Ask American Profile

Stevie Nicks, Jennifer Rhodes, Jack Kelly

What is Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac doing nowadays?
—David G., Iowa

You can catch Stevie Nicks, 53, on tour around the country in support of her new solo album, Trouble in Shangri-La. The album already has spawned the hit Every Day and marks her first solo endeavor since Street Angel in 1994. “These songs have been such a big part of my life,” Nicks says of the new album. “I’m so pleased and excited to get them out there for the world to hear.” Nicks, born Stephanie Lynn Nicks, is a native of Phoenix. She came to prominence after joining Fleetwood Mac in the mid-’70s, along with former duo partner Lindsey Buckingham. Her solo career began in 1981 and has produced such hits as Stand Back and Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around. Nicks is single and still calls Phoenix home.

I like the actress who plays the grandmother on the WB network show Charmed. Where is she from, and can you tell me a little about her. It’s nice to see an older lady with real pizzazz on television.
—Marilyn H., Illinois

Jennifer Rhodes grew up in Rosiclare, Ill., a small town on the Ohio River. She got interested in theater while attending Southern Illinois University and moved to New York City as soon as she graduated. She studied acting and began getting parts in plays. When she moved to Los Angeles, she stopped acting altogether. “I was a stage actress,” she says. “I just didn’t know anything about movies or television.” But she learned and started appearing in commercials, on television, and in movies. She played Winona Ryder’s mother in Heathers. She’s had guest roles in TV shows such as Ally McBeal, Friends, and L.A. Law. Her recurring role as “Grams” on Charmed is her second regular series (the first was Nightingales), and it’s definitely making an impact. “I was in my dentist’s office in the waiting room and somebody walked by and said, ‘Hi, Grams.’ Having never had children, that always sort of startles me.”

What can you tell me about Jack Kelly of the old television series Maverick, which also starred James Garner? Is he still alive? What are his other acting credits?
—Joe R., North Carolina

Jack Kelly, the colorful, gruff-talking actor who played Bart Maverick, died from a stroke at 65 in 1992. A New York native, Kelly was born into an entertainment family. His father was a theater ticket broker and his mother was a model and stage actress. His sister is Nancy Kelly, the Tony Award-winning stage actress. He attended UCLA until the Army drafted him. Kelly was honorably discharged in 1946 and soon got a part on the television show Philco Playhouse. His film career includes the movies Fighting Men of the Plains and The Country Girl. In his later years, Kelly found success in the world of politics, serving as councilman and mayor of Huntington Beach, Calif. He left behind a wife and daughter.

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