Ask American Profile

Roswell, Johnny Mathis, June Haver

I watched the show Roswell faithfully. Why did it change networks?
—Billie K., Tennessee

Pure and simple business decisions led to the network change from the WB to UPN this season. But the history of that otherworldly series is anything but simple. The story began with a series of 10 teen books about Roswell High, where some of the students have strange powers. They are orphaned aliens, descended from the famously rumored UFO crash in Roswell, N.M., in 1947. The books, written by Melinda Metz, led to the development of a television show by Jason Katims (My So Called Life) and David Nutter (The X-Files) and executive produced by Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Originally planned for the Fox network, the series was instead picked up by the WB. It had critical acclaim but soft ratings and was due for cancellation. But while the ratings weren’t monstrous, the fan support was. UPN, which had just made the deal to pick up the WB’s popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer, picked up Roswell also.

I have been a fan of Johnny Mathis since I was a very young girl. Can you tell me a little about his personal life? Is he married, does he have children, and what are some of his hobbies? Where did he attend college?
—Connie M., Illinois

A gourmet cook and an avid golfer, 66-year-old crooner Johnny Mathis is single with no children. The Gilmer, Texas, native was raised in San Francisco, where he began singing at a very early age in school productions and church choirs. At San Francisco State College, Mathis was a record-setting high jumper and ultimately had to choose between a career in music and a shot at the Melbourne, Australia, summer Olympics in 1956. He opted for a music career, signing with Columbia Records and hitting it big in 1957 with It’s Not For Me to Say. He continues to tour, both abroad and in America. His latest project is the video and DVD Live by Request, which was released in December.

June Haver was my favorite movie star. Can you tell me how she’s doing these days?
—Mary Lou K., Ohio

Haver, 75, is retired and lives on the San Fernando Valley ranch that she shared with husband Fred MacMurray, who died in 1991. She was born in Rock Island, Ill., to Fred and Marie Stovenour, but she later assumed the last name of her stepfather. She made her film debut in 1943 in The Gang’s All Here and starred in musicals in the 1940s and 1950s, including Three Little Girls in Blue and The Dolly Sisters. In 1947, she eloped with trumpeter Jimmy Zito, but divorced him the next year. She made her last movie, The Girl Next Door, in 1953 and then shocked everyone when she announced that she was retiring and joining a convent. She stayed a few months but left the Kansas convent and later married the widowed MacMurray in 1954. The couple had two adopted children, twins Katie Marie and Laurie Anne.

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