In the movies, Margot Kidder could count on Superman. In real life, that big life-saving letter S stands for seatbelt.

The actress remains in hospital in Brooks, Me., following a single-car accident Sunday morning while en route to Ottawa to perform in The Vagina Monologues.

Kidder, who was born in Yellowknife, was taken to the Waldo County General Hospital with a suspected broken pelvis and various contusions. Officials described her condition as stable.

According to reports from the local newspaper Belfast Village Soup, Kidder was driving north on Rte. 7 from Belfast, Me., to Montreal en route to Ottawa when her right tires caught the edge of the freshly paved roadway. Kidder then drove into the south lane and rolled off the road.

Waldo County deputies were at the scene of the accident after residents heard Kidder's screams for help.

The actress was driving alone with her two dogs Zelda and Pierre, after hosting the 15-Minute Theatre Festival last weekend in Belfast.

NO 'CURSE'

Police reports say Kidder was not impaired.

Her daughter credits her shoulder belt with saving her life. "It was not some kind of 'curse of Superman,' " Maggie Kirn said from Montana, where she and her mother both reside.

"It was a classic SUV rollover, where you overcorrect. It was mid-morning and it was raining. In that kind of accident, if you're not belted in, you're ejected, and that's where deaths occur. Thank God she's a real stickler for wearing seatbelts."

Kidder has been appearing all through the summer in a touring production of Monologues, Eve Ensler's controversial play.

Producers now are hastily recasting her part in the three-member celebrity gabfest, which is scheduled to open today at the NAC with New York actresses Starla Benford and Kristen Lee Kelly to Sept. 1.

"She does prefer to drive from city to city because she brings her dogs with her wherever she goes," Kirn said. The two mixed-breed dogs -- Zelda and Kendall -- were uninjured in the crash.

"She's really enjoyed the play," Kirn said. "We really haven't seen that much of her this summer."

Kirn said her mother is to be released and will return home this week. She said doctors are predicting a speedy recovery.

Since a highly publicized breakdown in 1996, Kidder has worked steadily, making more than a dozen movie and TV appearances and touting a healthful lifestyle and alternative medicines.

The 54-year-old grandmother recently told the Associated Press she considers herself a "poster child for mental health."

"For me, the solution was finally getting away from psychiatric drugs and actually healing my body so I wouldn't have the symptoms that are called mental illness," Kidder said.

It's the second celebrity cancellation in two weeks for the capital after comedian Mike Bullard was forced to cancel his Centrepointe gig after his SUV collided with an 18-wheeler in Mississauga.

The Vagina Monologues is scheduled to open at the National Arts Centre today for eight performances until Sept. 1.


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