Issue Date: November 12, 2006
What's going on with Eddie Murphy? Any new movies?
Patt Cobb, Victorville, Calif.
Murphy has three big movies coming. In December, there's "Dreamgirls," from the Broadway musical; in February, there's a comedy, "Norbit," in which he plays multiple roles; in May, there's "Shrek the Third." Off screen, the divorced Murphy, 45, has been hanging out with former Spice Girl Mel B (aka Melanie Brown or Scary Spice).
"Wings" fans will be glad to know, as I was, that Tim Daly and Steven Weber, who starred in that '90s comedy, remain tight. And now that both are in L.A. working on TV dramas (Daly's on "The Nine"), they hang out. "I was just with him last weekend," Weber, 45, tells me. Used to playing "the devil-may-care amiable womanizer," he's now "an uptight jerk" on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Actually, Weber used a word stronger than "jerk." "It was clear when I read the script that he could go so many places," Weber says of the network head he plays. As Weber can, too.
Is Aaron Spelling's widow, Candy, Tori Spelling's biological mother?
Lori Fortura, Westland, Mich.
Yes. Tori, 33, and brother Randy, 28, are the children of the deceased mogul and his second wife, Candy. He was divorced from actress Carolyn Jones, who died of colon cancer in 1983. They had no children. Tori and her mother have had difficulties for years; now it's a battle over Aaron's extensive estate.
The ladies of "Law & Order"
Three new women permanently joined the casts of "Law & Order" shows this season, and readers have been asking about them. Here, a few facts:
Milena Govich, 30, "L&O's" first female detective. She does yoga and Pilates, plays piano and violin, and says all "are very much part of my well-being." She met her writer-composer husband on the subway in New York City.
Alana De La Garza, 30, "L&O's" assistant DA. Her family fostered special-needs kids, and she studied physical therapy at the University of Texas. But Mom encouraged acting: "She said, 'If you don't try, you will always wonder.' "
Julianne Nicholson, 35, a detective on "L&O: Criminal Intent." In the HBO pilot "Marriage," she and Brit actor Jonathan Cake were cast as husband and wife. The show didn't make it, but they wed. "You can imagine all the jokes," she says.
Is tennis great Pete Sampras planning to join the Senior Circuit?
Tom Mineo, West Islip, New York
Not yet. Like many retired people, Sampras, 35, now has a schedule full of tee times. And he makes time for his two young sons. But anyone who was ranked No. 1 in tennis for a record 286 weeks doesn't stay away for long. Sampras is playing exhibition matches, including one later this year for victims of Hurricane Katrina. And he's on the 2007 ballot for possible induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Is best-selling novelist Jodi Picoult really writing a "Wonder Woman" story for DC Comics?
Fred Moore, Lansing, Mich.
Yes. The first of her five parts comes out in March. "Wonder Woman" editor Matt Idelson says Picoult is good at "making characters real." And because "there's a strong female appeal to Jodi's books," she may bring in a new audience. Besides, having a woman write "Wonder Woman" makes sense.
HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" ends its fourth season on Friday, so Maher, 50, may emerge from semi-isolation. When he's working, he's all about keeping current. He reads three newspapers and some political blogs and watches network news every day. "I live a late schedule," he tells me. "At night is when I read." Maher lives and shoots the show in L.A. and tells me he wants guests with "in-depth understanding" of the world. Are they difficult to find in Hollywood? Not at all. "Why shouldn't show people be articulate and informed?" Maher asks.
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Nancy Mills, Jon Tollestrup
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Week of birthdays, November 12, 2006
November 12: Sammy Sosa, 38; Megan Mullally, 48
November 13 Chris Noth, 50
November 14 Curt Schilling, 40; Prince Charles, 58
November 15 Sam Waterston, 66
November 16 Dwight Gooden, 42; Marg Helgenberger, 48
November 17 Leslie Bibb, 32; Danny DeVito, 62; Martin Scorsese, 64
November 18 Duncan Sheik, 37; Linda Evans, 64
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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