INSURING GEORGE

How in the world will New World insure 91-year-old George Burns for his big-screen return in “18 Again,” scheduled to shoot in August?

Eric Gemballa, vice president of American National General Agency’s entertainment division, which underwrites many New World pics, told us: “For all intents and purposes, everyone’s insurable.” However, premiums and deductibles on certain performers with shaky medical histories may be so high that obtaining “meaningful coverage” isn’t economically feasible. (In rare instances, such as Spencer Tracy in his last screen appearance, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” actors perform uninsured.)

Elsa Aguiar, insurance coordinator at Warners, where Burns made three “Oh, God” movies, couldn’t recall any insurance problems--despite Burns’ triple-bypass heart operation in 1974. “Sometimes there aren’t any surcharges because it’s deemed there are no foreseeable problems during the life of the film,” she said. “It’s not a long-term life insurance policy.”

(Despite health problems with Steve McQueen, Henry Fonda and Ingrid Bergman, for instance, all were insured during the shooting of their last films.)

A New World rep ventured that Burns would “pass his physical and do the movie.”

Said producer Michael Jaffe, Burns’ on-screen time will be limited--he plays a grandfather who, through a bizarre accident, finds his soul, wit and knowledge transferred into the body of his insecure 18-year old grandson (not yet cast), who has most of the scenes.