Ask American Profile 4/8/2007

Q The actress who plays Natasha on the new comedy What About Brian looks so familiar. Has she been in any other shows or movies?
—Andy Anderson, Fontana, Calif.

That’s Tiffani Thiessen, 33, who practically grew up on TV. In front of the cameras since she was 8 years old (doing a TV commercial for Barbie), she’s a former Miss Junior America who got her first big acting breaks playing teens on episodes of Charles in Charge, Blossom and Married With Children, then recurring roles on Saved by the Bell (as perky cheerleader Kelly Kapowski) and Beverly Hills 90210 (as conniving Valerie Malone). You also may have seen her in TV’s Just Shoot Me!, Good Morning, Miami and Fastlane. Married since 2005 to actor Brady Smith, she was ranked 43rd in last year’s 100 Greatest Teen Stars countdown special on VH1.

Q Is it true Mickey Gilley, the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart and Jerry Lee Lewis are cousins? Have they ever recorded together?
—Ed Will, Marion, Ill.

Yes, they are cousins. The country crooner, the televangelist and the rock ’n’ roll wild man grew up together in Ferriday, La. (pop. 3,723), where Swaggart’s grandmother was the sister of Gilley’s mom and Lewis’ dad. Other than informally gathering around the piano a few times, none of them can recall ever recording or performing together publicly.

Q Whatever happened to L.A. Law’s real-life married couple, Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry?
—Sandra Peterson, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Tucker and Eikenberry are touring in a new musical called Life Is a Duet. “It’s our story,” says Eikenberry, 60. “The ups and downs of having one career hot and one cold, getting L.A. Law together and, right after the pilot, discovering that I had breast cancer. It’s a love story about how we have a great marriage, despite some things that have not been so easy.” Tucker, 62, has a book in the works called Living in a Foreign Language.

Q Please help me settle a disagreement. Has Jerry Stiller from The King of Queens ever done any TV commercials?
—Greg Leo, Lake Worth, Fla.

Quite a few! In addition to his TV and movie work over the last six decades, Stiller, 79, has done numerous commercials, including spots for Total cereal, Glad Cling Wrap, Nissan, AT&T, AOL, Pizza Hut, Marriott Hotels and Nike, in which he played legendary football coach Vince Lombardi. He’s probably best known, however, for his roles in two of the most successful comedy series in history: Seinfeld and The King of Queens, which wraps up its ninth and final season May 14 as one of TV’s longest-running live-action sitcoms.

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