Issue Date: December 26, 2004
When I tell NBC's Al Roker he's "Mr. Parade," he corrects me. "Mr. Holiday," he says. He covers Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. And next weekend, for the seventh time, he'll bring us the Rose Bowl parade. I wonder what he does to keep it fresh. "Sometimes you don't have to fix the wheel," he tells me. "If the wheel is rolling and people love it ... you don't have to zip it up for the demographics. There's something to be said about tradition."
I'm dying to know when Ricky Martin's new CD will be out.
Andrea Sparks, West Bradenton, Fla.
He's putting finishing touches on it but is vague about a release date, saying only sometime in 2005. At least Martin, who turns 33 on Christmas Eve, is making it worth the wait. He co-wrote all the songs, recorded string arrangements in India and worked with a "dream team" of producers. Plus, he's been training in capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts/dance form that he'll perform when he tours to promote the CD. Can't wait to see that.
What ever happened to Peter Scolari, Tom Hanks' sidekick in the 1980-82 comedy "Bosom Buddies?" He was one of my favorites.
Jim Thompson, Minneapolis
Still bosom buddies with Hanks, he "appears" (in CG digital animation format) with his friend and golfing pal in "The Polar Express.": Scolari, 50, plays Lonely Boy, a part he landed after a long chat about loneliness with director Robert Zemeckis and, no doubt, a recommendation from Hanks, who has cast Scolari in several projects.
We know that Ron Howard is directing "The Da Vinci Code" and that the ubiquitous Tom Hanks is to play the lead. What's the plan for further casting?
Robin Pusatory, Lakewood, Colo.
Howard and partner Brian Grazer have said they'll use foreign actors to play the foreign characters -- what a concept! -- in part because audiences, who surely know the book, will expect it.
Courtney Thorne-Smith of "According to Jim" has been in series television a long time, but I don't know much about her personal life. Is she married with children in real life, too?
Renee Aafedt, Great Falls, Mont.
No. She's single again. She divorced her husband, a geneticist, soon after their June 2000 wedding in Hawaii and canceled a 2004 wedding to a cardiologist. Thorne-Smith, 37, appeared in her wedding dress on the cover of a special issue of "InStyle" seven months after the 2000 nuptials, but by then the marriage was over.
We're very high on MSNBC's John Seigenthaler. Tell us about his family and goals. Why wasn't he considered as a replacement for Tom Brokaw?
Judy and Herb Allen, Denver
The decision to replace Brokaw with Brian Williams was made before Seigenthaler, 49, joined "NBC Nightly News" in 1999. So no hard feelings. Besides, he has numerous titles, and "I love what I do," he tells us. His off time is spent with wife Kerry and son Jack, 7. Saturday mornings are reserved for watching soccer games. "You make [family] a priority," he says. "It's not always the big stories or the big interview that flips my switch."
I bet my friend a very expensive dinner that there will be no more "Six Feet Under." He says there will. Who is right?
Faye Ritenburg, Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
Call that fancy restaurant, Faye: Your friend wins. HBO began making the fifth and final 12-episode season last month. No air dates yet, but expect the twisted relationships to be tightly tied up and buried.
Bob Goen, former co-anchor of "Entertainment Tonight," disappeared without notice. Fans want to know: Where'd he go?
D. Connell, West Hills, Calif.
Goen, 50, opted to leave the show after 11 years. He's enjoying married life with new wife Marianne Curan, host of HGTV's "Landscapers' Challenge." On the career front, he has a one-year deal with Paramount (which produces "ET") to develop anything from game shows to a reality series that would put him and stars on camera.
I am a fan of "American Idol" runner-up Diana DeGarmo. I bought her single. What's next?
Kevin Heskefal, Rochester, N.Y.
"Blue Skies," her debut CD, is now in stores; she is "looking at TV pilots and a clothing line." Most important, she and her mom will welcome DeGarmo's sister-in-law and two nieces into their Atlanta home next month when her brother David Evans, 82nd Airborne, is sent to Iraq. "We're very worried. I hope soon this can all be over for him, along with all the other men and women of the military."
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THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS
December 26: Jared Leto, 33
December 27: Cokie Roberts, 61
December 28: Denzel Washington, 50
December 29: Jude Law, 32; Mary Tyler Moore, 68
December 30: LeBron James, 20; Tiger Woods, 29; Matt Lauer, 47
December 31: Val Kilmer, 45; Anthony Hopkins, 67
January 1: Verne Troyer, 36
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Tameka L. Hicks, Evelyn Poitevent, Frappa Stout
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