Issue Date: November 18, 2001
A friend told
me that Taye Diggs' parental roots are in Liberia, West Africa. Is that true?
Billy Dee Russell Minneapolis
No. The actor's publicist tells us she knows of no Liberian connections. The 30-year-old Diggs - Taye is a short version of his nickname, Scott-Taye - was born in New Jersey and grew up in New York.
Goran Visnjic is the only reason I still watch ER. Is he really so brooding?
Margaret Thomas, Chicago
No. In fact, he hopes someday "somebody will give me a comedy." And he'll lighten up this season when a French waitress (Julie Delpy) enters his ER life. But Visnjic, 29, born and educated (drama school) in Croatia, has seen more than most contemporaries, having served in his country's army during its war with the Serbs. Then, at least, "we knew who the enemy was," he says. "People all over the world feel scared because of what happened in the United States" Sept. 11. Visnjic gets back to Croatia often but now lives in Los Angeles with his sculptor wife, Ivana (with him above). He's fond of exploring parks in Utah and Arizona.
If Sen. Hillary Clinton ran for president, would her husband, the former president, be allowed
to be her running mate?
Caroline Campbell, Detroit
Although the framers of the Constitution clearly intended otherwise - and it seems politically unlikely - the Clintons could run together, putting him first in the line of succession to the presidency. The 22nd Amendment says no person shall be elected president more than twice. But if he were to accede to the office? "There is a kind of loophole for presidents who are willing to take the cut in pay and status of becoming vice president," says American University constitutional law professor Jamin Raskin. Yet Kati Marton, author of Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our Recent History (Pantheon, $25), doubts Hill would choose Bill. "He's already onboard," she says. "Why not give the office to someone who would pull in a different constituency?"
Are Kelly and Norah O'Donnell, correspondents
for NBC news, related? How about ABC's Betsy and Lisa Stark? I often see them on their networks' various news programs.
Marge O'Connell, Rome, N.Y.
None are related. But all are news junkies. Norah O'Donnell became a political reporter for MSNBC in 1999 and continues to report on the Pentagon. Kelly O'Donnell is based in Burbank, Calif. Betsy Stark is ABC's business correspondent, often featured on World News Tonight With Peter Jennings discussing the economy and financial markets. Lisa Stark covers transportation and federal agencies - a very busy beat now. W
Ron Livingston is the guy to watch this TV season. The actor, 34, who has been knocking around Hollywood for a decade, had a splashy part as an intelligence officer in the recent HBO World War II series Band of Brothers. Plus, he has joined The Practice as an assistant D.A. who can give Dylan McDermott's Bobby Donnell a worthy competitor and Lara Flynn Boyle's Helen Gamble a possible romance. ("I've heard talk" is all he'll say on the latter.) "It's difficult coming into a show that's firing on all cylinders," Livingston says of joining the Emmy-winning drama. "It's different from doing a show when everyone is starting out at the same time." Livingston, who grew up in Iowa and graduated from Yale, is the son of an aerospace engineer and a minister, although his mom was ordained only a few years ago. "It's amazing to see her do it," he says. "She's not a performer by nature. The stuff in the pulpit is her least favorite job." That job notwithstanding, Livingston, whose girlfriend is actress Lisa Sheridan, says he wouldn't object to nude scenes. "Most guys drop their clothes at the drop of a hat. They don't care."
THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS
November 18: Margaret Atwood, 62; Jodie Foster, 39
November 19:Jodie Foster, 39; Meg Ryan 40; Ted Turner 63; Larry King 68
November 20:Ming-Na, 38; Bo Derek, 45
November 21: Ken Griffey Jr., 32; Troy Aikman, 35; Bjôrk, 36; Goldie Hawn, 56
November 22: Jamie Lee Curtis, 43
November 23: Bruce Hornsby, 47
November 24: William F. Buckley, 76
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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