Issue Date: February 1, 2009
Did Loretta Devine, who played Eli Stone's assistant, Patti, do her own singing in the recently canceled ABC series?
Margaret Geib, Crest Hill, Ill.
Yes. In fact, Devine, 59, who also has a recurring role on "Grey's Anatomy," starred as Lorrell in the original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" (she had a cameo in the 2006 movie version, too), so there's no doubting her musical talent. We'll next see Devine, who did some singing during her tenure on David E. Kelley's Fox drama "Boston Public," in a small part in the big-screen comedy "Spring Breakdown," with Amy Poehler.
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Eric Dane is no womanizer, even if he plays Owen Wilson's girl-chasing pal in the film "Marley & Me," and on TV's "Grey's Anatomy" he's "McSteamy." He has been married for four years to actress Rebecca Gayheart, pictured below, and he talks eagerly about having kids. "I've never been a womanizer," the San Francisco-raised Dane, 36, insists, "so it's fun exploring all the things I never got to explore in my 20s. I was a late bloomer." Dane signed for just one episode of "Grey's," but his character, playboy plastic surgeon Mark Sloan, soon became a regular. "I walked out of a bathroom in a towel, and I had really good lighting," Dane says dryly. What can we expect later this season? "I think Sloan will continue to be more stable," Dane tells us. "He is involved in a relationship, and we'll try to stick with it. That's the plan."
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Cuba Gooding Jr., 41, has the title role in TNT's movie next Saturday, "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story." It is based on the autobiography of Carson, a Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon who pioneered a successful separation of conjoined twins. "I met him when he was being honored with the Medal of Freedom at the White House," Gooding says. The two have in common strong mothers. "The rock in my life, the spiritual anchor, was my mom," Gooding tells me. "She was really stringent on fortifying our faith, our belief in God. When I read about how Ben's mom did the same thing for him, I felt a connection. "
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Winning last year's Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series left Zeljko Ivanek, who earned it for "Damages," "shocked, stunned" and then very busy. The Slovenia-born actor is in four TV series. He reprises his character in "Damages"' current season; he's "The Hunter" in NBC's latest chapter of "Heroes;" he was a vampire magistrate in an episode of HBO's "True Blood;" and he joins HBO's "Big Love" cast this season. "For a little while, my name shines a little bright and people take notice," says Ivanek, 51, who has "kind of fallen into playing men in nice suits of dubious moral underpinning."
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I was disappointed that NBC did not bring back "Medium" this fall. Any chance that it will return?
Barbara Lundgren, Hartstown, Pa.
I rarely get to tell my readers that one of their favorites will be back. So I'm happy to report that "Medium" returns to NBC Monday at 10 p.m. ET.
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Why are there no grandparents involved in the TLC reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8?"
Linda MacDonald, Allen Park, Mich.
Jon Gosselin's father died in 2005, and his mother lives away. With Kate's folks, the situation is a bit more sticky. Some viewers, especially those commenting on blogs, are convinced Kate is estranged from her parents. But reps for the popular show and the Gosselins say Kate's parents choose not to be involved. Cameras do not follow the family of sextuplets and twins everywhere, just for a few hours, two to three days each week. The grandparents may not be as absent in real life as they seem to be on TV.
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Fitness fanatic Richard Simmons is 60, but he looks much as he did in his '80s heyday and has just put out his 54th exercise video, "Supersweatin': Party Off the Pounds." This post-holiday season, who better to ask how to keep our fitness resolutions? Says Simmons: "I have my resolutions right here on my desk. I write them on index cards. I look at them every day. You can't be breaking them if they're staring at you!" Simmons says to stay fit we need to exercise and remember one word: balance.
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Reyhaneh Fathieh, Nancy Mills
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BIRTHDAYS
February 1: Lisa Marie Presley, 41
February 2: Shakira, 32; Christie Brinkley, 55; Farrah Fawcett, 62
February 3: Nathan Lane, 53
February 4: Oscar De La Hoya, 36
February 5: Laura Linney, 45
February 6: Natalie Cole, 59; Tom Brokaw, 69
February 7: Ashton Kutcher, 31; Chris Rock, 44; Garth Brooks, 47
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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