Ask American Profile

J.D. Robb, Bubble Boy, The Crocodile Hunter

I have read 12 of the books in J.D. Robb’s In Death series. Another book is due out soon. Do you know how many books she’ll be writing in this series?
—Peggy L., Illinois

As long as she has stories to tell, according to her publisher. The 13th book in the series, Seduction in Death, hit stores this month. Expect the series to last a while since the author writes at a breakneck pace (new books in the series are released every six months) and already has more than 100 books to her credit. J.D. Robb is the alter ego of best-selling romance writer Nora Roberts (Carolina Moon, Sanctuary). In 1995, she published Naked in Death, a novel featuring police detective Eve Dallas, set in New York City in 2058, under the name J.D. Robb. She took the initials from her sons, Jason and Dan, and shortened Roberts to Robb. Roberts/Robb lives in Keedysville, Md. (pop. 482).

We read that Jake Gyllenhaal is in the movie Bubble Boy. Didn’t John Travolta star in that role early in his career?
—Judy and Darryl E., Kansas

You’re very close. Travolta starred in the 1976 made-for-TV drama Boy in the Plastic Bubble, where he portrayed a boy who grew up in the sterile environment of a “bubble” due to a deficient immune system. The Disney movie Bubble Boy, however, is similar only with respect to the sterile “bubble” idea. In fact, the latter is a romantic comedy and shows “bubble boy” setting out in a “bubble suit” on an adventure to confess his love to a girl before she marries. Twenty-year-old Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the movie, which hit theaters last month. Gyllenhaal, who resides in Los Angeles, is a hot commodity in Hollywood these days and stars in other upcoming films, including The Good Girl opposite Jennifer Aniston.

We watch The Crocodile Hunter on Animal Planet and want to know more about him. Is he married, does he have children? Where does he live?
—Millie B., Tennessee

In addition to hosting the show, Steve Irwin, 39, also is director of the
Australian Zoo in Queensland, Australia. The son of naturalists Bob and Lyn Irwin, he grew up at the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where he worked hands-on with many of the animals. By the time he was 9, his dad had taught him to catch crocodiles in the rivers in North Queensland. In 1992, Irwin, with the help of a friend,
made his first documentary, The Crocodile Hunter, which has since made the spirited animal lover an international phenomenon. That same year he married Terri Raines, an American he met when she visited the zoo. Terri also co-stars on the show. The two are proud parents of a 3-year-old girl named Bindi Sue.

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