Issue Date: March 4, 2007
What is Jack Black's music background? Is he as musically talented as I believe? Does he have a mentor to get him away from too many silly roles? I think he could be the next Robin Williams.
M.R. Urban, Albuquerque
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Like Williams, Black does seem to have more than comic appeal, although the three movies he has coming out this year keep him close to that genre, with no mentor in sight. As for musical talent, Black, 37, is no Jimmy Page, but he is proving that rock stars can be short, furry and funny. He got into guitar in the mid-'90s, when he met lead guitarist Kyle Gass in an L.A. theater troupe. They formed Tenacious D, and they must have some talent: They soon had an HBO appearance, a record deal and, of course, the movie.
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Chinese actress Gong Li, best known in "America for Memoirs" of a Geisha and last summer's "Miami Vice," is now in the creepy "Hannibal Rising" as the young Hannibal's aunt by marriage. Gong, 41, who lives in Beijing and Hong Kong with her husband of 11 years, says one of her idols is Meryl Streep, whom she met by chance on a Paris street about 10 years ago. "I saw this woman who was wearing a beautiful red shawl," Gong says, through a translator. "When I went over to her to ask her where she got it, I realized that it was Meryl Streep. I asked her for an autograph, and she gave me one. We even took a picture together. She didn't know I was an actress."
Tony Bennett still has what it takes to sell CDs, but we don't hear about his private life. Is he married? Does he have children?
MaryRose Walsworth, Dublin, Ohio
Bennett, 80, isn't married but has a longtime love, Susan Crow, in her 40s. "She has a special way about her that I've never found in anyone else," he wrote in his 1998 autobiography, "The Good Life." He has two sons from a first marriage and two daughters from a second. Three are in show business: Antonia, 32, is a jazz singer, and Daegal, 51, recorded and mixed his dad's latest album while son Danny, 53, who has been his manager, was executive producer.
Where did Jo Frost, TV's "Supernanny," grow up, and how did she learn to be such a good child therapist?
Kirk Edwards, Fredericksburg, Va.
Surprisingly, Frost, 36, has no formal psychological training. Instead, the West London native credits all of her ability to tame tantrums and more to her natural connection with kids and her more than 16 years of experience as a nanny.
Who plays the police chief on "Men in Trees?" She looks familiar.
Sam Savajian, Golden, Colo.
That is Cynthia Stevenson, but don't worry: She says at times her friends don't recognize her. She has appeared in many popular TV shows, but it was Robert Altman's "The Player" that got her noticed. Stevenson, 44, has two new films: Full of It, to open this weekend, and the upcoming Case 39 as Renee Zellweger's boss. "Renee is so nice," she says. "She bought massages for the crew. Every day, she got the crew Starbucks. And she got everybody iPods at the end of [filming]."
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Randal Pinkett, the "Apprentice" winner in Season 4, has a new book, "Campus CEO." An entrepreneur even as a child, Pinkett, 35, founded five businesses as a student. The book gives current college kids advice Pinkett might have used himself. "From interviews with student entrepreneurs, I pulled a recurring theme of 'just do it,' " he says. "Don't get paralysis by analysis." He also used a few tricks learned on "The Apprentice." "It reinforced elements about time management ... about how you can manage competing demands," Pinkett says.
What happened to Lola Glaudini, from the show "Criminal Minds?" Did she want to leave?
Tony Amode, Phoenix
Executive producer Ed Bernero says it was mutual. "Lola is really a New York girl; she went home and is planning to do theater," he tells us. Paget Brewster replaced her.
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In 30 years as an actor, John Mahoney tried to kill Cher, made Winona Ryder's life hell and gave Kelsey Grammer parental advice. But a New York theater production of "Prelude to a Kiss" (through April 22) puts him in new territory: as an old man with a young woman trapped in his body. "The old man part was obviously easy," says Mahoney, 66. Later this year, he'll play the father of Steve Carell and Dane Cook in the comedy "Dan in Real Life." "I thought Steve would be more buttoned up, and he's just a lot freer and funnier." And Dane? "He's a terrific guitar player and a wonderful singer. He really knows his music."
More of our interview with the charming John Mahoney.
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BIRTHDAYS
March 4: Andrea Bowen, 17; Mykelti Williamson, 47; Patricia Heaton, 49
March 5: Niki Taylor, 32; Kevin Connolly, 33; Reggie Williams, 43
March 6: Shaquille O'Neal, 35; D.L. Hughley, 44
March 7: Laura Prepon, 27
March 8: James Van Der Beek, 30; Freddie Prinze Jr., 31; Camryn Manheim, 46
March 9: Brittany Snow, 21; Juliette Binoche, 43
March 10: Olivia Wilde, 23; Carrie Underwood, 24; Chuck Norris, 67
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Nancy Mills, Jon Tollestrup
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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