Issue Date: June 22, 2008
How is legendary actress Doris Day these days?
James Brown, Donnelly, Idaho
At 86, Day is in good health and devotes her time to animal rights. Fans will want a copy of New York theater critic David Kaufman's just-out bio, "Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door." Kaufman tells us he wrote about Day because he "felt her talents had been neglected. Unfortunately, her manager/husband subjected her to so much schlock at the end of her career that [those films] are what she's remembered for." Among the surprises Kaufman says he found: "She would not see her own movies. She'd show up at a premiere to introduce it, but she would sneak out the door when the film began."
 See the Who's News blog for more of the interview with Doris Day
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Perhaps you noticed Olivia Thirlby, 21, as Ellen Page's best friend in "Juno." Now the actress has multiple films coming, including "The Wackness," which won this year's Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and is to open in NYC and L.A. on July 3. "I led a normal life until I was 18," says Thirlby, who grew up in New York and still lives there. She made her film debut in "United 93" as a passenger. Thirlby relates to independent-minded girls because she is one. "All through high school, I had a peculiar way of dressing," she says. "My goal was to wear as many different colors and patterns at once as possible."
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It's been a year since Jordana Spiro, the star of TBS' series "My Boys," has been on the set with her boys -- that is, her co-stars. In the sitcom, which returned for a second season this month, Spiro, 31, is a Chicago sportswriter with mostly men for best friends. So is it the same with them offscreen? "The guys are amazing," she tells us. "They're so smart and funny, but they also know how to have real, genuine conversations." But being the only girl around that many guys can be tough. Do they pick on her? "Oh, they make a lot of fun of me. They're like my brothers. Everybody picks on everybody."
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What has former JAG star Catherine Bell been working on?
H.K. Dawson, Wamego, Kan.
Lifetime's "Army Wives," now in Season 2. "I'm trying to make Denise [her character] more like me," says Bell, who rides motorcycles and hopes to continue flying lessons, with Lifetime's permission. Bell, 39, says her mom encouraged her rebellious side. "She broke all the rules," says the London-born actress. "She is a Persian woman from Iran who ran off and married an Englishman." Now, Bell and her husband, screenwriter Adam Beason, want daughter Gemma, 5, to get the "live life to the fullest" spirit.
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Is former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Floyd Mayweather Jr. married? Any children? Will he join a summer DWTS tour?
C. Micheyl, Brooklyn, N.Y.
At press time, there were no plans for a summer "Dancing" tour. The boxing champ, 31, probably will spend the summer training for a possible September rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. (Mayweather won their last fight in May 2007 in a split decision.) He has four children and a significant other but isn't married.
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Pete Sampras is a tennis legend. Still, he was nervous about telling his story in "A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis." Why open up now? "This is my turn to speak," Sampras, 36, tells us. "I wanted to share how I felt about things. There were certain moments when the press blamed my wife for some of my defeats, and I wanted to set the record straight. It's an honest, candid look at my career through my eyes." It is, indeed, touching on some moments never revealed before, including his struggle with a genetic blood disorder and a two-year battle with a stomach ulcer.
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I would like to know more about Fox News Channel reporter Shepard Smith.
Maxine Verhoeff, Hickman, Neb.
The Holly Springs, Miss., native says his "middle of the country" mind-set sets him apart from the Eastern media elite: "When I was a kid, my parents used to say that what we see on TV isn't about us." A standout for his Katrina coverage, Smith, 44, says he just "plays it straight" in telling the news.
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Nancy Mills, Kathy Rowings, Jon Tollestrup
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BIRTHDAYS
June 22: Donald Faison, 34; Carson Daly, 35; Meryl Streep; 59
June 23: Joss Whedon, 44; Clarence Thomas, 60
June 24: Minka Kelly, 28; Sherry Stringfield, 41
June 25: George Michael, 45; Carly Simon, 63
June 26: Derek Jeter, 34; Sean Hayes, 38; Chris Isaak, 52
June 27: Tobey Maguire, 33; Vera Wang, 59
June 28: John Cusack, 42, Kathy Bates, 60, Mel Brooks, 82
Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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