Issue Date: January 20, 2008
When Charles Durning receives his Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild next week, he will speak from the heart. "I'm not a speechmaker," he says. He is a total pro who remains eager to work at 84. "I'm going out feet first," he says. A decorated World War II veteran who was on Omaha Beach on D-Day, Durning went to drama school on the G.I. Bill and tells me he got kicked out after a year: "They said I had no talent." Five decades of working with the best on stage, screen and TV says otherwise.
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What's the latest on Louis van Amstel, one of the pros on "Dancing With the Stars?"
Karen Korchmar, Cincinnati
He has a DVD workout series, "Louis Let's Dance!" Let's face it: We admire the dancers' footwork, but we're fascinated by their weight loss. "Everybody's sweating, but they forget they're doing fitness," says van Amstel, 35. "People underestimate the pressure of being in a [ballroom] hold. It makes you tight, in a good way." But what if you have two left feet? "Fake it," he says. "You can get away with murder if you have personality and flair. Think of Jerry Springer, George Hamilton and Marie Osmond."
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Swede Malin Akerman, 29, drew whoops of laughter abusing Ben Stiller in "The Heartbreak Kid." Now, the ex-model plays Katherine Heigl's too-beautiful younger sister in 27 Dresses. Akerman became a child model and actress at age 5. "My mother did some modeling, and she put me into the profession after her agent suggested it," says Akerman, who was raised in Canada, currently lives in L.A. and is now married to a drummer. Still a Swedish citizen, she has a dream of one day making a film in Sweden.
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Kynt and Vyxsin, the goth couple from "The Amazing Race," are so cool. What can you tell us about them that we don't see on TV?
Kynt Cothron, 31, and Vyxsin Fiala, 28, both waiters/receptionists, have "dated off and on," says Cothron, but "have always been best friends." They're "road-trip junkies," he adds: "I'll find out about a music festival or a sci-fi convention, ... and we'll hit the road."
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Jurnee Smollett, 21, plays an ace debater who is coached by Denzel Washington in "The Great Debaters." Based on a true story, the Depression-era film -- now in theaters -- focuses on a group of students from a small Texas college who challenge a champion Harvard debate team. "It was a dream for me to play a part like this," says Smollett, who once had a role on "Full House" and starred in "Eve's Bayou." "I spent a lot of time doing tongue exercises, in a Texas accent, then making it all personal, coming from the heart." On working with Washington: "I grew up seeing him as one of our master actors. But as a director, he wasn't this big persona."
The last time Clay Aiken worked a schedule like the one he has now for "Spamalot" was when he was on "American Idol" and "we worked seven days a week." On Friday, he stepped into the Tony-winning Broadway show as Sir Robin; until May, he'll be doing eight shows per week. "I'm a little bit apprehensive about it," says Aiken, 29, but he's looking forward to not having to travel as he did when on tour. "It may actually end up being a little bit of a break for me."
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BIRTHDAYS
January 20: Skeet Ulrich 38; James Denton 45
January 21: Geena Davis 52; Jack Nicklaus 68
January 22: Beverley Mitchell 27; Diane Lane 43
January 23: Mariska Hargitay 44
January 24: Mischa Barton 22; Neil Diamond 67
January 25: Alicia Keys 27
January 26: Wayne Gretzky 47; Ellen DeGeneres 50; Paul Newman 83
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Bart Mills
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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