Columbia Pictures Television

John H. Mitchell, one of the first three employees of Screen Gems productions, forerunner of Columbia Pictures Television, died Tuesday of a heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was 66. Mitchell was a three-term president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Columbia's TV president from 1968 to 1977. During his tenure more than 100 television series and 50 TV movies or mini-series were produced for all the major networks.

Television Azteca, Mexico's second-largest network, inflated and misrepresented what it said was a deal to acquire extensive new content from Columbia Pictures this week, a Columbia executive said Thursday. In fact, Michael Grindon, president of Columbia TriStar International Television, said Thursday that the alleged deal to develop telenovelas and feature films is nothing more than talk. The misstatements come at a time of intensifying competition for U.S.

Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures Television said a Los Angeles jury awarded it $31.7 million in damages from a man whose TV stations aired the company's shows without permission. A U.S. District Court jury awarded Sony the damages after finding that C. Elvin Feltner Jr. infringed the company's copyrights. Three stations he controlled aired 440 episodes of "Who's the Boss," "Hart to Hart," "T.J. Hooker" and "Silver Spoons" after Sony canceled the stations' licenses to air the shows for nonpayment.

Republic Pictures Corp. has named Laurie Levit executive vice president of Republic Pictures Productions. Levit previously was senior vice president-television movies and miniseries at Columbia Pictures Television.

Producer Settles With Law Firm, TV Unit: Philip L. DeGuere Jr. is receiving an undisclosed amount in settling his lawsuit against the powerful entertainment firm Ziffren, Brittenham & Branca and Columbia Pictures Television. The suit alleged that his television pilot "Triangle" was canceled in 1989 as part of a scheme to conceal payments related to CBS' hiring of Jeff Sagansky as its entertainment chief.

When Mel Harris joined Sony Pictures Entertainment last year, he knew he was taking on a tough job as president of the newly configured television group. The unit had been posting large profits from the sale of reruns of "Who's the Boss?" and "Married . . . With Children," but earnings were due to tumble in the fall of 1993 because of a dearth of fresh programs available for syndication.

A long-running lawsuit involving some of Hollywood's most powerful players has led to accusations that CBS committed fraud when it hired entertainment President Jeff Sagansky. The Los Angeles Superior Court case, set for a hearing today, alleges that CBS abruptly canceled a television pilot called "Triangle" in 1989 as part of an elaborate scheme to conceal payments made in connection with bringing Sagansky on board at the network. Sagansky was chairman of TriStar Pictures at the time.

Columbia Pictures Acquires New World TV Unit: Columbia Pictures Television said it has formed a division, TriStar Television, and has signed a letter of intent to assume most of the TV program assets of New World Entertainment for an undisclosed price. TriStar TV will be headed by NWE President Jon Feltheimer. NWE produces four network TV series and is producing an upcoming miniseries and TV movie. Excluded from the deal are NWE divisions Marvel Productions and Learning Corp.

In the name of fairness, I suggest that future reviews of theatrical performances include the location of the seat from which the critic saw the performance. I challenge you to go to the UCLA James A. Doolittle Theater, sit in the mezzanine section, Row B, and honestly write that you spent five totally enjoyable minutes during the production of "A Little Night Music" or anything else. The spacing between rows is so narrow that it takes an unspoken agreement from the persons sitting to your left and right, and their left and right and so on down the row, to shift knees simultaneously.

Columbia Pictures Television, in a risky marketing move, has begun giving away the reruns of the hit comedy series "Designing Women" to TV stations in exchange for the right to sell almost half of the commercial advertising time in the show.