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'Spinal Tap' Actor Michael McKean in Good Spirits After Accident, Wife Says

By  Mary Johnson and Ben Fractenberg | May 23, 2012 3:33pm 

Michael McKean suffered a broken leg after he was struck by a car near Broadway and West 86th Street on Tuesday, May 22, 2012.
Michael McKean suffered a broken leg after he was struck by a car near Broadway and West 86th Street on Tuesday, May 22, 2012.
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Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

MANHATTAN — “This is Spinal Tap” actor Michael McKean is listed in stable condition just a day after being struck by a car on Broadway near West 86th Street, his manager said.

McKean suffered a broken leg in the incident and was forced to miss his scheduled performance in Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man” on Broadway Tuesday night — the first show the 64-year-old actor has missed in his entire career, said Harriet Sternberg, who represents McKean.

McKean’s wife, Annette O’Toole, is flying from California to be with her husband, according to US Weekly. But she did take time to send a reassuring tweet to the masses who have taken to the social media site to express their concern about the beloved star of multiple Christopher Guest films, including “Best in Show” and “Clue.”

“Thank you dear people for your love and support,” O’Toole tweeted Wednesday morning. “@MJMcKean and I so appreciative. He is getting great care. Spirits are good. Grateful, we.”

McKean, who lives on the Upper West Side, was walking near the intersection of Broadway and West 86th Street on Tuesday afternoon when he was struck by a car.

McKean was strapped to a stretcher and sent to St. Luke’s Hospital. Two other people were also sent to the hospital, although the extent of their injuries is unknown.

Early Wednesday night a witness to the accident, Ariel Luna, 32, stopped by to visit the actor and bring him flowers.

Luna said he was crossing West 86th Street on Tuesday afternoon, heading in the opposite direction as McKean, facing him as they both crossed. Luna had just arrived on McKean's side of the street, when he said he noticed the car hurtling in their direction and tried to warn the actor in the moments before the car struck him.

"He got hit and his back went into the windshield. I thought he was dead," said Luna, who was not allowed into McKean's room at the hospital. "I wanted to bring him something. I feel awful."

"I just want to thank him," Luna added. "I feel like he bit the bullet for me."

As news of the crash spread, celebrities and fans took to Twitter to wish the star a swift recovery.

“Dear @MJMcKean, I heard the car lost. Good,” tweeted Joel McHale, star of the NBC comedy “Community.” “So sorry about your accident. Get better quickly big guy.”

Time magazine tweeted news about the accident and then wondered, “Where were you, Ryan Gosling??”

Comedian Jeffrey Ross tweeted congratulations to McKean for his new role on Broadway. “But when friends say ‘break a leg’ we don’t mean it literally,” he added. “Feel better.”