CURTAIN CALL He's seen the lights go out on Broadway, but this fall, Billy Joel will see his name in lights on a marquee there when a musical based on his pop hits opens in October. Choreographer Twyla Tharp conceived, choreographed, and directed the show, which tells the story of six friends over 20 years through 26 Joel songs, à la ''Mamma Mia'' (the current Broadway hit built around Abba tunes) or upcoming musicals ''Drive All Night'' (Bruce Springsteen) and ''Can't Help Falling in Love'' (Elvis Presley). The Tharp-Joel collaboration was to be called ''Thoel,'' but thankfully, the pair have changed the title to ''Movin' Out.'' It'll premiere in Chicago on June 25 for a six-week run before heading to Broadway.
HEALTH WATCH Harold Pinter, one of the most influential playwrights of the last 40 years, is suffering from cancer of the esophagus. His agent says the 71-year-old ''Caretaker'' author is undergoing chemotherapy. That's not stopping Pinter, who frequently acts as well (last year, he had cameos in ''The Tailor of Panama'' and ''Wit''), from his scheduled February performances at London's National Theater of several of his sketches and short plays, including a new monologue called ''Press Conference.''...
Musicians Koko Taylor and Freddy Fender are both out of the hospital. Blues queen Taylor,who suffers from diabetes, hypertension, and diverticulitis, fainted Sunday at her Chicago nightclub. The 66-year-old singer was released yesterday from a Chicago hospital after an angioplasty to unblock an artery.
Fender, 64, also suffers from diabetes, as well as hepatitis C. After more than a year of dialysis, he underwent a successful kidney transplant last week at a San Antonio hospital and was released Wednesday. The kidney was donated by his 21-year-old daughter, who was released Sunday. Fender (real name: Baldemar Huerta) said he expects to attend the Grammys on Feb. 27 in Los Angeles, where he's nominated for Latin pop album for his ''La Musica de Baldemar Huerta.''
PASSING NOTES Harold Russell, the disabled World War II veteran who won two Oscars for playing a character much like himself in ''The Best Years of Our Lives,'' died Tuesday at 88 of a heart attack at a nursing home in Needham, Mass. An explosives expert who lost his hands in a dynamite accident during a training session, Russell was featured in an army documentary and caught they eye of producer Sam Goldwyn, who cast him in ''Best Years,'' the 1946 classic drama about WWII vets' difficult reassimilation into civilian life. Russell received an honorary Oscar for ''bringing aid and comfort to disabled veterans through the medium of motion pictures,'' then went on to win the best supporting actor trophy for his role in the movie. He rarely acted again (his last notable appearance was a guest spot in the Vietnam War series ''China Beach''), but he spent the rest of his life as a prominent activist for the disabled and for veterans.
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