Issue Date: February 8, 2004
I watch "CSI: Miami" for Rory Cochrane. He's cute and has a great voice. Does he do voiceovers?
Michelle Brechon, Maplewood, Minn.
No. And when we spoke, he sounded tired, because he'd been working round-the-clock on new episodes. He may be touted as one of TV's sexiest men, but Cochrane, 31, says, "I could get to the gym more often." Usually drawn to bad-guy roles, he says he had to act tough in the Queens, N.Y., neighborhood in which he grew up. "Gang members would get on the subway and start robbing people," he says. "If you acted scared, they would come and take your stuff."
My all-time favorite female country singers are K.T. Oslin and Mary Chapin Carpenter, but it's been years since either has put out a new album. Any update?
Jan Sietsema, Raymond, Minn.
The good news: Carpenter, 45, will have a new CD out March 23. Called "Between Here and Gone," it includes a song that reflects on the terror of Sept. 11. The bad news: Oslin, 61, is "almost" retired. We're told she gets offers to perform or record, but she hasn't found any of them tempting yet.
What a difference 16 years makes. That's evident in "Tanner '88," the Robert Altman-directed miniseries of a Democratic candidate's primary campaign, which the Sundance Channel brings back to TV now through April 13. Playing charismatic Jack Tanner, a pretend candidate who interacted with the real world, got actor Michael Murphy, 65, more interested in politics, and of course he's following the current campaigns. But it all "costs a lot more money now, and the Internet has changed things. TV is now really big, and there's all the in-your-face advertising." Created for HBO by "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau, "Tanner" was groundbreaking stuff in the '80s. Of course, Tanner couldn't win, so where would he be now? "At Michigan State," Murphy tells us, "teaching history."
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THE GRAMMYS: This Sunday is the music industry's big night, the 46th Grammys in L.A., and Patty Loveless, 47, is excited. "I love to go and see all the artists in other genres," says the singer, nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her song "On Your Way Home." "I remember the time Bonnie Raitt said hello to me there. I thought, 'She knows who I am?' It was the greatest thing." Loveless, who won a Grammy in '98, tells us she actually likes all her competition: Martina McBride ("I've known her since she got her first deal"), Shania Twain ("I love an artist who mixes things up"), June Carter Cash ("We've lost her, but she was a sweet lady") and most of all, Dolly Parton, "my big sister in country music. I met her when I was 14; she knew I wanted to grow up and be just like her."
Did Tiger Woods ever legally change his name from Eldrick to Tiger?
Ginger Matsuoka, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
No. Lots of reports to the contrary notwithstanding, Woods, 28, never went through with his talked-about plan to make Tiger, his nickname since he was a baby, his legal name at 21. His agent now says it never was a serious consideration.
What happened to "Crossing Jordan?" I looked forward to its return at the start of the new season but now find other shows in its time slot.
Cathy Crary, Oswego, N.Y.
"Jordan's" popular star, Jill Hennessy, 34, had a baby (her first, a boy) in September, so NBC decided to delay the show's return until March.
What ever happened to one of my favorite actors, Michael Keaton? Does he have anything in the works?
Christi Mason, Mercerville, N.J.
Fans rightfully think the actor has worked way too little in recent years. However, I'm happy to report Keaton, 52, has two movies coming. He's the president to Katie Holmes' First Daughter in a romantic comedy, and then a widower who receives messages from his dead wife in a thriller, White Noise.
Do Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton actually spend any time together these days?
Bill True, Utica, N.Y.
It's rare. Their schedules don't allow for much quality time, but during the holidays they saw the Broadway musical "Avenue Q" together. While Sen. Clinton spends much of her time in Washington or at book signings (for her "Living History"), the former president is in his Manhattan office writing his memoirs and working on the Clinton Presidential Center, opening this fall in Little Rock. Chelsea works in New York, doing health-care research for a management-consulting firm.
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BIRTHDAYS
February 8: Seth Green, 30; Ted Koppel, 64
February 9: Travis Tritt, 41; Joe Pesci, 61
February 10: Laura Dern, 37
February 11: Kelly Rowland, 23; Brandy, 25; Jennifer Aniston, 35; Sheryl Crow, 42; Burt Reynolds, 68
February 12: Christina Ricci, 24
February 13: Mena Suvari, 25; Jerry Springer, 60
February 14: Florence Henderson, 70
Contributing: Bridget Byrne, John Griffiths, Katie Leach-Kemon, Frappa Stout
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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