Web posted on: Wednesday, August 19, 1998 4:52:05 PM EDT

• Clinton's admission drew coverage, viewers
• Fawcett's ex-boyfriend convicted of battery
• Maybelle Carter's guitar gets place of honor
• Role as Gopher fails to meet 'Expectations'

The president's admission Monday night brought heavy network -- and viewer -- attention

NEW YORK (CNN) -- When President Clinton admitted via a televised address to the nation Monday night that he had had an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, his brief remarks drew massive television coverage and a huge number of viewers.

CNN racked up its highest ratings since the verdict was announced in the O.J. Simpson trial. Cable News Network had a 7.3 rating and was viewed in an estimated 5.4 million homes. The network's Web site, CNN Interactive, had a record 20.4 million page views Monday, 31 percent more than its previous heaviest day.

Fox News Channel estimated it had 462,000 households for the speech and its highest viewership ever for the network's analysis. Nielsen Media Research estimated that the cable network MSNBC was seen in 942,000 households, the highest since its coverage of Princess Diana's death.

At least four broadcast networks, five cable networks and various independent stations carried Clinton's address live. They all drew big numbers, though Nielsen was unable to immediately estimate how many people watched Clinton in total. Nielsen had no ratings for ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox because it measures their viewership in 15-minute increments. Clinton talked less than five minutes.

NBC broke away from "Monday Night Football" to show Clinton's speech, and CBS angered some teen-aged girls by knocking off the air the Miss Teen U.S.A. Pageant. CBS aired a taped version of the contest Tuesday.

SANTA MONICA, California (CNN) -- Farrah Fawcett's ex-boyfriend, convicted on one count of misdemeanor battery and acquitted on a second count, faces up to one year in jail and a $6,000 fine.

James Orr, a director, writer and producer whose credits include "Three Men and A Baby," was found guilty Tuesday of slamming Fawcett's head on asphalt and choking her in January. He was acquitted of a second charge stemming from an earlier incident.

Fawcett has admitted smashing the windows of Orr's home and attacking his car with a baseball bat. Orr denied the charges against him, and his defense described Fawcett during closing arguments as an "insanely jealous" woman who repeatedly attacked Orr.

The attorney for the "Charlie's Angels" star said Fawcett hopes the conviction will send a positive message to battered women. Orr is scheduled to be sentenced in October. His lawyer said he will appeal the verdict.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- Mother Maybelle Carter knew the value of a good guitar early, shelling out $500 for a Gibson way back in 1928. Now, the Country Music Hall of Fame plans to display the instrument that some credit with changing the course of Nashville music.

Charles Wolfe, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University who studies the Carters, the first family of country music, said good guitars were hard to come by in the 1920s.

"A lot of the early people who recorded used pieces of junk," Wolfe said. "Later on, they began to realize it was important to have a good-sounding guitar. It was vitally important that Maybelle came up with that one, which really did sound good and recorded well."

The Gibson goes on display this fall. "In many ways, it's the guitar that defined country music," Wolfe said.

Carter, literally Mother Maybelle to a host of singing Carter children, died in 1978.

Grandy's moved past his "Gopher" days

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- TV producer Aaron Spelling was "dumbfounded" when Fred Grandy turned down an offer to reprise his Gopher role on "The New Love Boat," and instead continued his summer season on the Washington stage in "Great Expectations, the Musical," Grandy says.

Grandy, a former congressman from Iowa, told the Washington Post that stage work is real acting compared to his efforts on "The Love Boat." He said a colleague from that show called acting for the sitcom "liquid modeling" in "the Spelling world."

Although Grandy is the chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries, he said his role in "Great Expectations" "is like camp for me. ... This is how I get my engine running in August."

Reuters contributed to this report.