GLOBES' SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IN SHOW BUSINESS EXPANDS.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Daily News Staff Writer

Was it Ving Rhames' magnanimous gesture of turning over his award to veteran Jack Lemmon, or was it Christine Lahti's ill-timed call of nature that nearly kept her from accepting her prize?

Whatever the water-cooler talk was Monday, chances are Sunday night's 55th annual Golden Globe Awards came up.

The ceremony - the first major star-studded, monkey-suited bash of the entertainment awards season - has evolved from an intimate nightclub gathering of Hollywood notables to a red-carpet Oscar run-up telecast around the world.

Whether it is because of increased credibility or the public's insatiable appetite for celebrities, the audience has grown steadily since the show's return to network television in 1996.

Nielsen Media Research reported Monday that NBC's telecast drew an 18.3 rating, which translates to 17.9 million U.S. households, up from a 13.4 rating on the same network last year.

And this is for a trophy bestowed by a small group that one veteran entertainment observer disparages as ``a bunch of waiters.''

``It has always been the most star-studded event that I know of because it's fun,'' says Marianne Ruuth, a past president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of 90 journalists who issue the awards.

Members must be accredited by the Motion Picture Association of America and submit the requisite number of recent paid, published stories with bylines - a minimum of four - in order to earn and maintain membership. Some cynics say four Hollywood stories does not make an entertainment journalist; in fact, over the years many HFPA members have held other jobs because their journalism job didn't pay a living wage, hence that ``waiters'' remark.

So how is it that this ragtag international ensemble wields such clout that it can bring out Julia Roberts, Jack Nicholson, Madonna and the entire cast of ``ER'' for a Beverly Hills banquet?

The Golden Globes are gaining respect, at least in some circles.

``I think (their impact) is tremendous,'' said one Hollywood publicist. ``I think there was a time when people (in the business) looked down their noses at them. Now, their importance in terms of getting the exposure on influencing the Oscar picks is tremendous.

``You have to realize that the (Academy Award) nominations have not been announced,'' she added. ``A Golden Globe lends legitimacy. And it's becoming legitimized in the process.''

The television audience has grown dramatically. The Golden Globe ceremonies were shown on TV sporadically since they first hit the airwaves in the late '50s. Initially they aired as part of ``The Andy Williams Show,'' then in syndication, often on a delayed basis. For most of '80s and early '90s, they were relegated to cable, where they suffered from lack of publicity and audience fragmentation.

The Globe award ceremony, held this year at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel, is nothing like the prestigious Academy Award affair.

``In some ways I like that it's not as cold as the Oscars, that it's a dinner table setup and people can walk around,'' said one publicist. ``And that permits some gaffes, which makes it more human than the Oscars.''

Gaffes such as ``Chicago Hope'' star Lahti's poorly timed trip to the ladies room as her name was read as best actress in a TV drama series, or unexpected bright spots such as Rhames' gift of his award for best actor in a made-for-TV movie to fellow nominee Lemmon, could be contributing to the show's increasing popularity with TV viewers.

In the early years, the Golden Globes seemed to lack a clear sense of purpose, offering such off-the-wall categories as ``Best Film Promoting International Understanding,'' ``Hollywood Citizenship Award'' and even a 1959 special award ``for directing the chariot race,'' given to Andrew Marton for ``Ben-Hur.'' Since then, the organization has fallen instep with the motion picture and television academies, sorting its awards out in Oscar- and Emmy-like categories.

There are differing views on the impact the Golden Globes have on a movie's box office take or its chances of riding a tide to the Academy Awards in late March.

``Certainly `The English Patient' win (last year) definitely helped it with the Oscars. But it was already to a certain extent a front-runner,'' one industry source notes. ``You could say the same about `Titanic' (this year's best dramatic movie winner).''

Peter Fonda's surprise victory as best actor in a dramatic movie for ``Ulee's Gold'' might boost his chance for an Oscar nomination next month, possibly for an emotional acceptance speech invoking his father Henry's memory more than the performance itself.

Hoping to capitalize on the Golden Globes' effect on movies' U.S. ticket sales, studios rush to revamp ads touting a film's nominations or wins. Whether they affect a movie's grosses on the international front - the markets the HFPA writes for - is less clear.

``I don't think the Golden Globes have that much impact internationally,'' said one insider, noting that the honors are all but unheard of in Western Europe.

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Photo

PHOTO (Color) Winner Ving Rhames gave his Globe to Jack Lemmon during Sunday's show.

Terri Thuente / Daily News