Issue Date: December 19, 2004
I liked Rob Lowe's recent show, "Dr. Vegas." It wasn't high drama or the most artful of comedies, but it had an ensemble of quality actors and was fun to watch after a long week at the office. Are you taking any bets that CBS will reconsider and bring it back?
Charles Canning, Gilbert, Ariz.
Sorry, Charles, but -- no.
When Judy Reyes, who plays no-nonsense nurse Carla on NBC's "Scrubs," first tried life on the West Coast, the native New Yorker lasted just nine months. "I couldn't take it," Reyes, 36, says of being away from friends and family. But when "Scrubs" came along, she knew she couldn't pass it up, even if it meant leaving home. "I grew up on TV," Reyes explains. "TV made me want to be an actress." Now Reyes, the first in her Dominican family to be born in the United States, hopes to use her growing recognition to produce so that "more people like me -- women, Latina women," can get cast.
I saw actor Rupert Everett on Ellen Degeneres' talk show, and if it hadn't been for his voice, I wouldn't have known it was him. Why does he look different? Plastic surgery?
Ana Santiago, Rochester, N.Y.
You're not the only one who wonders, but we're assured by his people that the handsome Brit has had no work done. Perhaps that's why he looks different: Everett, 45, may be aging authentically.
He's a Motown treasure and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now Smokey Robinson, 64, is reaching the preschool set with his theme song for the new TLC show "ToddWorld."
Robinson, who tells me it took about a second before he agreed to record it, says: "I'm all for doing something positive for our kids, and that's what the song does. It lets them know that it's OK to be different." When Robinson says "our" kids, he is including his own -- grandkids, that is. He has seven.
I think Enrique Iglesias has made only one music video since his album "Seven" came out a year ago. Can you give us an update, please?
Hallie Enser, Laguna Beach, Calif.
Iglesias actually made two videos from "Seven: Addicted," co-starring actress Mischa Barton of "The O.C.," and "Not in Love." Lately he's been traveling between studios in L.A., Miami and London, working on a CD that should be ready by next spring. The handsome singer, 29, also is reading scripts in search of a movie for himself (he had a small role in 2003's "Once Upon a Time in Mexico") and is still "very happily" dating tennis darling Anna Kournikova, 23.
Is Tobey Maguire already making a third Spider-Man movie? Or is he working on a different film?
Betsy Haberl, College Station, Texas
Maguire, 29, won't wiggle into that Spidey outfit until late next year at the earliest; the movie's not due in theaters until May 2007. For now, he has numerous films in development, some of which he'll produce only. (He does have experience: He was a producer on "Seabiscuit" and Spike Lee's "25th Hour.") He'll produce and possibly star in "Blackbird," a thriller based on the story of a young man investigating the mysterious death of his father, a CIA agent involved in LSD testing in the 1960s.
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It's the time of year to uphold family traditions, and stars are no different from the rest of us. Here's how a few will celebrate the holidays:
Kate Winslet. "We have a large [Christmas] lunch. My mother starts at 6 a.m. We trim the tree and sing carols, eat and drink far too much and have a lot of fun."
Ray Romano. "Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. I make sure we get to go -- me and the kids. My wife doesn't, really. She's in bed by then."
Jane Kaczmarek. "On Christmas Eve, my mom would cook all afternoon and then take a long nap. While she was asleep, all the kids would clean the house and make sure it was in tiptop shape. I hope my kids will continue that tradition."
Jada Pinkett Smith. "Baking during the holidays is something I did with my mother that I now do with my kids. We love 7Up cake. We also bake your basic chocolate chip cookies."
Julie Andrews. "My mother developed this nice idea of one gift left, called a tree gift. That was the last thing of the day. Just before bed, it would be tree gift time with hot chocolate or whatever. It's the smallest gift that's hidden in the branches of the tree."
Tim McGraw. "My mother is southern Italian. I grew up on Christmas Eve nights having spaghetti. So that's one of the traditions Faith [Hill] and I have carried on."
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BIRTHDAYS
December 19: Jake Gyllenhaal, 24; Alyssa Milano, 32
December 20: Anita Baker, 47; Michael Badalucco, 50; John Spencer, 58
December 21: Kiefer Sutherland, 38; Andy Dick, 39; Ray Romano, 47; Jane Kaczmarek, 49 ;Samuel L. Jackson, 56; Jane Fonda, 67
December 22: Ralph Fiennes, 42; Diane Sawyer, 59
December 23: Susan Lucci, 58
December 24: Ryan Seacrest, 30; Ricky Martin, 33
December 25: Annie Lennox, 50; Sissy Spacek, 55; Jimmy Buffett, 58
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Nancy Mills, Frappa Stout
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