Ask American Profile 9/16/2007

Q Please tell me what happened to the actor who played Bubba Skinner on In The Heat of the Night. Was that his only TV show?
—Linda Forbes-Siegel, Crestview, Fla.

After the TV series In the Heat of the Night and several spin-off TV movies in the mid-1990s, Louisiana-born actor Alan Autry played Rick Bradshaw in the series Grace Under Fire. His first career was football; he was a Green Bay Packers quarterback briefly in the mid-’70s before heading to Hollywood and getting his start in the movies—under the pseudonym “Carlos Brown”—in Popeye, North Dallas Forty and Southern Comfort. Autry, now 55, made a third career change in 2000 when he was elected mayor of Fresno, Calif., where he is serving his second term.

Q What did actor Daniel Radcliffe do before the Harry Potter movies? And how did he get the role of Harry?
—Robert Testa Jr., Springdale, Pa.

There is a great story going around that Radcliffe, currently starring in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, had never acted before landing the role of the boy wizard. But it isn’t true. At 10, he played David Copperfield in a BBC production of the Charles Dickens classic. London-born Radcliffe, now 18, auditioned three times and beat out thousands of other Harry wannabes for the role that brought him international fame. According to People magazine, the five—and still counting—Harry Potter movies have made him the richest teenager in the United Kingdom.

Q The actress who plays sassy nurse Singletary on Heartland sure looks familiar. Has she been in any other TV shows or movies?
—B. Burt, Redoak, Ohio

Her role on the new TBS medical drama Heartland is the latest in a long line for Danielle Nicolet, whose resume features more than 20 other TV credits, including recurring parts on 3rd Rock From the Sun, The Bernie Mac Show and Second Time Around. You also can catch the 31-year-old native of Ashtabula, Ohio, in the movies The Bliss and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a remake of the famous horror classic.

Q I watch reruns of The Golden Girls all the time. Who sings the theme song? She’s really good.
—Martha Baldwin, Albuquerque, N.M.

The Golden Girls’ theme, “Thank You For Being a Friend,” was a pop hit for singer-songwriter Andrew Gold in 1978. Seven years later, producers thought it would be perfect for a new television series about four female friends in their “golden” retirement years. A singer named Cynthia Fees performed the TV version of the song.

Q What can you tell me about Kiefer Sutherland, star of 24? He never seems to be in the newspaper with scandalous headlines, like so many actors.
—Denise J., Prescott, Ariz.

Sutherland, 40, made headlines in 1991 when he was engaged to actress Julia Roberts and she called off their wedding, alleging that he’d been unfaithful to her. The son of actor Donald Sutherland, he was born in London and grew up in Toronto. The single father of a 19-year-old daughter, he calls his role on 24 “one of the best experiences I have ever had as an actor.” That’s especially meaningful considering that he has more than 50 film roles to his credit.

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