NEWSMAKERS: ‘Spider-Man’ resumes with safety measures

NEWSMAKERS

‘Spider-Man’ resumes with safety measures

NEW YORK

The curtain will go up again today on “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” after the producers of the accident-plagued Broadway musical agreed to new safety precautions to prevent another fall like the one that left a stuntman seriously injured.

The state Labor Department said it is satisfied the producers of the $65 million musical have made the necessary adjustments.

Wednesday night’s performance was canceled so that the cast and crew could rehearse the new precautions, which include a requirement that a second person ensure that the harnesses used by performers during the show’s high-flying stunts have been put on properly.

The much-anticipated production, teaming “Lion King” creator Julie Taymor with songwriters Bono and The Edge of U2, has had a rocky route to Broadway. Already the most-expensive show in Broadway history, it has been plagued by technical glitches, money woes and three other injuries, including a concussion and two broken wrists.

The show has been in previews for a month, and its official Broadway opening has been postponed twice. It is now set for early February.

Clinic fires staffer who accused Lohan

LOS ANGELES

A day that began with authorities confirming Lindsay Lohan was being investigated for battery on a female staffer at a California rehab facility treating the starlet ended with the worker’s being fired after giving an interview about the incident.

Riverside County sheriff’s detectives are investigating the “Mean Girls” star for an alleged altercation with a worker at a Betty Ford Center facility in Palm Desert that occurred after 1 a.m. Dec. 12.

The agency declined to say what prompted the fight, but said the worker was interested in pursuing charges against Lohan.

Betty Ford spokesman Russ Patrick said the staffer was fired for identifying patients at the center in an interview and “disclosing a privileged document.”

Although Betty Ford and the sheriff’s department did not identify the worker, she appeared in an interview on celebrity website TMZ on Tuesday afternoon and was promptly fired. She claims the 24-year-old Lohan and two other women had sneaked out of the facility.

Fred Foy dies; known for Lone Ranger intro

BOSTON

Fred Foy, the radio announcer best-known for calling out “Hi-Yo, Silver!” in his passionate lead-in to “The Lone Ranger,” has died at his Massachusetts home. His daughter, Nancy Foy, says her father died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 89.

Nancy Foy says her father worked as an actor before landing the job as the announcer on “The Lone Ranger” in 1948.

Radio historian Jim Harson said Foy’s dramatic introduction, performed over and over for the live program, was so good it “made many people forget there were others before him.”

Abbey Road crossing is now a heritage site

LONDON

A London zebra-crossing made famous by a Beatles album cover has been listed as a heritage site. Heritage minister John Penrose says Wednesday the crossing at Abbey Road in north London was listed as a testimony to the international fame of the band.

Every year, the crossing draws thousands of visitors, many of whom mimic the Beatles cover photograph in which the band members were shown crossing the road.

The nearby Abbey Road studios were listed as a heritage site in February.

Vindicator wire services