Ask American Profile 8/19/2007

Q I came across a 1952 baseball card of Mickey Mantle and wondered what happened to him. Can you tell me?
—Barbara Raines, Myrtle, Miss.

The legendary Baseball Hall of Fame member, who played his entire career for the New York Yankees, died in 1995 at age 63 after a liver transplant wasn’t enough to save him from years of alcohol abuse. Mantle hit an impressive 536 home runs, but two were record-book spectacular: a monstrous, 565-foot blast in 1953 that left Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., and had its distance calibrated based on where the ball was later located (giving rise to the term “tape-measure” homer), and another in 1960 that cleared the wall at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium and was estimated to have traveled 643 feet.

Q Would like to know a little bit more about Rick Petko from American Chopper. We watch the show, but don’t get to hear much about him.
—Wendy Rance, Northampton, England

Petko, 38, began working at Orange County Choppers, the custom-motorcycle shop in Montgomery, N.Y., featured in the TLC series American Chopper, in 2003. A lifelong gearhead, he says he’s dabbled in motorcycles “ever since I could walk.” For the entire story on the colorful characters of American Chopper, pick up the 2006 book Orange County Choppers: The Tale of The Teutuls, written in part by the show’s father-son team of Paul Teutul and Paul Jr.

Q Did Bob Denver make any movies?
—Joel Gray, Charles City, Iowa

Yes, Denver had small roles in several movies, including For Those Who Think Young, Who’s Minding the Mint? and The Sweet Ride, usually typecast as a comedic offshoot of the lovable goofball he played on Gilligan’s Island from 1962 to 1966. His final movie appearance was in Back to the Beach in 1987. He died in 2005 from complications after surgery for throat cancer.

Q I’ve been enjoying the series Da Vinci’s Inquest, a show based in Vancouver, Canada. I’d like to know more about the beautiful theme song.
—C. Schoen, Hobart, N.Y.

The Canadian TV series, depicting the gritty exploits of a Vancouver-based crime-solving coroner, Dominic Da Vinci, has gained a following on its syndicated run in the United States. A made-for-TV movie is in the works and a DVD of the show’s 1995 debut season was released in February. The theme music is by Vancouver composer Tim McCauley, who believes his role “is not to have the audience humming the tune,” but rather “to have them touched by the story.”

Q I think Virginia Madsen is one of the loveliest actresses working today. How old is she, and what’s her next project?
—Richard Jayne, Ripley, W.Va.

Madsen, 45, received raves for her role as a warm-hearted waitress in the movie Sideways. She recently began filming her next role, alongside Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda, in a comedy called Diminished Capacity. One of the few Hollywood actresses who admit to being treated with the injectable cosmetic Botox, she’s active in a campaign called “Keep the Wisdom, Lose the Lines,” which encourages women to seek medical professionals for such procedures and to make sure they’re using only products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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