Issue Date: July 31, 2005
USA WEEKEND: 20 Years Young
Who Was News in July, 1985:
O.J. Simpson enshrined in Pro Football Hall of Fame ...
Susan Lucci loses sixth Daytime Emmy ...
Major League Baseball players stage two-day strike.
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It's been too long since we've heard new music from Chris Isaak. Anything new coming? Did he ever marry?
K. Sandersen, Denver
Good news: He's still single, and he's in the studio when he's not on the road this summer. Isaak promises his greatest-hits release this fall will include new songs, too. Although the singer, 49, who says he's "as common as dirt," admits that he fantasizes about celebrities (no, he won't say about whom), he typically doesn't date them, and he tells us he's looking for a woman who will help him "grout my kitchen."
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When Dedee Pfeiffer hired a new agent a while ago, the directive was clear: She wanted dramatic roles. Following comedic turns on Cybill and the WB's "For Your Love," and after having son Braxton, 3, Pfeiffer felt ready for more serious stuff. She got it in TNT's crime series "Wanted," debuting this Sunday. Being a working mother also brings babysitting payback from Pfeiffer's three siblings, who spoil Braxton "so bad," says Pfeiffer, 41. "It's revenge from when I spoiled their kids." Actually, having older sister Michelle in show business has helped Pfeiffer juggle work and home. Michelle "has a complete understanding of how complicated it is."
The female regulars on "CSI: Miami," with their flowing hair and sexy tops, hardly look dressed for the bloody business of solving crimes. David Caruso and the guys look fine. Why not the women?
Maria L. Campbell, Las Vegas
Producer Elizabeth Devine says the show is trying to "channel" real Miami women, who are "effortlessly and naturally gorgeous." And hair honcho Danny Valencia says even crime solvers "have a private life [and] want to look beautiful." Some concessions are made to the characters' jobs. "The show is about discovery," Devine says. "We make sure you can see the faces of our actresses as they examine the evidence."
Does writer Aaron Sorkin ("Sports Night," "The West Wing") have any new TV shows in the works?
Gary Eichner, Greensburg, Pa.
Sorkin, 44, is working on a TV script for Warner Bros., but he won't spill the details. He's writing a new movie, too: "It's from Charlie Wilson's War," based on George Crile's book about the CIA's covert operations in Afghanistan.
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Steve Cohen knows that successful lives may require a little magic. The "Millionaires' Magician," who performs at NYC's Waldorf-Astoria, shares his tricks in a new book, "Win the Crowd." Magicians are prepared and have confidence, he says: "Whether you are playing to one or thousands, you must give the impression that you are in command." Cohen, 34, learned that in high school: He was showing tricks to a friend when a football player began to watch. Before he knew it, "I had the whole team in the palm of my hand."
What in the world happened to Tim Daly's drama Eyes? It was off the air in a blink.
Melva L. Moore, Anoka, Minn.
ABC never gave it a chance. After a few airings and little promotion, "Eyes" closed with 7.1 million viewers. Fans have tried to get ABC to air extra episodes, but at press time there was no word that it would.
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Comedian Lil' JJ left a lasting impression as the pesky kid with the video camera in "Beauty Shop" with Queen Latifah. At 14, he is living proof "age doesn't have anything to do with being funny. I get stuff off my chest that kids want to say but can't." Called the "Prince of Comedy" after being the first season winner of BET's "Coming to the Stage," JJ is a class clown who tells us his teachers (including one who became his manager) and his family are happy "I'm doing something with my talent instead of getting in trouble in school." This summer he's on set with Rene Russo and Dennis Quaid remaking the movie "Yours, Mine and Ours."
I'm addicted to Fox News, but I miss my favorite correspondent, Rita Cosby. Where did she go?
R.M. Martin, Rehoboth Beach, Del.
To MSNBC, where on her first day of work last month she got post-verdict interviews with Michael Jackson's brothers Jermaine and Tito. Cosby, 40, tells us MSNBC will give her a one-hour prime-time show this fall, where she'll do "big" interviews. "I enjoy the challenge of trying to get them," she says. "People do interviews with people they trust. ... Sometimes it takes weeks, years, to get."
I say that Nationwide used an MC Hammer look-alike in its recent TV commercial. My parents think it's really him. Who's right?
B. Dinwiddie, Indianapolis
Your parents. Now a practicing minister, Hammer, 43, is the first celebrity Nationwide has used in a commercial. The spot features the '80s rapper restored to his glory days with the help of two accessories (both of which he kept after filming): a wig to cover his now-bald head, and "Hammer pants" dug out from wardrobe.
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BIRTHDAYS
July 31: J.K. Rowling, 40; Wesley Snipes, 43
August 1 Coolio, 42
August 2 Kevin Smith, 35
August 3 Martha Stewart, 64; Martin Sheen, 65
August 4 Jeff Gordon, 34
August 5 Patrick Ewing 43
August 6 M. Night, Shyamalan, 35; Michelle Yeoh, 43
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Caitlin Evans, Vanessa Schutz, Brian Truitt
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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