TV Coverage: All the Stars and Parties, Before and After

Before the first winner is announced at tonight’s 69th annual Academy Awards ceremony, television will be awarding movie fans with two hours of pre-Oscar night festivities from the Shrine Auditorium.

At 4 p.m., KABC-TV Channel 7 puts on its tuxedo for “An Evening at the Academy Awards,” featuring Harold Greene, Lisa McRee, George Pennacchio, Roger Ebert and Willow Bay. The show will be repeated at 1:10 a.m.

They’ll have plenty of competition grabbing celebrities. On KTLA-TV Channel 5 and cable’s WGN, entertainment reporter Sam Rubin mingles with early arrivals at the Shrine on “Live From the Academy Awards.” Tawny Little surveys the glittery scene as well for KCOP-TV Channel 13. And Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa Rivers, will be interviewing stars for E! Entertainment’s “Academy Awards Pre-Show ’97.”

ABC begins its three-hour telecast at 6 p.m., as Billy Crystal, after a three-year break, returns to host the show on Channel 7.

E! gets into a party mood after the ceremonies when it covers the Governor’s Ball at 9 p.m. Steve Kmetko will greet the winners and the losers.

At 10 p.m., after a “Barbara Walters Special” with Lauren Bacall, Harrison Ford and Woody Harrelson, KABC-TV will offer a recap of the awards and report on post-Oscar parties.

Finally, “The Late, Late Show” on CBS (Channel 2) at 12:35 a.m. will repeat Tom Snyder’s interview with best supporting actress nominee Bacall, focusing on her role in “The Mirror Has Two Faces.”