Issue Date: April 28, 2002
Q: How is Mark-Paul Gosselaar enjoying ABC's "NYPD Blue?" What else is he up to?
Andrew Anderson, Claxton, Ga.
"I've had a great time. I hope I don't get the curse of [Andy] Sipowicz's other partners any time soon!" says Gosselaar, 28. He became Sipowicz's (Dennis Franz) fourth sidekick this season, the series' ninth, after Rick Schroder left last year. The ex-"Saved by the Bell" hottie, of Dutch-Indonesian heritage, has gone from teen star to living a childhood fantasy. "There's this underlying thing that every guy has to play a cop or fireman," says the actor, who rides horses and raced in the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach, Calif., this month. "We're always pretending we're the good guy, the hero, and these are real-life heroes." He wants to act in more movies but already has done a few he admits "I wish I could erase from my résumé" -- 1998's "Dead Man on Campus" comes to mind.
Q: CNN Headline News anchor Rudi Bakhtiar has changed the viewing habits of many people who didn't watch news before. What do you know about her?
D. Yi, Orem, Utah
We know Bakhtiar (BAK-tee-ar) almost became a dentist. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Iran (in a region named after her family), Bakhtiar returned for college and earned a biology degree from UCLA, but she opted to forgo her lifelong plan of going to dental school. "My parents were horrified," she says. Bakhtiar started at CNN as an intern in 1996, hoping to cover foreign news. Instead, she worked her way up to anchor, and although she doesn't write the news, she still has input. "I read every script and make sure it's written in the most direct way, with no slants," she says. But sometimes she has time only to react, such as when the network aired footage of Palestinians celebrating in the streets after Sept. 11. "I knew there were a lot of Palestinians who were mourning. I went off script and started ad-libbing that [the revelers] were a small minority. We need to take everything in context."
Q: I see a striking resemblance between Halle Berry and Shauntay Hinton, Miss USA 2002. Are they related?
Cindy Jorgensen, Lake Station, Ind.
No, but Hinton is asked that often, especially since Berry's Oscar win last month. Hinton, 23, says it can only help her career. "At a sports event, some fans asked me for Halle's autograph. When I told them I wasn't her, they wanted my autograph anyway. That started the buzz, 'Hey, that's Miss USA.' " A senior majoring in broadcast journalism at Howard University in Washington, D.C., she hopes her reign will help get her on TV one day as an anchorwoman. After all, she says, she has much in common with her idol, one-time beauty queen Oprah Winfrey. President Bush, too: "We both were head cheerleaders in high school. It's probably not something he's proud about. He'll probably call to thank me for that!" Crowned in March, Hinton moved into a pageant-supplied luxury apartment in New York and will spend the year promoting breast and ovarian cancer awareness, the official cause of Miss USA. Unless, of course, she wins the Miss Universe crown May 29.
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Gerts plays Radner
Jami Gertz grew up watching Gilda Radner on "Saturday Night Live" -- but didn't get the jokes. "I was too young," says the actress, 36, who starred in "Less Than Zero" and "The Lost Boys" in the '80s. "But I loved her nerd sketches." Now, Gertz plays Radner in an ABC movie (9 p.m. ET Monday) based on the comedienne's 1989 autobiography, published the year she died. For the role, Gertz donned the beige, pinstriped velour suit worn by Radner character Roseanne Rosannadanna; it was recovered from a costume shop in Canada. "Of course, Gilda weighed 93 pounds, because she was bulimic," Gertz says. "So we had to add a little extra." The movie's title, "Gilda Radner: It's Always Something," alludes to Rosannadanna's catch phrase. Gertz learned that Radner "smoked like a fiend and drank vodka out of a Tab can" in her SNL days, and for months the ovarian cancer that eventually killed her was misdiagnosed: "She knew something was wrong, but no one believed her. It was like 'Oh, it's Gilda. She's neurotic.' " By the time doctors caught the cancer, it was too late. Radner had married the love of her life, actor Gene Wilder, only five years before her death at age 42."
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Q: I know the president likes to golf. I'm curious: What's his favorite course? Also, what is his favorite hole?
Ray Bigler, Mesa, Ariz.
When the president has time for golf -- which he hasn't much lately -- he loves the green at Fazio Foothills, a private course at Barton Creek, a resort in Austin, Texas. He plays often with golfer pal Ben Crenshaw, and his favorite hole is Fazio's ninth. A longtime golfer, Bush, 55, took lessons as a youth and is said to be a speedy player (like his father). He's a 15 handicapper, and he isn't even the best golfer in the family. That's probably Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, his brother. As Texas governor, Bush gave a rousing talk to the 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup team that Crenshaw, then the Ryder captain, says inspired the Americans to victory. Bush also plays at Midland (Texas) Country Club and Cape Arundel Golf Club near his family's Kennebunkport, Maine, retreat. That's certainly one of his favorites: A few years ago, he shot his best round -- a 77 -- at Cape Arundel.
Contributing: Tameka Hicks, Patty Rhule, Frappa Stout
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BIRTHDAYS
April 28: Jessica Alba, 21; Penelope Cruz, 28; Jay Leno, 52;
April 29: Andre Agassi 32,
Master P 32,
Uma Thurman 32,
Michelle Pfeiffer 44,
Jerry Seinfeld 48.
April 30: Kirsten Dunst 20,
Isiah Thomas 41,
Willie Nelson 69.
May 1: Tim McGraw 35,
Judy Collins 63.
May 2: The Rock 30.
May 3: Dule Hill 27,
Greg Gumbel 56,
James Brown 74.
May 4: Lance Bass 22,
Randy Travis 43.
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