Issue Date: December 8, 2002
Settle a bet, please. I think President Bush could fly a jet or ride a horse into battle to help fight the war on terrorism. My friend says Bush logged little flight time in the Air National Guard and rides trucks, not horses, on his ranch.
K. Horan, Flagstaff, Ariz.
Bush did learn to pilot fighter jets during his two years in the Texas Air National Guard -- but that was 30-plus years ago, so I wouldn't count on him flying a state-of-the-art plane today. Horseback riding is less tricky, and although he does tend to drive a truck around his property in Crawford, Texas, we're told he still can ride. Heck, Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly took riding lessons to prepare for a visit to Bush's ranch.
Is Andrea Parker, "Less Than Perfect"'s scheming office assistant, related to Mary-Louise Parker, "The West Wing"'s tart-tongued feminist?
Carolyn Nieto, Denver
No, but the women they play are cut from the same cloth -- sophisticated, ambitious, smart. Andrea, 33, tells us her ABC comedy reminds her of high school: "Office politics can be petty. I wouldn't want to hang out with anyone in [my character's] clique, especially her." Human behavior always has intrigued her; she once wanted to be a psychologist. "Acting lets me deal with the psychology of behavior and continue to perform," says Parker, who performed with the San Francisco Ballet and did contemporary dance until she quit in her early 20s because it was physically grueling. "I did one too many performances on cement floors."
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Jason Alexander, former "Seinfeld" best friend and current KFC pitchman, becomes "The Man Who Saved Christmas" in next Sunday's CBS movie, but in real life he'll celebrate Hanukkah with wife Daena and their sons, 10 and 6. Alexander, 43, stars as A.C. Gilbert, inventor of the Erector set, who is urged by the government (during World War I) to conspire to cancel Christmas. That would never really happen, even if the film is based on a true story, so his character convinces Congress that America needs Christmas more than war. Yes, he misses "Seinfeld", Alexander says in a tone that shows he's tired of the question, "but, you know, it was work. I'm working on other things now." The Tony-winning actor will next produce the film "An Extra Marriage", and in May, he and Martin Short will play the starring roles in "The Producers" in Los Angeles.
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Taking on another TV biopic, this one for sports fans, is the too-little-seen Tom Berenger. The South Carolina-based actor, 52, stars as legendary college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in ESPN's "The Junction Boys" next Saturday, based on Bryant's 1954 training camp. Bryant "wrote the book on toughness," says Berenger, who had a similar coach in high school and hated it. "In football, it's all yelling. Sometimes you just want it to be quiet." Berenger, a history buff, is drawn to real-hero roles, like Teddy Roosevelt in TNT's '97 miniseries "Rough Riders". What do they all have in common? "They're ambitious, have energy up the ying-yang and are extremely aggressive," he says. Berenger must be energetic; he's been married three times and has six kids. How else is he like his heroes? "I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive. And I always want everybody to put in 110%."
Why is actor John Cusack rarely seen on the talk-show circuit?
Stephanie Lashbrook, Pittsburg, Kan.
Because he has little patience for self-promotion. "Some of my contemporaries would go to a cat funeral if press were there," says Cusack, 36. "They'll go on talk shows and discuss who they're dating. I don't talk about that stuff." That explains why his relationship with actress Neve Campbell is seldom written about. Cusack is a man who follows his instincts, which led him to help produce and star in the controversial "Max", opening in some cities Dec. 27. The film portrays Adolf Hitler as a young man; Cusack plays Max Rothman, Hitler's art dealer in 1918 Munich. "It's shocking to picture Hitler as a human being, but that's the paradox," Cusack says. "We like our monsters in black and white. This movie asks you to take a much more sophisticated view of evil."
Can you name superstars who started in soaps? I know about Meg Ryan and Demi Moore, but I'm sure there were others.
Frances Kawaguchi, Alameda, Calif.
Sure. Sarah Michelle Gellar was Erica Kane's daughter on "All My Children". Julianne Moore, Lauryn Hill and Charlie Sheen started on "As the World Turns"; Ryan Phillippe and Blair Underwood, on "One Life to Live". Vivica A. Fox had stints on "Days of Our Lives" and "The Young and the Restless". Nia Long, Kevin Bacon and Allison Janney were on "Guiding Light"; Anne Heche and Morgan Freeman, on "Another World". Daytime soaps are "the hardest medium you can work in," says "Soap Opera Digest" editor Stephanie Sloane. "So it does give excellent training."
What's the status of the FX cop show "The Shield"? Is it still in production, with Michael Chiklis in the lead?
James J. Traina, Indianapolis
The second season is to premiere Jan. 7, so Chiklis, 39, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of Det. Vic Mackey, is now back on the streets of L.A. filming. Cast and crew recently crossed the border to shoot in Tijuana, Mexico.
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BIRTHDAYS
December 8: Sinead O'Connor, 36; Teri Hatcher, 38; Kim Basinger, 49
December 9: Donny Osmond, 45; John Malkovich, 49; Beau Bridges, 61
December 10: Kenneth Branagh, 42
December 11: Teri Garr, 53; Donna Mills, 59
December 12: Mekhi Phifer, 28; Jennifer Connelly, 32; Bob Barker, 79
December 13: Jamie Foxx, 35; Steve Buscemi, 45; Dick Van Dyke, 77
December 14: Patty Duke, 56 ;Michael Ovitz, 56
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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