Ask American Profile 11/26/2006

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Ask American Profile

Q I miss seeing Ed Asner on TV. Does he have anything in the works?
—Nancy Gibbon, Rochester, N.Y.

Asner, 76, a seven-time Emmy winner who’s performed in more than 200 movies and TV shows, will be back on television Dec. 9 on the Hallmark Channel in The Christmas Card, a story that grows from a handmade greeting sent from a stranger to a soldier. Asner, so memorable as TV’s crusty newspaper editor Lou Grant, also is teaming with another TV veteran, Dick Van Patten, for a theatrical movie called Once in a Lifetime: Just Go For It, currently in production.

Q I haven’t heard anything lately from one of my favorite performers, jazz pianist Diana Krall. Is she still active?
—Jordan E., Keller, Texas

Absolutely. Krall, 41, just released her latest CD, From This Moment On, a collection of standards from the songbooks of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer and others. She’ll take time off the concert trail next month to celebrate her third wedding anniversary to British rocker Elvis Costello, with whom she’s expecting twins in December.

Q Are Elton John and Olivia Newton-John brother and sister?
—Phyllis Olson, Algona, Iowa

No. Even though both were born (18 months apart) in England, the singers are not related. Elton did, however, co-write and sing on the title track to Olivia’s 1988 album The Rumour.

Q I’d like to know more about ESPN commentator Teddy Atlas. He really knows a lot about boxing. How did he get that scar on the left side of his face?
—Sally Brown, Capin, Ill.

Atlas, 50, a ringside analyst for ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, had a rough life as a kid growing up on Staten Island, N.Y., and the scar on his face—which required 400 stitches—came from a neighborhood knife fight. He was sent to prison on Riker’s Island for his participation in several petty crimes. Eventually released under the custody of superstar boxing trainer Cus D’Amato, Atlas fought competitively but was sidelined by injury and became a trainer himself, coaching stars of the ring such as Joey Gamache and Tracy Patterson before beginning his career as a TV commentator.

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