Issue Date: May 17, 2009
When can we expect a new album from Whitney Houston?
Meta Wise, Pickens, Miss.
A comeback CD, her first of all new material since 2002's "Just Whitney," is expected sometime this year. At press time, we were told that the CD has no title yet, despite reports of it being called "Undefeated." With an A-list lineup of collaborators such as R. Kelly, John Legend and prolific songwriter Diane Warren (she has said she wrote a song for it called "I Didn't Know My Own Strength"), Houston, 45, may yet reclaim her glory days.
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Please update us on Nick Clooney, who was the knowledgeable host of American Movie Classics for many years. Has he retired?
Herb Stark, Massapequa, N.Y.
Since August, Clooney, 75, has been "distinguished journalist in residence" at American University in Washington, D.C. A former broadcaster and "Cincinnati Post" columnist, he taught writing in the fall and a course called "Films That Changed Us" in the spring. He, no doubt, imparted great knowledge. But he also got son George Clooney to attend a screening of George's "Good Night, and Good Luck" as part of the school's popular "Reel Journalism" series.
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Drug addiction. Teen pregnancy. Boyfriend breakups and makeups. Jessica Lowndes' character, Adrianna, on CW's drama "90210" has weathered them all, and it has been a breakthrough year for the Canada native. Lowndes (pronounced Lounds) even found a positive in wearing that uncomfortable latex baby bump for her onscreen pregnancy. "It drove me nuts, but maternity clothes are cute! I enjoyed that," she says. "90210" airs its Season 1 finale Tuesday, but Lowndes, 20, is hard at work during her summer break, shooting the supernatural thriller "Altitude" in her hometown of Vancouver. "I play a pilot, so I've been at flight school in my time off," Lowndes says. In the movie, "I just got my pilot's license and am taking my friends to a concert, and then things go terribly wrong."
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Are the tattoos on "NCIS"' Pauley Perrette real or applied for the role?
Edward Tulka, Norwich, Conn.
Both. Her character, Abby, has at least nine tattoos; Perrette has fewer. The producer wanted a visible tattoo, so a spider web on her neck is a vinyl transfer that Perrette tells us feels like "old chewing gum." A seldom-seen cross on her back also isn't real.
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Please explain what Scientologists believe about death. I wonder if John Travolta and Kelly Preston find peace in their religion after losing son Jett.
Winella Cullen, Pottstown, Pa.
Friends have said that the Travoltas are relying on the religion they have practiced for decades to cope with 16-year-old Jett's death from a seizure in January. No one area of Scientology's beliefs can be explained in a short answer here, but according to the church's website, followers believe that "man is an immortal, spiritual being" and that man's "experience extends well beyond a single lifetime."
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With 10 years of ballet behind her, Amy Smart knows her way around a dance floor. Still, it was different to learn West Coast swing dancing for her new movie, "Love N' Dancing," opening this month. "Anything you learn for the first time is hard," says Smart, 33, who trained for two months. She loved the "partnership" of swing dancing, declaring "a good dance partner is someone who is aware and in tune with you, who you just completely trust." Smart also is working on a new TV series in which she stars as a young woman who grows up to be a presidential candidate.
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The very cute Ben McKenzie, going by Ben these days because "Benjamin sounds like you're either 12 or 60," is a welcome sight on series TV again. He's in the new NBC cop drama, "Southland," a far different look at Southern California than his previous show, "The O.C." "I was hoping to branch out," he says. McKenzie, 30, tells us he purposely stayed low-profile between gigs, turning down the "many teen horror movies" that came his way. "I want to have a longer career," he says. In fact, McKenzie didn't start acting until he was at the University of Virginia studying foreign affairs and economics. "I wanted to meet a girl, and I fell in love with [acting]."
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BIRTHDAYS
May 17: Trent Reznor, 44; Sugar Ray Leonard, 53; Bob Saget, 53
May 18: Tina Fey, 39; George Strait, 57
May 19: Pete Townshend, 64
May 20: Busta Rhymes, 37; Cher, 63
May 21: Mr. T, 57
May 22: Naomi Campbell, 39
May 23: Kelly Monaco, 33; Jewel, 35; Drew Carey, 51
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Jon Tollestrup, Brian Truitt
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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