Ask American Profile 11/11/2007

Q What can you tell me about Camille Guaty on Las Vegas? She looks familiar, but I can’t place her.
—T. Thomas, Ketchum, Idaho

California-born Guaty, 29, who plays feisty casino concierge Piper Nielsen on the NBC-TV series Las Vegas, got her start as a contestant on the WB network’s singing competition Popstars: USA. She didn’t win, but the show opened the door for her first acting role in the 2000 movie Chaos Theory. She also appeared in the 2002 Disney Channel movie Gotta Kick It Up! before landing her first series role in the WB’s Raising Dad, followed by Crossing Jordan, Prison Break and The Nine.

Q I’m a big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan. What are the two tattoos and words on singer Johnny Van Zant’s arms?
—Lorrie Lang, Eatonton, Ga.

The right arm of Van Zant, the younger brother of the band’s original singer, the late Ronnie Van Zant, sports a tattoo of a bird-like angel with “Van Zant” written overhead, and the initials of his four daughters’ first names—Lindsay, Kristen, Harmony and Taylor—underneath. The tattoo on his left arm is a cross with the words “He Lives” written on a wrap-around banner. Johnny and his other brother, Donnie, recently released their second country music CD collaboration, My Kind Of Country.

Q Who does the voice for the Traveling Gnome on the Travelocity commercials? We remember that GEICO wanted to keep the voice for their gecko a secret.
—Larry and Billie Taylor, Mancelona, Mich.

Happily, the ad agency for Travelocity is more forthcoming about the voice of their Traveling Gnome than are the folks who created the GEICO Gecko, so we can tell you that Harry Enfield provides the voice of the gnome. Enfield, 46, is a comedian in the United Kingdom well known for BBC shows such as Harry Enfield’s Television Programme and Harry Enfield and Chums, clips from which can be seen on www.youtube.com if you are curious and have Internet access.

Q How tall were Fess Parker, Clint Walker and James Arness?
—Earl Patterson, Fredonia, Pa.

All three men are among television’s towering actors. Parker (Daniel Boone) stood 6 feet 5 inches, Walker (Cheyenne) 6 feet 6 inches and Arness 6 feet 7 inches. Arness was so tall, in fact, that his Gunsmoke co-stars often had to stand on platforms—or he had to stand in a low spot—for scenes in which they appeared next to him.

Q I’m convinced I saw actress Heather Graham in TV’s Growing Pains back in the ’80s. Am I right?
—Kaye Elliott, Boone, N.C.

You’ve got a good memory! Graham, who’ll turn 37 in January, was 17 when she appeared in two episodes of Growing Pains in 1987. The Milwaukee native has brightened the screen in numerous movies since then, most notably Swingers, Boogie Nights, Lost in Space, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and last year’s Broken, just released on DVD, in which she plays a waifish Midwestern singer-songwriter who falls into trouble in Hollywood. She also has hosted Saturday Night Live, played herself in Sex and the City and guest-starred in several episodes of TV’s Scrubs.

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