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Issue date: April 15, 2001
I caught the
recent Screen Actors Guild awards on TNT, but I'm sorry I missed your Webcast
from backstage. Who did you see? Did the stars answer questions from the Internet?
Lorraine Lewis, Bethesda, Md.
All the night's
winners who sat down with me -- Julia Roberts, Martin Sheen, Benicio Del Toro
and more -- thought it cool to take questions from viewers of our "enhanced
TV" event, and they made award-show history as they did. Roberts, honored as
best actress, wore a mile-wide smile, so pleased to be carrying the 25-pound
Actor, as SAG's award is called. After the show, I ran into her sipping champagne
with Benjamin Bratt, hidden away in a ladies lounge. Best actors in a drama
Martin Sheen and Allison Janney of "The West Wing" -- still critiquing their onstage
speeches when they came by to talk -- were so warm. Asked to share her proudest
moment, Janney said reverently, "I'm pretty proud now." Sheen took time to meet
our production staff. "Hi, I'm Martin," he'd say before shaking each hand. Such
graciousness wasn't contagious. "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker,
best female actor in a comedy series, was miffed when I asked what she thought
of "Will & Grace" beating "Sex" in the comedy ensemble category. "What kind
of question is that?" she snapped. "I'm disappointed, obviously." Then "Will
& Grace's" foursome stopped in, babbling among themselves so euphorically
it was hard to get a word in. Among the most delightful stars was "Billy
Elliott"'s Jamie Bell, 15, who'd flown in from London with his mom and
couldn't wait to see Russell Crowe, and former SAG president Patty Duke, who
joined me in singing the theme song to her '60s sitcom.
I enjoyed George
Stephanopoulos' commentary for ABC during the election and its aftermath. Does
he do any public speaking?
Barbara Burr, Los Angeles
Once a frequent
national speaker, Stephanopoulos, 40, tells us he'll cut back because he's signed
a full-time contract with ABC at a reported $500,000 a year. "I'll probably
only do 10 lectures this summer," says the political analyst, who also left
a teaching post at Columbia University. Last summer, he quit dating Bebe Neuwirth
("Frasier"), and he won't say whether he's seeing anyone new, yet he's an exceedingly
eligible bachelor. Living in a penthouse on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Stephanopoulos,
who's dying to get a dog, is a yoga fan and an avid reader of fiction. "Right
now, I'm in a big Don DeLillo phase." He also admits to "a French fries addiction,"
but don't ask him who has the best fries. "That would be revealing a bias."
Even before
she won two 1996 Grammies for "Sunny Came Home", Shawn Colvin was
one of my favorite singer-songwriters. In the years since, I've heard little
about her. Is she retired?
Nancy Oliver, Boise, Idaho
There's nothing
retiring about her. In fact, expect to see and hear more of Colvin, 45, because
"Whole New You", her first fresh material since "Sunny", hit stores
three weeks ago, and she plans a summer tour. The Austin, Texas-based folk-rocker
has not been idle all these years. She and her photographer husband, Mario Erwin,
had a daughter in 1998, and Colvin has been competing in triathlons, placing
in the top five in her age group.
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Tidbits:
Camryn Manheim
Camryn Manheim
is a woman who knows how to get what she wants. And lately she seems to have
it all: a healthy 6-week-old son, Milo Manheim; a front-and-center storyline
on ABC's "The Practice"; and, coming April 23 on ABC, a modern "Cyrano
de Bergerac" tale in which she stars and which she executive-produced.
"The gravity of
this movie for me is so layered," she told us from her home in Venice, Calif.,
just seven days after giving birth. It's the first for her as a producer, and
the first movie in which her name is above the title -- "Kiss My Act". Viewership
is crucial, she says, because success "will give me the power to continue to
produce and continue to be a leading lady." She'll always be the leading lady
in Milo's life, and for now Manheim, who delivered him two days before turning
40, is a single mother by choice. "It takes a village, and I have one; I've
always had one. I could not have done this without the blessings of family and
friends."
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THIS WEEK'S
BIRTHDAYS
April 15:
Emma Thompson, 42
April 16: Martin Lawrence 36; Diana Krall, 37; Ellen Barkin, 46; Kareem
Abdul-; Jabbar, 54
April 17: Lela Rochon, 35
April 18: Melissa Joan Hart, 25; Conan O'Brien, 38; Jane Leeves, 40;
Eric Roberts, 45; James Woods, 54; Hayley Mills, 55
April 19: Kate Hudson, 22; Jennifer Esposito, 29; Ashley Judd, 33; Tim
Curry, 55
April 20: Allan Houston, 30; Luther Vandross, 50; Jessica Lange, 52
April 21: Andie MacDowell, 43; Tony Danza, 50; Patti LuPone, 52; Iggy
Pop, 54; Queen Elizabeth II, 75
Contributing:
Patty Rhule, Evelyn Poitevent
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