BAH, HUMBUG: Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob...

BAH, HUMBUG: Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit--who isn’t familiar with characters from the classic drama “A Christmas Carol”? And then, there’s Winston. . . . “It’s a minor, minor role,” said Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, who will portray the “gentleman on the street” character in a Christmas Eve radio broadcast of the holiday favorite. “They keep telling me I’m perfect for Scrooge,” Bradbury quipped . . . The booming voice re-creating Marley’s ghost belongs to another legal eagle--Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren. The broadcast is set for 6 p.m. on 95.1 FM-KBBY.

SHOW GOES ON: Elsewhere on the show-biz front . . . Liza Minnelli, who was released from the hospital Thursday after hip surgery, is still scheduled to perform next spring at Thousand Oaks’ Civic Arts Plaza, said a spokesman for Avalon Attractions, which booked the act. The surgery was scheduled around Minnelli’s tour dates to give her “sufficient recovery time”. . . . The singer--who left the hospital wearing three-inch heels--will be at the plaza March 21 to 25.

HOME FREE: Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit group that builds houses for the needy, has put up its second structure in Ventura County (B1). . . . The house will go to a single father from Oak View and his four children--as soon as it’s completed. . . . Former President Jimmy Carter is the group’s best-known helper, but most of the volunteer builders--including the future occupants--are regular folks.

SMART SHOPPING: Eleventh-hour shoppers are elbowing their way through the malls, yet there’s still time to get a thoughtful gift without too much hassle . . . . Until noon today, gift givers can “buy” a plank on the Ventura Pier for $125 by calling 658-4726. In Thousand Oaks, a brick from the courtyard of the Civic Arts Plaza can be bought through the Alliance for the Arts, at 379-1391. Proceeds go to separate funds for the structures, and recipients’ names are engraved at the sites. About 3,000 planks and 4,000 plaza bricks have been sold so far.