Issue Date: August 25, 2002
My husband and I are very big fans of Robin Williams. Tell us more about his summer tour and new movies.
Paula Kazin, Toms River, N.J.
At this point, Williams is ready for a break. After a 21-week, sold-out stand-up tour -- one night of which was filmed for his acclaimed HBO special last month -- you'd expect the non-stop comic, 51, to be worn out. You'd be wrong. Never lacking in spastic energy, Williams tells us he's looking forward to a family getaway. He relishes trips to remote San Francisco Bay Area hideaways with his producer-wife, Marsha Garces Williams, and his three children. So while the good buzz still reverberates from his creepy bad-guy performance in May's Insomnia, and his newest movie -- "One Hour Photo", in which he's an obsessive and strange photo clerk -- opens, we dig deeper into Williams' darker side:
Does the man behind Mork from Ork really have a dark side?
Everyone has it. Most don't explore it.
How did you discover yours?
I was an only child, so it wasn't difficult to find that kind of a loneliness or a focus on other things. I focused on military history. In ["One Hour Photo"], it's photographs, but it was an extreme situation, where [the character] fixated on a whole other life.
Are you still a loner?
Yeah. Activities that I enjoy, even the sports I do, like long-distance cycling -- [or] before that it was long-distance running -- you're pretty much on your own.
How do you relax?
Marsha's always been great about finding wonderful places to go for great family time.
What's your best quality as a parent?
Playfulness. When I kick into it hard, they really love that.
What about video games?
We have a policy -- no video or computer for the first week of the month -- so during that time, they are really into reading, especially Zelda [13]. Cody [10] is into hard-core poetry. And Zak [19], he's got a summer job, and he's in college. Cody wants to be a pitcher, so I've been catching for him in the back yard.
So, where do you get your family pictures developed?
We have a friend who takes our family photos and develops them himself, so we know they don't go to another place where someone could dupe them. Because if something funny comes along, they're going to dupe it. A lot of people we talked to said there's a wall where they save those special photographs of the big guy wearing the thong.
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Has "Titanic" star Leonardo DiCaprio been working at all? The last I heard of him was when his film "The Beach" was released more than two years ago.
Harold Buckelew, Cheshire, Conn.
I get this question all the time, because it's odd when an actor of DiCaprio's talent doesn't seem to take advantage of his heat. Here's why: DiCaprio, 27, spent much of 2000-01 making Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York", a nearly three-hour epic that was to have opened last Christmas. But now -- for lots of reasons, not the least of which was the need to edit it down -- it's set for release this Christmas. He spent much of this year making Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can", the true story of a 1960s con man. It's also opening Dec. 25, so the actor will be competing with himself at the box office. We'll talk to DiCaprio about his movies and more in a December issue.
What has Australian tennis star Patrick Rafter been doing on his self-imposed hiatus? Has he mentioned retirement?
Melissa Hagemann, Canton, Mich.
By the time you read this, the handsome two-time U.S. Open champ may be a first-time dad. He and longtime girlfriend Lara Feltham, a swimsuit model, likely spent much of his time off preparing for their baby's birth. Although he's busy with corporate and charitable obligations, Rafter, 29 -- named a "sex god" by "GQ" -- hasn't called it quits on tennis; he's leaving the door open to a return. Incidentally, Rafter is as famous in Australia for helping needy kids as for his success on the court. His Cherish the Children Foundation, a leading charity, is run by his mother and sister.
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Singer-songwriter Stacia, wife of Detroit Red Wings player Luc Robitaille, is closer to pop stardom than any of the kids on the Fox TV hit "American Idol". With a first CD, "Hush", due Tuesday, and its title track getting radio play, Stacia, 32, who goes by her first name only, may become an idol herself. No wonder she loves the show, "especially Simon," she says of the cantankerous British judge. "I wish someone would have been more blunt with me." Not many rising stars have been as lucky as she has. Nine years after she was discovered in an L.A. restaurant, Stacia has her own record label. So who would she sign as America's idol? "Hello, Justin [Guarini]. He can call me tomorrow. He's just a little star."
I've heard that Will Smith and Halle Berry will star in a movie together in the near future. True?
Rebecca Moore, New York City
Wishful thinking, but a nice idea, say individual reps for both. The attractive stars do know each other; they posed for a magazine cover last spring when he was Oscar-nominated for "Ali" and she for "Monster's Ball" (she won Best Actress). Smith's publicist tells us the 33-year-old actor is in talks with another hot leading lady, Jennifer Lopez (who's now seeing Ben Affleck), to develop a romantic comedy. Meanwhile, he's filming "Bad Boys 2" in Florida for August 2003, and Berry, 36, is in a Bond film, "Die Another Day", in November.
I think the Irish rockers the Corrs are amazing talents and great-looking. How are they doing at breaking into the U.S. market?
David Sand, Bloomington, Minn.
They may not be household names, but the siblings are no strangers to U.S. audiences. The group has toured America three times -- fronting U2, the Rolling Stones and Celine Dion -- and their own 2000 release, "In Blue", went platinum here. The group plans another tour soon, possibly in late fall or early next spring.
With Frappa Stout
Contributing: Jason Farmand, Tameka Hicks, Jeanne Wright
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BIRTHDAYS
August 25: Blair Underwood, 38; Elvis Costello, 48; Regis Philbin, 71; Sean Connery, 72
August 26: Macaulay Culkin, 22
August 27: Sarah Chalke, 26; Paul Reubens, 50
August 28: LeAnn Rimes, 20; Shania Twain, 37
August 29: Michael Jackson, 44; Elliott Gould, 64
August 30: Lisa Ling, 29; Cameron Diaz, 30
August 31: Chris Tucker, 30; Richard Gere, 53
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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