Another World

TUBE TALK Following the success of its TV-movie musicals ''Annie'' and ''Cinderella,'' ABC is developing remakes of ''Grease'' and ''Footloose.'' The network is quick to point out that its ''Footloose'' will be a remake of the 1984 film and not the 1998 Broadway musical, though both had the same story and songs. The characters will, however, break into song, as they did on stage but not in the movie. Got that?

HEALTH WATCH ''You Can Count on Me'' star Mark Ruffalo has had to drop out of ''The Sixth Sense'' writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's latest supernatural thriller, ''Signs.'' Ruffalo is recovering from an operation that removed a cyst from his inner ear. Joaquin Phoenix will replace him, in the movie, which costars Mel Gibson....

Is Jane Kaczmarek pulling a ''Becker''-style sickout from the set of ''Malcolm in the Middle''? Complaining of migraine headaches, she's been away from work since early last week. According to The Hollywood Reporter, her ailment has been confirmed by doctors, but producers at Regency Television are wondering if she's not trying to spark a salary renegotiation. The ''Malcolm'' cast received modest raises this season, but as with ''Becker'' producer Paramount Television, Regency has been holding off on serious salary talks until the show is sold into syndication.

PASSING NOTES Henry Nasiff, better known as Howard Stern regular Hank the Angry, Drunken Dwarf, died Tuesday at 39 of undisclosed causes. The 4-foot-1 professional curmudgeon appeared on the Stern show more than two dozen times, reaching the apogee of his fame when Stern fans wielded their influence to get him named People magazine's Most Beautiful Person in a 1988 web poll....

Wyclef Jean's father, Newark, N.J., minister Gesner Jean, died Monday after a bizarre accident that found him pinned between his garage door and his son's 1991 Bentley. The 60-year-old was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to chest injuries. No foul play is suspected, and the car was apparently not malfunctioning.