Issue Date: October 27, 2002
In all the celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee, her husband, Prince Philip, seemed to have a minimal presence at best. Where has he been?
Chuck Mather, Nappanee, Ind.
As he has for 55 years, Philip stood quietly by Elizabeth's side for many public events. In fact, during this Golden Jubilee year, the prince, 81, has been seen more than any other royal, including the queen. By last month, he'd attended 330 public engagements, including escorting his wife to more than 70 cities and towns during her jubilee tours in Britain and abroad, and he appeared at 131 engagements on his own.
What movies does actress Charlize Theron have coming up? I see she was in the thriller "Trapped".
Wendy Gers, Phoenix
Last month's "Trapped", in which Theron starred with her current boyfriend, Stuart Townsend, kicked off her latest wave. See her this month in the comedy "Waking Up in Reno" with Billy Bob Thornton, and next spring in a crime caper remake, "The Italian Job". Although she tends to work in spurts, Theron never stops for long. Since she won an Italian modeling contest at 16 and her career took off, the former ballet dancer, now 27, has said she always feels the clock ticking. As an only child growing up on a South African farm, she saw how short life can be when her dad was shot and killed by her mom in self-defense during an argument.
She was Stefania, Robert's Italian girlfriend, on "Everybody Loves Raymond", and one of Joey's Italian sisters on "Friends". Now, in Paul Schrader's new film, "Auto Focus", Alex Meneses plays against type: She's an exotic dancer who shows "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane the path to depravity and eventual death. "I turn him on to the dark side," she says. "Until [their scene], he's still a God-fearing citizen and family man." She didn't hit strip clubs to study for her part, as Demi Moore did for "Striptease", but Meneses, 28, says the "Auto Focus" set had lots of professionals -- "strippers and real swingers who were sweet, nice young people." So what did she learn? "I always had a judgment about their lifestyle, and now I don't. They're just folks who do what they do ... and then they go home and make dinner."
It's unbelievable that Vincent D'Onofrio of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" was Edgar the bug in the original "Men in Black". How does he feel about that past role?
Jim Nowicki, Brodhead, Wis.
"The bug was a physical role, and that physicality is something Vincent uses in his role now," says René Balcer, "L&O: CI"'s executive producer. "His body is an instrument he uses in every episode to solve crimes." D'Onofrio, 43, always has said his goal is to be a character actor; that keeps his career interesting, and he doesn't have to deal with being a celebrity. This season, his character, Bobby Goren, will face his family history of schizophrenia. "We're going to look at how that manifests itself in his personality and crime-solving methods," Balcer says.
What happened with Alex Michel and Amanda Marsh from ABC's The Bachelor? Is she wearing his ring?
Jeanne Anderson, Port Ludlow, Wash.
Hardly. Michel, 32, did invite Marsh, 23, to move to L.A. But Marsh claims that when she arrived to look for a job and apartment, Michel, now pursuing acting, said he was "too busy" to help and blew her off. So she stayed in Kansas City and took a DJ job. The two officially called it quits last month. (Insiders say they had to wait until Season 2 started.) Let's hope new bachelor Aaron Buerge isn't such a cad.
From 1978 to '82, I went to Gordon Technical High School in Chicago with Jason Gedrick. Tell me about his new TV role and his career.
Mark Gillespie, Arlington Heights, Ill.
Gedrick plays a cop bent on proving himself in NBC's lauded "Boomtown". But the actor, 37, tells us he's never felt that way in his career. He started as an extra in Sean Penn's 1983 flick "Bad Boys", then "faked my way into more work" until he got noticed on Broadway and then landed the lead in CBS' "Falcone" in 2000. In "Boomtown", he hopes to erase negative stereotypes about cops. "They just want to be understood," says the divorced father of three sons. "A best-case scenario for them would be to smile and shake hands all day long." Gedrick has written and sold a pilot script to CBS and Sony, and you'll see him early next year in two indie films, "One Eyed King" and "Jesus, Mary and Joey".
I loved Lucy Lawless in "Xena": Warrior Princess. What is she doing now?
Lucille Marks, Fremont, Calif.
Showing off her new baby. The New Zealander and her American husband, "Xena" producer Robert Tapert, recently returned to the States to introduce their second son, Judah Miro (born May 7), to his relatives. The couple already were parents to Julius Robert, 3. Lawless, 34, born Lucille Frances Ryan, also has a 14-year-old daughter, Daisy, from her first marriage (to fellow Kiwi Garth Lawless).
With: Frappa Stout. Contributing: Bridget Byrne, Evelyn Poitevent
Go to top
BIRTHDAYS
October 27: Kelly Osbourne, 18; John Cleese, 63
October 28: Justin Guarini, 24; Julia Roberts, 35; Bill Gates, 47; Dennis Franz, 58
October 29: Winona Ryder, 31; Richard Dreyfuss, 55
October 30: Gavin Rossdale, 35
October 31: Jane Pauley, 52; Dan Rather, 71
November 11: Anthony Kiedis, 40; Lyle Lovett, 45
November 2: David Schwimmer, 35
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
|
