WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – When it comes to fairy-tale cred, Snow White is in a league of her own. With the staunch support of her seven little BFFs, she trumped evil, rose from the dead, did the whole royal-wedding thing and made global headlines as the “fairest of them all.”

With a resume like that, you’d think Ms. White would have her own reality TV show, or at least a guest spot on “Glee.” Instead, she’s spent recent years in relative obscurity while other literary goddesses — namely Cinderella — hogged the limelight.

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ABC’s enchanting drama “Once Upon a Time” stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret this Sunday. Courtesy photo

Lindsay Lohan The Associated Press

But that’s about to change in a big way. The sweet-natured lass, who has hung around for centuries, is poised to become Hollywood’s newest “it” girl. Again.

The Snow White comeback tour kicks off Sunday when she — in the form of actress Ginnifer Goodwin — assumes major prominence in “Once Upon a Time,” an enchanting ABC drama from two former “Lost” writers. Reviews mostly have been positive, with Rolling Stone lauding Goodwin for making history as the first “hot” Snow White.

Things heat up even more next year when rival live-action projects arrive at the cineplex. First up in March is a yet-to-be-titled film from Relativity Media that casts Lily Collins in the role (and Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen). Then, in June, comes Universal’s “Snow White and the Huntsman,” with Kristen Stewart as the snowy one. And set for 2012 is a Disney live-action version that aims to dramatically reinvent the saga.

It remains to be seen if these new productions will make box-office magic, or get rejected like a batch of poison apples. But Snow White hasn’t been in this much demand since 1937, when she enjoyed a breakout performance in Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the landmark classic that thrills and terrifies children even now.

“‘Snow White’ is ground zero for fairy tales. It’s where they all grow from,” says Adam Horowitz, who created “Once Upon a Time” with longtime writing partner Edward Kitsis. “It was the first movie I saw as a kid. Everybody loves the character and loves the story so much that it’s going to be continually retold in new and different ways.”

Indeed, while the Disney version of “Snow White” has roots in a fable collected and published by German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 1800s, numerous takes on the tale have been handed down in oral and written form over the years. But why is Hollywood suddenly piling on now?

Maria Tatar, a Harvard University professor who has written extensively about fairy tales and children’s literature, believes the “Shrek” movie series is partially responsible.

It probably didn’t hurt, either, that director Tim Burton’s recent reboot of “Alice in Wonderland” grossed $1.02 billion worldwide. At a point when the supply of comic-book superheroes seemingly is close to depletion, screenwriters are now turning to the stories we used to hear at bedtime.

“Hollywood is reading the mood of the public and, in these tough times, people want hope and fantasy,” Kitsis says. “Fairy tales are like the lottery. It’s the belief that you can change your crappy life in an instant. One day, you’re sweeping up. The next day, you’re being whisked off to the ball.”

Morgue official says Lohan is nobody special

LOS ANGELES – Actress Lindsay Lohan may have been greeted with flashbulbs for her highly anticipated arrival at the Los Angeles County coroner’s office Friday morning, but once inside, she’ll be treated just like everybody else, coroner’s officials said.

Lohan arrived early for her 8 a.m. appointment at the morgue to begin serving her 120 hours of community service, part of her shoplifting sentence.

“She is not getting any special treatment,” Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. “She’s going to be cleaning toilets, mopping floors and emptying the trash bins.”

Winter said Lohan is one of about 15 to 20 people who perform this type of community service daily. She won’t be going near the autopsy rooms, he said. She will get a half-hour break for lunch that she must bring with her.

“If she doesn’t behave, I’m going to ask her to leave,” Winter said.

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