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Tara Lipinski, David Blaine, Jane Kaczmarek and Brad Whitford, Michael Junior
—Annie H., Indiana
Two months after her Olympic victory in 1998, Tara Lipinski announced she was turning professional. But Lipinski, 19, had to forgo competitions in 2000 due to surgery to remove scar tissue from her hip and to repair a mouth injury. Seven weeks after surgery, Lipinski skated in Stars on Ice broadcast on television earlier this year. Despite her youth and because of it, Lipinski has broken records. She became the youngest female to win an Olympic gold medal, breaking Sonja Henie’s 70-year-old world record by two months, when she won the gold at age 15 in 1998. Lipinski set another record in 1997 by becoming the youngest world champion figure skater. She also is the youngest U.S. National Ladies Figure Skating champion. In 1996, she was the first skater to successfully do a triple loop-triple loop combination in competition. In addition to going pro, Lipinski has launched an acting career, appearing in television shows such as Early Edition, Touched by an Angel, and The Young and the Restless.
How is magician David Blaine doing since performing his ice stunt?
—Mae P., Texas
Believe it or not, David Blaine is fine. After being encased in a block of ice for three days, he emerged unscathed. Blaine, 27, is single, lives in New York, and currently is researching for his next trick while preparing for his upcoming television special. He’s also writing a book about his life. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he discovered magic at 3 and began performing professionally when he was about 16. He’s had three specials on ABC and, until the ice trick, was perhaps best known for burying himself for a week in a glass coffin immersed in water.
I recently saw Jane Kaczmarek on a talk show. She’s great. I heard her husband is on The West Wing. Who is he?
—Jeannette N., Louisiana
Jane Kaczmarek is married to Brad Whitford, who plays Josh Lyman on The West Wing. Kaczmarek stars as the no-nonsense mom in Malcolm in the Middle. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin and received a graduate degree in drama from Yale. Besides Malcolm in the Middle, Kaczmarek also has been a series regular on Equal Justice and Hometown. Her film credits include Pleasantville, The Chamber, and Vice Versa. Whitford is a Juilliard-trained actor. He has a bachelor’s degree in theater and English literature from Wesleyan University. Ironically, Whitford also starred in the Broadway production of The West Wing and creator Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men. Film credits include The Muse and Bicentennial Man. He also has guest-starred in ER, The X Files, and NYPD Blue. Married since 1992, Kaczmarek and Whitford have a daughter and son and live in Los Angeles.
I saw a young man by the name of Michael Junior give a concert on PBS. It was a wonderful program. Please tell me all you can about him.
—Shirley C., Massachusetts
Michael Junior is a big talent in a small package. The 15-year-old singer is from Belgium and cites Mario Lanza, Elvis Presley, and Helmut Lotti as his early influences. Appropriately, it was the latter singer who helped launch his career. Junior met Lotti, also from Belgium, backstage during a concert to ask for an autographed picture. While there, the gutsy youngster began to sing a Lotti specialty, Tiritomba, and won Lotti over with his phenomenal voice. Taking Junior under his wing, Lotti invited the youngster to sing the duet Panis Angelicus with him on his CD and at a 1998 Christmas concert in the Forest National in Belgium. Junior says his hobbies include swimming, cycling, and playing guitar, but singing is his passion. Junior released his first solo album, Dreamland, in 1999.
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