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Friday, July 16, 1999 5:07:44 PM EST

• Judge loosens restrictions against Tommy Lee
• AMC movie mogul dies
• Skater tries to put porn links on ice
• 'Seinfeld' spinoff churning

Tommy Lee leaves the courthouse with his ex-wife Pamela Anderson and their son

MALIBU, California (CNN) -- A judge congratulated former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee for behaving while on probation for beating his ex-wife Pamela Anderson Lee.

Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mira told him that he was "entitled to more confidence than I have had in the past." Pamela and his 18-month-old son attended the hearing.

The judge refused a plea by Lee's lawyer to dismiss probation restrictions entirely, but did loosen some probation restrictions. Lee is now allowed to enter stores that sell alcohol, and he can perform in places where alcohol is served.

Lee was placed on three years' probation after pleading no contest in April 1998 to kicking his wife several times while she held their son. The couple divorced, but got back together.

Lee was already on probation at the time for attacking a photographer in 1996.

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The feisty and controversial theater exhibition magnate Stanley H. Durwood died Wednesday at the age of 78. Durwood, who founded the AMC Entertainment Inc. theater chain, died of esophageal cancer at home in Kansas City, Missouri.

He's credited with fostering the multiplex era and such amenities as cup holders, stadium seating and, most recently, the love seat. Over 40 years, he took his family's Durwood Theaters from a handful of second-run venues to one of the largest exhibition chains in the world, renamed American Multi-Cinema. There are now more than 2,700 screens in the United States, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain and Portugal.

"There was no one who had more impact on film exhibition since the moguls," says Barry Reardon, former distribution president at Warner Bros. "We had our disagreements, but you had to like and respect him. He was definitely out there trying new things right to the end."

BOSTON (CNN) -- Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan has filed a lawsuit against a company that she says is using her name to sell pornographic pictures over the Internet.

She alleges FSX Network Communications Corp. of New York put her name on a text page to get search engines to point to the site whenever a computer user requests information on Kerrigan. The text page links to three pages where sexually explicit pictures are for sale.

None of the defendants could be located for comment. Kerrigan is requesting they remove her name from the site and pay unspecified damages.

In September, Kerrigan settled a lawsuit against a California company she accused of displaying false pornographic pictures of her online.

A "Seinfeld" spinoff? Get OUT!

PASADENA, California (CNN) -- Variety is reporting that a "Seinfeld" spinoff is in the works. The magazine says this show won't revolve around George, Kramer or Elaine, but rather, Jackie Chiles, the Johnnie Cochran-esque lawyer who represented Kramer in his oddball lawsuits against coffee and tobacco companies.

Phil Morris, who played Chiles in six episodes of NBC's "Seinfeld," plans to play the title role in "The Jackie Chiles Show." Morris revealed plans for the new show Thursday during a Television Critics Association panel for the cable channel BET.

Jerry Seinfeld, co-creator Larry David and Castle Rock TV have given the project their OK, but none is involved with the show.

Morris tells Variety that even Cochran has given his blessings to bring the character back on the air.

"I go to the same barber shop as Cochran and he's given me his full support," Morris says.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.