In this article: Yo-yo Ma Tommy Lee Nick Cannon Birthdays Last week's Who's News Also: Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!

Could I have seen "War of the Worlds'" Dakota Fanning in a "CSI" rerun? How did she get her acting start? What other movies has she been in?
Evelyn M. Butcher, Capitola, Calif.

Fanning was in a November 2000 episode of "CSI." Her parents sensed she had something special as they watched her stage plays around their Conyers, Ga., home, so they took her to L.A. to land an agent. She got a Tide commercial at age 5, but since she became, at 8, the youngest nominee for a Screen Actors Guild award for "I Am Sam," she's been on fire. Among her co-stars: Sean Penn ("Sam"), Mike Myers ("The Cat in the Hat"), Denzel Washington (Man on Fire) and Robert De Niro ("Hide and Seek").

Go to top

Famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma is living his passion, traveling with up to 50 musicians, making music a mutual language. Ma's Silk Road Ensemble tour has taken him from Japan to Carnegie Hall, but he'll play even more places through mid-August. Named for the trade route from Italy to Japan, the Silk Road Project was begun by Ma, 49, to explore musical traditions in all cultures: "We know there are so many people with their own stories to tell." Music bridges language barriers, he says. It even helps him communicate with daughter Emily, 19. "She loves Dave Matthews ... Coldplay," he says. "Sometimes she likes retro groups, like the B-52's. It's a great world of people expressing themselves." Ma calls his two cellos Petunia and Davidoff.

Isn't it big news that Irish dancer Michael Flatley has a new show, "Celtic Tiger," out this summer? Tell us about it.
Sonja Marino, Cassville, N.Y.

Flatley's latest is being seen by fans as another tour de force, like his "Lord of the Dance" and "Feet of Flames." And typical of Flatley, it's BIG. Very BIG. The Chicago-born dancer, among the fastest tappers in the world, is again -- at age 47 -- the only star of the show, a history of the Celtic people. It debuted in Budapest and Prague earlier this month, with a preview last month in Birmingham, England. At press time, details of its arrival in the United States were pending.

Is George Clooney working on new movies? Is he making a second season of HBO's "Unscripted?"
Leisa Perrotta, Whitman, Mass.

HBO hasn't ordered a second season. But Clooney's busy. Chief among his projects is "Goodnight, and Good Luck." It's the story of how Edward R. Murrow and his producer, Fred Friendly (played by Clooney), helped bring an end to the House Un-American Activities Committee's anti-communist hearings in the '50s. Clooney, 44, co-wrote, co-produced, directed and co-stars. It's due at the end of the year.

I was shocked at the "NCIS" finale when Sasha Alexander's character was shot and killed. Can they really be writing her out of the show, or will this turn out to be a faked death?
Shara Lucerne, Concord, N.H.

Oh, it's for real, but don't blame CBS. It was Alexander who wanted to leave. With her decision made, producers saw that they could show the danger real-life NCIS agents put themselves in every day. Honcho Don Bellisario may replace Alexander with a foreign-born female actress.

Go to top

Motley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee quit high school for a recording contract. "I knew I wanted to rock the planet, instead of wave a diploma in the air," he says. So going to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln at 42 wasn't easy. "I have a new respect for anybody doing that four-year grind." "Tommy Lee Goes to College" is NBC's latest reality show, coming Aug. 16. Lee finds lots to like: the "gorgeous girls," playing in the marching band and horticulture class. "I think in my past life I was a tree," he tells us. This week, he's back to the Motley Crüe Reunion Tour; his solo CD is out Aug. 9.

Go to top

Nick Cannon is about to bust out big. This week we'll see his comic improv show on MTV, "Nick Cannon Presents Wild 'n Out." On Aug. 5 his comedy, "The Underclassman," hits theaters. And the single "Can I Live?" from his second album is a hit before the CD is even out. (It's due this fall.) "I'm a control freak, so being able to really be the boss from start to finish was the most fun I ever had," Cannon, 24, says of "Wild 'n Out." Showbiz was Cannon's destiny: "Ever since I was 4 or 5, I always knew. I was always trying to get attention. [I'd] be in front of the class, talking, trying to take the attention away from the teacher."

I'm a big fan of "The Abrams Report" on MSNBC. Are Dan Abrams and former "Law & Order" star Elisabeth Röhm still dating?
Barbara Freeman, Reno

No. That's been over since last winter.

What ever happened to Billie Hayes? She played Witchiepoo on "H.R. Pufnstuf" back in the early '70s.
Bill Johnson, Las Vegas

Hayes still does voice work and has composed a children's Christmas song she expects will be out at holiday time. She's president of the non-profit Pet Hope and lives in Hollywood with her many pets. And she can be seen in a DVD collectible set, due Aug. 2, that Pufnstuf fans will want: "Saturday Morning With Sid and Marty Krofft" includes pilots of '70s favorites "Pufnstuf," "Lidsville," "The Bugaloos" and more. One other thing: The Kroffts are working with Columbia to develop a new "Pufnstuf" movie.

BIRTHDAYS

July 24: Anna Paquin, 23; Jennifer Lopez, 35; Barry Bonds, 41
July 25: Matt LeBlanc, 38
July 26: Kate Beckinsale, 32; Jeremy Piven, 40; Sandra Bullock, 41
July 27: Alex Rodriguez, 30
July 28: Bill Bradley, 62
July 29: Martina McBride, 39
July 30: Hilary Swank, 31; Lisa Kudrow, 42 ; Laurence Fishburne, 44

Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Tameka L. Hicks, Brian Truitt

Go to top

Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!