one-man concerts. He'll also tour the U.S. with publication Oct. 3 of his "The Great Jewish Joke Book" (Crown). It's a collection of more than 2,000 jokes with chapters dedicated, of course, to weddings, bar mitzvahs -- and "Jewish-American Princesses," he laughs. King notes, "The only thing that could be offensive -- is that it's not funny." The fourth annual Alan King Award in American Jewish Humor will be presented to Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara Nov. 25 at the Pierre. Alan, of course, will m.c … Meanwhile, here in L.A. -- and the world -- the shock and anger linger following the murder of two innocents at the El Al terminal at LAX. The Wiesenthal Center's Rabbi Marvin Hier tells me, "The way I see it, it's still an individual act of terror." The center is launching a fund for the family of one of the victims, Yaakov Aminov, father of eight, whose widow is expecting their ninth child … Composer David Raksin celebrates his 90th birthday Aug. 4, and ASCAP will fete him with a lunch at the BevHilton. I congratulated Raksin, who is busy writing his autobiog, "If I Say So Myself." He's got plenty to say, from his start with Charlie Chaplin musicking "Modern Times," to four films with Otto Preminger including "Laura," whose theme song has been recorded more than 400(!) times. Stories with other greats include Dimitri Tiomkin, Hank Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Vincente Minnelli. And films from "Pat and Mike" in 1952, "The Bad and the Beautiful," "Separate Tables," "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and hundreds of TV shows … Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Cy Coleman huddle in N.Y. next week with Warren Leight ("Side Man") to convert their recent D.C. "Portraits in Jazz" into a theatrical (B'way) vehicle.

A SALUTE TO JOHN FRANKENHEIMER will be held for family, friends and associates at the Directors Guild at 7 p.m. July 29. The family also established the John Frankenheimer Scholarship Fund, to be administered by the DGA, and asks that donations be made to the fund in lieu of flowers. The scholarship will be awarded to a directing student. In addition to the well-documented reminders of Frankenheimer's brave film topics, another film, "Seconds" (1966), should be recalled -- and not because it starred Rock Hudson -- but because Frankenheimer went out of his way to utilize the talents of John Randolph, Will Geer and Jeff Corey, who had been victims of Hollywood's infamous blacklist … Russia's President Vladimir Putin sat opposite Jacqueline Bisset at lunch following the Moscow film fest. She says he engaged her in a serious, intense conversation for 45 minutes, talking not only about Hollywood movies but current news events. The beautiful Jackie said she was so engrossed in the discussion that she totally forgot most of her meal -- "sturgeon, red caviar, soup, poached salmon, fluffy fruit dessert and vodka." Bob Rafelson, Holly Hunter and the Harvey Keitels lunched with Putin as well … On Monday, Monty Hall will be inducted in absentia into the Order of Manitoba (Canada). He is recuping from his fractured hip and cannot make the trip. However, he will positively attend tonight's Jewish Home for the Aging awards in the Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. And he'll participate, sans racquet, in the 30th annual Merchant of Tennis/Monty Hall/Cedars-Sinai Diabetes Tennis Tournament, launching July 19 at the Friars Club in BevHills. Play starts the next day at Mountain Gate Country Club, winding July 21 at the Playboy Mansion with the finals, pro/celeb matches and silent auction … Add Canadian honors: Shirley MacLaine was named an honorary citizen of Winnipeg -- she's shooting "The Battle of Mary Kay" up there for Alliance Atlantis and CBS … Marion Ross and Paul Michael are playing a two-week stand in "Over the River and Through the Woods" at the Gretna Theater in the Poconos, after which Ross wings to N.Y. to read with Marion Seldes for Kelly Masterson's new play, "Against the Rising Sea."