Issue Date: October 21, 2001
What percentage of U.S. presidents have served two terms? Was it more common in earlier eras?
Carol Warner, Prospect, Ky.
Although 36% (15) of our 42 past presidents were elected to two terms, just 29% (12) actually served all of both: Lincoln and McKinley were assassinated; Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal. Earlier on, it was the norm for a president to serve two terms; five of the first seven did so. Winning a second term today takes more than popularity, says John Orman, an expert on presidents at Fairfield University in Connecticut. The economy and a president's ability to deal with crises also figure. The war on terrorism is likely to be the issue on which George W. Bush is judged. So far, says Orman, "I'd give him an A. He has the American people, the House [and] the Senate, and he's getting the international community behind him."
Is the beautiful Jennifer Beals,who starred in the 1983 movie "Flashdance", still working?
Barry Jamison, Lynchburg,Va.
Yes, but she's never been a conventional Hollywood actress. Beals, 37, practices meditation and yoga (OK, so that part is very Hollywood). But her husband isn't involved in show business. She finished her studies at Yale, post-"Flashdance", instead of dropping out to make mediocre movies. And her idea of a vacation is hiking in Canada, which she did last summer. She has had small parts since "Flashdance" made her a household name; she played a photographer in this summer's sleeper "The Anniversary Party". Watch for Beals next month in Showtime's version of Anne Rice's second novel, "The Feast of All Saints", about mixed-race society in pre-Civil War New Orleans.
I really miss seeing my favorite "older" actors in good movies -- stars such as Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Kathleen Turner and Elizabeth Taylor. Must I settle for the Matt Damons and Reese Witherspoons who have barely paid their dues?
Kathleen Pouria, Glendale, Ariz.
Don't count the cinematic seniors out yet. Meryl Streep, 52, has two movies due early next year, "The Hours" and "Adaptation". Ford, 59, still earns $20 million per picture, with "K-19: The Widowmaker" due in 2002. Eastwood, 71, next will produce, direct and star in "Blood Work", a thriller based on the Michael Connelly book. Turner, 47, has been acting onstage; Taylor, 69, recently appeared at her buddy Michael Jackson's comeback concert in New York. Still, you're right that "ageism is a blight in Hollywood," says Leonard Maltin, of "Entertainment Tonight" and "Hot Ticket". "We get cheated out of talented actors." So which of today's stars will have lasting box-office clout? Maltin mentions only women: He likes versatile Cate Blanchett ("she can do anything"), Julia Stiles, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow. .
Is new "X-Files" star Annabeth Gish related to those legendary acting Gish sisters, Lillian and Dorothy?
Don Laughlin, Indianapolis
Yes. Gish, who plays FBI agent Monica Reyes, tells us they're from different branches of the same family tree. "It's a pretty nice legacy," says Gish, 30, a New Mexico native reared in Iowa. When she was 12, she wrote to Lillian Gish, the star of The "Birth of a Nation" (1915) and dozens of movies in the '20s. "I told her I wanted to be an actress," says Annabeth, who keeps Lillian's response framed at home. "Basically, she said, 'Stay where people love you. There's too much talent and not enough work.' She discouraged me." But, like Lillian, Annabeth Gish was acting at 13. Her first film was "Desert Bloom" with Jon Voight; later she starred in "Mystic Pizza" with the then-little-known Julia Roberts. Gish went to Duke University, earning a degree in English literature. But she has never worked as hard as on The "X-Files" -- and, yes, it's spooky: "I get chills when we play the creepy aspects of the script."
I've been told Johnny Carson regrets leaving "The Tonight Show" almost 10 years ago. If that's true, will we see him on TV again?
Eric Marshall, Hammond, Ind.
No. Unlike Michael Jordan, Carson takes retirement seriously. He has turned down opportunities to get back in the game, and, aside from a few guest spots early on, he has avoided most TV appearances, including last month's NBC special on 50 years of late night (30 of which he dominated). Carson, who turns 76 this Tuesday, and his fourth wife, Alexis, live in Malibu, Calif., where he plays poker with Carl Reiner, Neil Simon and Steve Martin; goes whale-watching; and keeps a hand in his production company, which, at johnnycarson.com, sells DVD and video collections of clips from old shows.
Go to top
BIRTHDAYS
October 21: Carrie Fisher, 45
October 22: Jeff Goldblum, 49
October 23: Sam Raimi, 42; Dwight Yoakam, 45
October 24: Monica, 21; Kevin Kline, 54
October 25: Marion Ross, 73
October 26: Hillary Clinton, 54; Jaclyn Smith, 54
October 27: Matt Drudge, 35; John Cleese, 62
Contributing: Tameka Hicks, Evelyn Poitevent, Patty Rhule, Jeanne Wright
|
