Candid Camera

Thomas Wilson Ferebee, 81, the bombardier who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in World War II, died Thursday in Windermere, Fla. He was 26 on Aug. 6, 1945, a major and a veteran of 64 missions when the B-29 Enola Gay took off for Japan with the first nuclear weapon ever deployed. Mr. Ferebee, who retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1970, said he never felt guilty but was sorry the bomb killed so many. "I'm sorry an awful lot of people died from that bomb, and I hate to think that something like that had to happen to end the war," he said in a 1995 interview on the 50th anniversary of the bombing.

While most of America's eyes are expected to be on ABC and its interview with Monica Lewinsky tonight, NBC will be the overall winner in viewers when the February "sweeps" ratings battle ends at midnight.Such big-ticket productions as "Alice in Wonderland" and "The '60s," along with the farewell episode for George Clooney's Dr. Douglas Ross from "ER," are the main reasons for the victory, NBC Entertainment president Scott Sassa said in a teleconference yesterday. "Alice" was the most-watched TV movie of the year, and Clooney's farewell brought millions of viewers back to the networks on Feb. 19, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Interested in warping your perspective a little bit? Then drop everything and make your way to the Charles tonight for The Don and Bill Show: Slightly Bent, a collection of 10 shorts from animators Bill Plympton and Don Hertzfeldt that skew things in all manner of subversive ways. Both men have had their work featured at the Maryland Film Festival (which is sponsoring the screening) and MicroCineFest, and have proven to be audience favorites. Their work is decidedly adult, sometimes grotesque and never what you expect.

Bruce Hart, 68, who wrote lyrics for Sesame Street and Free to Be You and Me, died of lung cancer Tuesday at his home in New York City's Manhattan. Mr. Hart and his wife, Carole, were among the first writers on "Sesame Street" when it began in 1969 as a children's show that tried to be equally entertaining and educational. To shake up the creative process, its producers hired people new to children's television. Mr. Hart, who had written for Candid Camera and composed the lyrics to "One Way Ticket," a hit for Cass Elliott, was hired to write sketches and help with the theme song.

IT'S A WRAP for the movie, "That Night," which was shot on location in the Big Crab and throughout Maryland. Cast and crew gathered for the customary "wrap" party last Friday night at the Belvedere.The film, based on the book by Alice McDermott, was written and directed by Craig Bolotin. It's scheduled to be out in the theaters in the spring of '92. Stay tuned.*SPEAKING OF FILM, Hollywood wunderkind Steven Spielberg will be joining animated film star Fievel Mousekewitz and first lady Barbara Bush Sunday at the Kennedy Center in D.C. for the world premiere of "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West."

Everyone knows the feeling. A repair technician says your refrigerator needs a new whatsit, or the guy at the electronics place concludes your VCR's thingamajig is kaput.You frown. Maybe you ask some questions, hoping to sound knowledgeable. But all you really know is that you'll soon be parting with some cash. And you only hope the machine will work right again.Alas, ABC correspondent Chris Wallace confirms that feeling of helplessness tonight at 10 o'clock on his segment of "PrimeTime Live" (on Channel 13)

ON THIS date in 1776, "E. Pluribus Unum" became the official U.S. motto. It means "one from many." It comes from the poem "Moretum." At the time, the phrase appeared on the cover of Gentleman's Magazine and was well-known in the colonies. It was used on the Great Seal of the United States.In 1787, Wolfgang Mozart completed one of his most famous compositions, "A Little Night Music."In 1779, Louis XVI of France freed the last remaining serfs on royal land.In 1821, Missouri was admitted to the Union as the 24th state.

Welcome to another theme night on ABC.The evening kicks off with "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2), as the bewitching Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart) and her cat cross over to other comedies in the TGIF lineup. In her own show, the young sorceress searches for Salem, who runs away after swallowing a "time ball." Consequently, as cat and witch race through the lineup, the casts of "Boy Meets World" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m.), "You Wish" (9 p.m.-9: 30 p.m.) and "Teen Angel" (9: 30 p.m.-10 p.m.)

TELEVISION STATIONS actually went off the air at night when Newton Minow, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, declared the medium a "vast wasteland" 35 years ago. Then there were just three networks supplying nearly all the programming, including "Gunsmoke," "Candid Camera" and "The Ed Sullivan Show." Now cable and satellite beam dozens of channels to most American homes.And yet television remains a wasteland, far more vast than it was in the days of Mr. Minow's famous speech.

Velma Greene will return tomorrow to her job teaching math at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Va., and she'll have quite a story to tell. Greene, 48, was designated last night as the 100 millionth person to attend a game in Orioles' franchise history. Her prize, courtesy of the Orioles and the Maryland Lottery, was $100,000, season tickets for five years and a package of other amenities that included a seat upgrade and a commemorative jersey. "I've never had an experience like this in my life," said Greene, who was recognized in an on-field presentation.