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Noth is very big on the HBO hit Sex and the City; plus, he's nurturing a film career. The roguishly handsome actor, once the steady of model Beverly Johnson, plays Mr. Big, a major cad and former love of star Sarah Jessica Parker (with him above in a Sex scene). He's back this season, but HBO won't say for how long, for fear of giving away too much. The cable network may give us even more Noth, however: The 43-year-old actor has a deal with HBO to develop "something" of his own. On the movie front, he'll be seen as Helen Hunt's husband in Cast Away, the next Tom Hanks feature, due at year's end.

Where is k.d. lang these days? I'm a fan eager to catch up.
Jo Morgan, Tulsa

She's headed to Denver, where she opens for Sting this Tuesday. She's been his opening act since the start of summer, but Aug. 9 lang, 38, kicks off a solo tour to promote her just-out CD, Invincible Summer. The androgynous singer's first recording of new material in five years was inspired by both a Camus quote and lang's move two years ago from Canada to balmy, bustling Los Angeles. She says L.A.'s eternal- summer culture put her in a positive frame of mind. She even penned some songs on the beach.

Is there life after Beverly Hills, 90210 for pretty Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, who played Valerie Malone? What about movies?
Thomas Jones, Madison, Maine

Because she's been acting since she was a kid, the teen beauty queen and Saved by the Bell star had a pretty nice life going before 90210; she still has a house in the Los Angeles hills, lots of pets, and family nearby. And yes, Thiessen, 26, has two movies due this fall: The Ladies Man, a comedy based on Tim Meadows' deluded Saturday Night Live character, and a parody of the "Scream" movies, I Know What You Screamed Last Summer, in which she plays the reporter.

Does Road Trip comedian Tom Green really have cancer, or is he joking?
Charlotte Exantus, Randolph, N.J.

It's no joke. But you aren't the only one who thought it might be. Because Green, 28, the Canadian funnyman with his own show on MTV, is so outrageous -- he's the one who puts a real mouse in his mouth in Road Trip -- it can be difficult to separate his fact from fiction. But he did have testicular cancer, as viewers of his recent graphic MTV cancer special are only too well aware. Fortunately, it's curable, though Green says that didn't stop him from fearing death. He had surgery in March (his girlfriend, actress Drew Barrymore, saw him through it), and he's expected to recover totally. Now, about those reports that the two are engaged: possibly a joke. They're admitting nothing.

How is tennis star Michael Chang faring this summer? He used to be a real contender.
Kimberly Knight-Ellerbe Detroit

The No. 2-ranked player just three years ago, Chang dropped to No. 41 early this summer, still recovering from wrist and stomach injuries. At press time, he planned to play in major matches such as next week's Mercedes-Benz Cup in L.A. and August's U.S. Open in New York. Chang, 29, who often prays on the court, was raised in a devout Christian family in Hoboken, N.J. He started hitting balls at age 6 with big brother Carl, today his coach.

Is it correct that The X-Files will be back this fall with David Duchovny in only half the new episodes? How is that going to work?
Marsha White, Annapolis, Md.

That's just what the writers must be asking themselves about now. They're due back to work this week, and among their challenges will be figuring out how to put their star in just 11 of 20 episodes. (Not to mention that they have to get him back from the aliens who abducted him in last season's finale.) One possibility: a new star to partner with Gillian Anderson. However the plotlines are resolved, the set should be more relaxed now than at season's end, when Duchovny was on the fence about returning, creator Chris Carter was pondering replacements, and Anderson made it known she'd be happy to end her contract a year early.

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THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS
July 23: Marlon Wayans, 28; Charisma Carpenter, 30; Eriq LaSalle, 38; Woody Harrelson, 39
July 24: Anna Paquin, 18; Jennifer Lopez, 30; Karl Malone, 37; Pam Tillis, 42; Michael Richards, 51
July 25: Matt LeBlanc, 32
July 26: Sandra Bullock, 36; Kevin Spacey, 41; Mick Jagger, 57
July 27: Alex Rodriguez, 25
July 28: Bill Bradley, 57
July 29: Wanya Morris, 27; Martina McBride, 34; Peter Jennings, 62; Elizabeth Dole, 64