Issue Date: July 18, 2004
Just when you thought another "reality" idea could not be born comes "In Search of the Partridge Family." Beginning last Saturday in Orlando, in New York and Minneapolis this week, and in L.A. July 31, producer Jeff Margolis is auditioning actors/ singers for a new sitcom about the musical family portrayed in the '70s by Shirley Jones, Susan Dey, David Cassidy, Danny Bonaduce and others. "Search" will become a seven-part series on VH1 (check the Web site for details); viewers will help decide the cast. Why the Partridges? "There's something kinda cool about it," Margolis tells me. "It was the right show at the right time." And, perhaps, time again.
What is the name of the female singer in the Black Eyed Peas? She is, as Jimi Hendrix would say, one "Foxy Lady." Is she dating anyone?
Steve Murphy, Cincinnati
For two years, "Fergie," a k a Stacy Ferguson, has been dating guitar player Ray Brady, the band leader for singer Ashlee Simpson (Jessica's younger sister). She briefly dated Justin Timberlake, too. Once part of the all-girl pop trio Wild Orchid, Fergie, 29, has added sexiness and vocal depth to the decade-old Peas, which she joined last year, as well as what she calls "the female perspective." At first "it was challenging to see where I fit," she says of working with the Peas. "But some 400 shows later, it just works."
Does former "Full House" mom Lori Loughlin now have three children? I thought she had two.
Gabrielle Kissel, Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Loughlin, who's 40-ish but looks 30 in her new drama, "Summerland," is a mother of two and stepmom of one. She and husband Mossimo Giannulli, designer of the Mossimo line for Target, are raising daughters Isabella Rose, 5, and Olivia Jade, 4, and his son Gianni, 12. Plus, she's working full time on Summerland, which she created for herself, about a single woman caring for three kids. Loughlin tells us: "My motto is, 'If it works, stick with it.' Families come in different ways. It doesn't have to be a traditional mother-father situation. It's all good and it's all acceptable as long as there's love in the household."
Is "Survivor" host Jeff Probst an ordained minister? He mentioned it during the reunion show after the engagement of "Survivor: All-Stars" winners Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano, and we thought he was kidding.
Marjorie Angely, Bradenton, Fla.
No joke. Probst got "ordained" five years ago to remarry his parents on their 40th anniversary. Probst, 41, and his two brothers threw a party for them and "thought it would be fun to renew their vows. We have a really tight and informal family, and it didn't seem right to go find somebody else to do it." Probst sent $25 to the Universal Life Church in Modesto, Calif., and a week later received his certificate. He was "half-kidding" when he told Brkich, 25, and Mariano, 28, he'd marry them. "I wouldn't now," he says. "That was a one-time offer, and they didn't jump on it." "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett, however, has offered to produce the wedding on national TV.
I have two questions about Melina Kanakaredes and "Providence:" Will there ever be a "Providence" movie? And will the series come out on DVD?
Tari Brelsford, Waukee, Iowa
A "Providence Collection" DVD is available now, but a film is unlikely. Kanakaredes, 37, stars this fall in CBS' "CSI: New York." "Our version will have the mystery but will delve more into character," she tells us. "Who are these people you watch every week?" She thinks of the three "CSIs" as she thinks of her family, with two sisters: "We came from the same parents, but we're completely different women." So how does the busy wife and mother of girls (ages 17 months and 4) find time to work the hours her show requires? "You've heard that phrase, 'If you want something done, give it to a busy person'? I'm that kind of personality," she says.
Does Penelope Cruz have any sisters? If so, what do they do?
Marcella Sanchez, Union City, Calif.
Cruz, 30, has one sister, Monica, who's four years younger and equally beautiful. She lives in Spain, where she is an actress, a model for designers like Chloe and Toton Comella, and a professional flamenco dancer.
Tom Selleck is a natural playing cowboys. Should we expect to see him in such a role again?
Mark A. Hanes, Fairfield, Calif.
Yes. He's considering offers for two TV westerns. In "The Empty Land," from the Louis L'Amour novel, he would play a lawman who cleans up a corrupt mining town, and in a remake of the 1972 movie "The Culpepper Cattle Company" he'd play a cattle drive trail boss. Says Selleck, 59, who was back in the saddle most recently in last year's "Monte Walsh" on TNT: "I grew up on westerns, so every chance I get to be one of those guys, I jump at it. I like carrying that torch." Speaking of jumping, daughter Hannah, 15, is an Olympic show-jumping hopeful.
Because he's quick to question a political candidate's military service, I'd like to know in which branch of the military Rush Limbaugh served. Any reserve duty?
John O'Connell, Easley, S.C.
None. The radio talk show host had medical and student deferments from service in Vietnam. A 1993 biography on Limbaugh, 53, said the medical deferment was for a treatable cyst at the base of his spine. Limbaugh's camp wouldn't comment.
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Kevin Maynard, Bart Mills, Evelyn Poitevent, Frappa Stout
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BIRTHDAYS
July 18: Vin Diesel, 37; Nelson Mandela, 86
July 19: Topher Grace, 26; Anthony Edwards, 42
July 20: Carlos Santana, 57
July 21: Josh Hartnett, 26; Robin Williams, 52
July 22: David Spade, 40; Danny Glover, 57; Alex Trebek, 64
July 23: Daniel Radcliffe, 15; Marlon Wayans, 32; Woody Harrelson, 43
July 24: Anna Paquin, 22; Barry Bonds, 40; Karl Malone, 41
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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