Issue Date: April 6, 2008
Rapper and reality show star Flavor Flav takes his act to MyNetworkTV next week in the sitcom "Under One Roof." He's an ex-con interloping on the life of his rich brother, played by Kelly Perine. "It relates to my life a lot because back in the days, before I became Public Enemy, I was always in and out of jail, gettin' in trouble," he tells us. He would like to act in films, a dream influenced by Sidney Poitier and Eddie Murphy. "[Eddie] was in my ninth-grade English class at Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School ... Today he is one of the most successful actors, and I'm very proud of my boy."
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The Whiskey Falls foursome
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. may be among Whiskey Falls' biggest fans, but this country band has been earning itself a lot more of them. Their catchy single "Last Train Running" got attention last year, as did their first album, "Whiskey Falls." But it's the network of sponsors and backers like Earnhardt, Aamco and the American Tailgaters Association that is getting the band noticed in the music industry. Lead singer Seven Williams says the backing lets them write and produce without record company pressure. The foursome, who have traveled the country this year, are like family. All are performers and songwriters and say they are "egoless" when it comes to their music. It sure sounds that way.
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Is Tim Daly married?
C. Larson, Minneapolis
Yes, and he has been for 25 years. He and wife Amy Van Nostrand have two kids. Daly, 52, has done it all -- theater, movies, TV. Some say he has an Everyman quality, but I think he's sexier than that; he was the reason to watch "Private Practice" (sorry, Kate Walsh) and will be again when it returns next fall.
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I've seen Debra Messing in TV projects since "Will & Grace," but not her co-star on that sitcom Eric McCormack. Did he kill his career by playing a gay man so well?
Kay Coletta, Lake Nebagamon, Wis.
I don't think playing gay hurt the married dad. It's more likely that McCormack, 44, can afford to be choosy. In fact, he and Tom Cavanagh (TV's "Ed") filmed a pilot for TNT of a new series, "Truth in Advertising." At press time, they were waiting to hear if the show would get a green light.
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I'm confused. Did Courtney Thorne-Smith of "According to Jim" have a baby? It looked this season like the director was using camera tricks to hide a pregnancy.
Denise Rohrbaugh Manchester, Pa.
Thorne-Smith, 40, had a son in January. At the beginning of the season, they hid her pregnancy. Then they wrote it into the script, and Thorne-Smith let her pregnancy show on camera. Now, here's the rub. She gave birth with six episodes of the ABC comedy still to be shot. She has to fake pregnancy for the rest of the season.
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"Dancing with the Stars" pro Kym Johnson is too kind. She's telling me it's not too late to take up ballroom. Of course, this is the woman who turned Jerry Springer, Mark Cuban, Joey Fatone and (most recently) Penn Jillette into dancing fools. She starts beginners with the basics, getting them to rock back and forth with their legs and feet. "The cha-cha is a good start because it's fun and energetic," she says. Johnson, who started with ballet, tap and jazz, took up ballroom at 15 in her native Australia and soon won a world competition. She was on "DWTS" in Australia before being recruited for the U.S. version. Johnson misses home, but "for now I'm really happy to be in the States. "
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As a kid in Kosovo, Tony Dovolani was mesmerized watching Fred Astaire dance on TV. So when Dovolani arrived in New York as a teen, he was shocked to discover that there was no ballroom dancing on U.S. TV. Flash-forward 20 years, and not only is ballroom on TV -- thanks to "Dancing with the Stars" -- but Dovolani, a world champion, is one of its professional dancers. Drawing on Astaire, who "made every woman he danced with feel special," for inspiration, Dovolani, 34, wants to win. Of this season's pairing with Marissa Jaret Winokur, he says, "When you look on paper, it doesn't fit. I'm 6-foot; she's 4-foot-11. But then we met, and we're two New Yorkers who grew up 20 minutes from each other."
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BIRTHDAYS
April 6: Zach Braff, 33
April 7: Russell Crowe, 44; Jackie Chan, 54; James Garner, 80
April 8: Patricia Arquette, 40
April 9: Cynthia Nixon, 42; Paulina Porizkova, 43; Dennis Quaid, 54
April 10: Mandy Moore, 24; Steven Seagal, 56
April 11: Joss Stone, 21
April 12: Claire Danes, 29; Vince Gill, 51; David Cassidy, 58; David Letterman, 61
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Jon Tollestrup
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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