NEW YORK — Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy are Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s newest allies in his mission to attract more visitors to New York City.

The Muppets joined Bloomberg on Friday as he announced that Jim Henson’s lovable creations are the city’s official Family Ambassadors.

The whole gang will encourage families to travel to the Big Apple. They’ll highlight the city’s family-friendly restaurants, parks and other attractions.

The tourism and marketing arm, NYC and Company, says the city welcomed 15 million family visitors in 2011.

Kermit told reporters that he plans to hang out in the pond in Central Park. But Miss Piggy said she prefers shopping at Tiffany’s.

Bloomberg was also joined by Gonzo the Great and Pepe the King Prawn.

British media: Former Bee Gee in coma

LONDON — Former Bee Gee Robin Gibb is gravely ill with pneumonia in a London hospital, British media reported Saturday.

The Sun newspaper reported that the 62-year-old Gibb is in a coma, citing a family friend.

The newspaper and the Press Association news agency said family members including wife Dwina and brother Barry were at his bedside. Gibb’s publicist, Doug Wright, declined to comment, but Gibb’s son has acknowledged that the musician is seriously ill in a hospital.

Gibb was hospitalized last year for stomach and colon problems and had intestinal surgery last month.

Gibb has not specified the exact nature of his illness — widely reported to be cancer — but told the BBC he had a growth on his colon that was removed.

He said earlier this year that he was making a good recovery, but was forced to miss the London premiere of his classical “Titanic Requiem” last week because of illness.

The Bee Gees — British-born, Australia-raised brothers Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb — had a string of disco-era hits including “How Deep is Your Love” and “Stayin’ Alive.” Their soundtrack to the movie “Saturday Night Fever” was one of the best-selling albums of the 1970s.

The Bee Gees became members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won seven Grammy Awards.

Maurice Gibb, Robin’s twin brother, died in 2003 at age 53 due to complications from a twisted intestine.

The Bee Gees’ younger brother, Andy, who had a successful solo career, died in 1988 at age 30 of a heart ailment.

Tiff between Mel Gibson, screenwriter puts film in limbo

LOS ANGELES — The future of a film about ancient Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee may be close to flickering out.

Warner Bros. spokesman Paul McGuire said Friday that the studio is “analyzing what to do with the project.”

The film about the biblical hero was to be a collaboration between producer Mel Gibson and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas. After the studio recently rejected Eszterhas’ script, the screenwriter accused Gibson of anti-Semitism in a letter published online. Gibson responded with his own letter denying the allegations.

In 2006, Gibson was arrested for drunken driving. A leaked arrest report revealed he used anti-Semitic and sexist slurs.

The Eszterhas allegations and Gibson’s history prompted Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center to issue a statement Thursday calling for Warner Bros. and all other studios “to permanently shelve the Maccabee project as long as Mel Gibson is associated with the film.”

The Maccabees’ unlikely victory over those who would repress Jewish religious freedoms is celebrated on Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.

 

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