Ask American Profile 7/15/2007
—Patricia Rubick, Burns, Ore.
Jones spent four years in the U.S. Navy Air Corps before starting his acting career in hit Disney films such as The Love Bug, The Shaggy D.A., That Darn Cat! and many others. In 1998, he was honored as a “Disney Legend” in recognition of his many starring roles for the studio. Now 76, he’s president of the Christian Rescue Committee, an organization he founded to help aid individuals around the world persecuted for their faith.
Q What can you tell me about Sandy Nelson, the drummer from the 1960s? I still play his music and wonder what he’s doing today.
—Christina Rhodes, Madras, Ore.
Nelson, a flashy, drum-playing superstar during rock ’n’ roll’s formative years, had instrumental hits with “Teen Beat” and “Let There Be Drums” in the late 1950s and early ’60s. A motorcycle accident in 1963 necessitated the amputation of his right foot and part of his leg, but he continued to play afterward. Now 68, he’s retired and lives in Boulder City, Nev. “I’m proud of the role I played in rock music,” he says.
Q I recently revisited Gilligan’s Island on DVD. Can you tell me what Ginger is up to now?
—Bradley Scott,
Port Washington, Wash.
Tina Louise, 73, who played voluptuous castaway Ginger, lives in New York, her hometown, and continues to show up occasionally on television and in movies. Off-screen, she recently authored When I Grow Up, a children’s book that uses animals to offer playful career advice to kids. “I have seen firsthand how much children take from books that let them explore what the world has to offer,” says Louise, who also is a volunteer reading teacher in the New York public school system. “Child by child, I hope to help make a difference.”
Q Whatever happened to actress Elizabeth MacRae, who played Gomer Pyle’s girlfriend?
—Carol Collum, Woodville, Texas
Though she’s best known for her role as Pvt. Pyle’s doe-eyed, drawling girlfriend Lou-Ann Poovie in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., the North Carolina-born actress also appeared in several movies and dozens of other popular TV shows over her three-decade career. She had a recurring role as Festus’ girlfriend, April, in Gunsmoke, parts in I Dream of Jeannie, Barnaby Jones, Kojack, Mannix, and Bonanza in the 1960s and ’70s, and roles in the soap operas Another World, Guiding Light and Search for Tomorrow in the ’80s. Now 71, she lives in Glenville, N.C.
Q What can you tell me about singer Brandi Carlile and her connection to the TV show Grey’s Anatomy, which has featured her songs?
—Rose St. Paul,
Bay City, Mich.
The popular ABC-TV series Grey’s Anatomy is set in Seattle, Carlile’s real-life hometown, and has used songs from her 2005 debut CD as background music on several occasions. When making the music video for the title track of her new CD, The Story, Carlile, 25, incorporated several scenes from the hit series and gave the clip its world premiere on an episode in April.
Q Whatever happened to the little boy who played the alien’s friend in E.T.?
—Matt Majors, Orangeburg, S.C.
Now 35, Henry Thomas came home to Texas to complete high school and attend Blinn College after starring in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982. Although he went on to appear in some 40 different films and continues to act, he’ll always be best remembered for the role of Elliot, E.T.’s loyal 10-year-old Earth buddy.
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