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

ART

Too Much of a Good Thing?: Those planning a trip to Philadelphia any time soon might want to call ahead before attempting to visit the Barnes Foundation, home to a spectacular collection of Impressionist art including the world’s largest permanent collection of Cezannes. That’s because the local zoning board ruled Thursday that the gallery--which existed in near-secrecy for decades until it was opened to the public by a 1961 court order--has become so successful that it can no longer claim to be a private educational institution that happens to have a gallery attached. Instead, the board ruled, the foundation is operating principally as a museum, which is illegal because it’s in a residential area. That ruling ratified an earlier decision to levy fines of $500 a day unless the number of visitors to the foundation is sharply reduced and the days of operation cut from 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 a week. The foundation has said it will appeal the ruling. After taking its collections on a national tour, the gallery completed $12 million in renovations in 1995, then reopened to a record number of visitors, who brought with them complaints from the gallery’s neighbors about crowds and traffic.

MOVIES

San Diego Critics Pick ‘Fargo’: The dark comedy “Fargo” has won another critics’ group’s endorsement for best picture, this time from the San Diego Film Critics Society, which also named “Fargo’s” Joel Coen as best director and star Frances McDormand as best actress. “The English Patient” and “Evita” tied for second place in the group’s best picture voting, while Brenda Blethyn (“Secrets & Lies”) finished second for best actress and Kenneth Branagh (“Hamlet”) was the runner-up for best director. The group did name Branagh best actor, however, beating out Geoffrey Rush of “Shine.” Supporting acting honors went to Lauren Bacall (“The Mirror Has Two Faces”) and Armin Mueller-Stahl (“Shine”). France’s “Ridicule” was picked as best foreign film.

RADIO

New ‘Drama Hour’ Schedule: KNX-AM (1070) will add six different radio classics to its 9-10 p.m. “Drama Hour” in the new year, including Eve Arden’s “Our Miss Brooks” and “The Adventures of Sam Spade,” starring Howard Duff. Starting Wednesday, the station’s nightly lineup will be as follows: “The Whistler” and “Tales of the Texas Rangers” on Mondays; “The Six Shooter” or “Sam Spade” and “Gangbusters” or “The Cisco Kid” on Tuesdays; “The Adventures of Philip Marlowe” and “The Lone Ranger” on Wednesdays; “Have Gun, Will Travel” and “Suspense” on Thursdays; “Gunsmoke” and “Dragnet” or “The Third Man” on Fridays; “The Jack Benny Show” and “Our Miss Brooks” on Saturdays; and “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” and “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon” on Sundays. The hourlong double bill repeats on KNX each morning at 2 a.m.

TELEVISION

Stopping Teenage Drug Use: The nation’s drug czar, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, is scheduled to meet with about 35 entertainment industry leaders at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 9 to discuss ways that television programs and movies could help curb illegal drug use among teens. Among those scheduled to take part in the meeting, which is organized by the Entertainment Industries Council, are NBC Enterprises President John Agoglia, Fox Children’s Network President Margaret Loesch, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences President Mike Greene, producer Suzanne de Passe and actress Michele Lee. Others expected include “ER” co-producer Neal Baer, Paramount Network Television President Dick Askin, Samuel Goldwyn Productions CEO Samuel Goldwin Jr., Disney Television President David Newman, ABC Entertainment Vice President of Production Brian McAndrews and Dan McDermott, head of production for DreamWorks Television.

QUICK TAKES

Bob Dole, who followed up his failed presidential bid with successful appearances on “Late Show With David Letterman” and “Saturday Night Live,” has another TV gig lined up. He guests Jan. 9 on NBC’s Brooke Shields comedy, “Suddenly Susan.” In the episode, he provides a bit of coaching on the two-party political system to Luis (Nestor Carbonell) who is studying for his exam to become a U.S. citizen. . . . ABC’s “All My Children” has received the 1996 Media Award for Excellence from Washington’s Adoption Studies Institute. The award recognizes the soap’s story line in which Edmund and Maria Grey (John Callahan and Eva La Rue Callahan) adopt the baby of an unwed pregnant teenager after Maria is unable to conceive. . . . The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra’s New Year’s Eve performance with vocalist Diana Krall at the Jazz Bakery will be broadcast coast-to-coast by National Public Radio, originating from NPR satellite-affiliate station KLON-FM (88.9), and beginning at 11 p.m. It’ll be part of a nightlong New Year’s Eve NPR broadcast, airing in its entirety on KLON, that begins at 7 p.m. with Tito Puente’s orchestra live from New York, followed by trombonist Wessell Anderson’s appearance from New Orleans at 9 p.m. . . . Starting Monday, KMEX-TV Channel 34 will offer closed captioning for its 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts, becoming the first Spanish-language news broadcasts in the country to do so.