NEWS LITE : CIGAR ADS HAVE TEMPERS FLARING.

Jackie Gleason's relatives are fuming over a stogie ad.

The late comedian's family sued a cigar chain Thursday, accusing it of using the image of the ``Honeymooners'' star without permission.

But an owner of the Royal Cigar Society International said the image of Gleason and other cigar-smoking stars was removed as soon as the family asked, right after the chain received attorney notices.

Gleason charmed his way into millions of hearts in his portrayal of Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Cramden in the 1950s TV series The Honeymooners.

He was nominated for an Oscar in 1961 for his role as billiard king Minnesota Fats in ``The Hustler,'' and also portrayed a rural sheriff in the hit film ``Smokey and the Bandit.''

Ailing Crosby's told to cancel concerts

Doctors ordered musician David Crosby to cancel weekend performances on the East Coast due to high fever and infection, a spokeswoman said Friday.

Crosby, 57, had a liver transplant in 1994 but doctors did not know if his current illness was related, publicist Bobbi Cowan said.

``The doctors are just monitoring him,'' she said.

He was at his Los Angeles home and was not hospitalized, Cowan said.

``He hasn't felt real good for the past couple of days,'' Cowan said.

R.E.M. declines tour for October release

R.E.M. is canceling a tour to promote its new album.

Manager Bertis Downs said the decision Thursday was based on the loss of longtime drummer Bill Berry and the remaining members' reluctance to lock in their time for a year. Berry left the band last fall.

R.E.M., whose new album ``Up'' is scheduled for release in October, will concentrate on TV appearances and independent projects instead, Downs said.

Warner Bros. executives had no comment, but Downs said the label, which reportedly signed an $80 million deal with the band in 1996, is not too concerned.

``Warner Bros. obviously would rather have all its bands tour at all times,'' Downs said. ``But they have a lot of long-term faith in this band.''

Writer's run-down apartment for rent

For rent: dingy apartment of late playwright who set to music the plight of the overpriced-tenement dweller in New York City.

The two-bedroom SoHo apartment - with a bad view, a rusty sink and rotten floorboards - where Jonathan Larson wrote the hit musical ``Rent'' has been put up for rent for $3,000 per month.

Landlord Dino Evangelou has done little to change the apartment since Larson died, the day before his play opened off-Broadway.

The musical was taken to Broadway a year later, where it won four Tonys, and Larson was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

The apartment overlooks a construction pit on one side and a Sanitation Department depot on the other.

Neither the drawbacks nor the price tag appear to be stopping potential renters.

``They won't stop calling,'' Evangelou said.

Couple ties knot with wet one

Tommy and Linda Maxwell - gasp - had a tough time kissing - gasp - when they renewed their wedding vows this month.

After all, they were underwater. So the kiss meant taking off their oxygen regulators, kissing, then - gasp - popping the regulators back in.

``We had a rehearsal, just like at a regular church wedding,'' Linda Maxwell said Thursday. ``It's a good thing because we had to practice that kiss.''

The couple, who have been scuba diving together for more than 15 years, renewed their vows earlier this month eight miles off the coast of Panama City Beach, Fla.

The bride wore white - a white shirt and pants, plus a veil and garter. The groom wore black with a white bow tie. The wedding party and the minister who officiated also wore scuba tanks and respirators.

The couple - celebrating their 25th anniversary of marriage - spoke through their respirators, and added hand signals to say ``I do.''

Roofers' goof lets air in; `sissy' name gets sunk

SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. - A roofing company's workers were so eager to get to work they tore the shingles off a home that didn't need the repair.

Homeowner Sheri Oliphant pleaded with the gentlemen tearing up her roof to stop working because they had the wrong address ``but the guys just couldn't believe it because their boss had dropped the crews off at the house himself.''

Judy Ebling, a spokeswoman for the roofing company, said Wednesday the workers stopped once Oliphant convinced them of the mistake.

``She was pretty nice about it,'' Ebling said. ``We were real sorry.''

By then, however, about three-fourths of the 3-year-old shingles on her two-bedroom ranch-style home had been removed. Oliphant rushed home from work after the roofers ignored similar pleas from the family's baby sitter.

The company has since replaced the portion of the roof that was removed. The apologetic company also guaranteed the new shingles for 25 years.

Visiting sports teams weren't exactly quaking when they showed up to face off against Heidelberg College.

The mascot was a guy wearing tights and the school's team nickname was the Student Princes.

So after more than 70 years, Heidelberg College has adopted a tougher, Germanic team name: The 'Berg.

The old name was derived from a 1924 operetta by Sigmund Romberg, which was inspired by Germany's city of Heidelberg and its university, founded in 1386.

The Ohio college's athletic teams had been officially known prior to that as the Blue Jays and the Cardinals.

``The 'Berg? That's a little better,'' Joe Gerhardstain Jr., class of 1992, said Thursday. ``I never did like Student Princes. It always seemed kind of sissified.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) HIP-HOP LOLLIPOP

Bandai employee Katsura Arai demonstrates a Silent Shout lollipop, a battery-operated lollipop holder that plays music inside the mouth by conducting sounds through the teeth into the inner ear. The device will go on sale in Japan next month for about $10. Its instrumental songs feature a hip hop rhythm.

Koji Sasahara/Associated Press

(2) Stellar sight for Snipes 

Movie star Wesley Snipes shows off his brand-new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at dedication ceremonies Friday.

Nick Ut/Associated Press