Nine-time Emmy champ Cloris Leachman is furious she won't get the chance to add a Tony to her awards collection. The Oscar-winning actress hoped to recreate her 1974 screen role as Frau Blucher in the legit musical version of "Young Frankenstein" on Broadway. However, show creator Mel Brooks, who is a mere 59 days younger than the 81 year old dynamo, told Army Archerd, "We're afraid the show might stop her — it could kill her. We don't want her to die on stage."

Leachman's salty response via her rep? "Cloris challenges Mel to three rounds in the ring, and we'll see who's left standing." She has been replaced by Andrea Martin, 60, a Tony winner (for tuner "My Favorite Year") who has a pair of Emmys for scripting laffer "SCTV" in the '80s. The show is set to try-out in Seattle in August with Broadway previews beginning October 11 at the recently vacated Hilton Theater prior to a November 8 opening. Brook's last movie-to-musical project, "The Producers," won a record breaking 12 Tonys back in 2001, including 3 for the laffmeister. With those wins, Brooks joined 8 other showbiz elite who have won all four major awards.