Ask American Profile 3/9/2008

Q I saw a movie with Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming and William Lundigan, about a wealthy man abandoned in the desert. I can’t find anything about it. Please help!
—Agnes Barbula, Sheridan, Wyo.

That’s Inferno, a 1953 love-triangle drama in which Robert Ryan’s character breaks his leg on a vacation trip and struggles to survive a scheming double-cross by his wife and his business partner. Notable as part of Hollywood’s wave of early-’50s movies filmed and released in 3-D, it was remade for television in 1973 as Ordeal.

Q I recently became a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer—at age 66! What can you tell me about James Marsters, who played Spike?
—Susan Crowther, Wallingford, Conn.

Marsters, 45, bleached his hair blond for the 1997-2003 TV series and its spinoff, Angel, but returned to his natural color for more recent recurring roles on Smallville and Without a Trace. Born in Greenville, Calif., he acted in theater for 10 years before venturing into television with his first role—a bellhop on Northern Exposure. If you’re ever in the Los Angeles area, you might catch him performing music in one of the local clubs. “If someone broke into my apartment, there is really nothing to take,” he says. “Unless someone took my guitar, there is nothing that would cause me pain.”

Q Can you tell me anything about the gorgeous Tyson Beckford on Make Me a Supermodel? I know I’ve seen him before.
—Janice Andrews, Valdosta, Ga.

Beckford, 37, who co-hosts the popular Bravo television series with supermodel Niki Taylor, was born in New York to Jamaican parents. He got his start as a model for Ralph Lauren’s line of Polo fragrances and was named one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1995. He’s appeared in the movies Into the Blue, Zoolander and the new Hotel California, and in a number of music videos, including 50 Cent’s “21 Questions,” Britney Spear’s “Toxic” and Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart.” Involved in a 2005 automobile crash in New Jersey, he pulled himself out of the wreckage of his Dodge Ram before it burst into flames.

Q What is the role of a producer, and why do a lot of television stars produce their own shows?
—J. Michel Duval, Kerrville, Texas

Most TV series have a hierarchy of individuals with the title of a producer—including “associate producer” and simply “producer”—but the big boss is the executive producer. A producer’s responsibilities include making sure the director adheres to the shooting schedule, keeping the production on budget, approving—and even rewriting—scripts, and riding shotgun on dozens of other large and small details. Lead actors, for example William Petersen of CSI and Jimmy Smits of Cane, often want a slice of the producer pie because it gives them more direct input into the creative aspects of their series.

first appeared: 3/9/2008