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The four young women who perform in the Raymond Weil Watch Co. commercials intrigue me. Are they musicians who really perform together?
—Norm C., New Mexico

The intriguing young women in those ads are a string quartet known as Bond. They are Haylie Ecker, 24, from Perth, Australia, on first violin; 24-year-old Tania Davis from Sydney, Australia, on viola; 24-year-old Eos from Cardiff, Wales, plays second violin; and Gay-Yee Westerhoff, 26, from Hull, England, plays cello. All four began their musical education as children. They were brought together by a concert promoter named Mel Brush and discovered they all shared a desire to break free of classical music constraints. They formed an entirely new type of string quartet that incorporated all forms of music, including salsa, trance, house, and traditional East European folk music. Some Olympic ice skaters used Bond’s music for their routines during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Their album, Born, is available in America. Although they have toured Europe and Asia, they have not played in the United States yet.

Please fill me in on Sebastian Spence. He played Cade Foster on Sci-Fi Channel’s First Wave.
—Mary R., Florida

A Canadian, Spence was born into the business. His father, the late Michael Cook, was a playwright, as is his mother, Janis Spence. His mother also is an actress. Spence, 32, says he was a very shy child. He hated getting up in front of his classes during school even to give answers to the teacher’s questions. But when his mother was producing a theater group’s performance of King Lear in their hometown, she mentioned that she thought he’d be good for one of the small parts, and feeling bold, he declared that he would do it. He received praise for his work, and the acting bug bit him. His first movie was in the critically acclaimed The Boys of St. Vincent’s, and he’s guest-starred on such television series as The X-Files and Dark Angel. Though First Wave has ended, its fans have remained loyal and interested in Spence. He traveled to London in February, along with his co-stars, to appear at the first First Wave convention. Up next, he’s playing the Lone Ranger’s brother, Harmon Hartman, in a pilot for a series. He also has joined the cast of Dawson’s Creek as a college professor.

What has Angie Dickinson been doing? I heard she has been caring for a sister with Alzheimer’s.
—Wanda E., Iowa

Dickinson’s older sister was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the 1980s, but the 70-year-old actress now spends most of her time caring for her adult daughter who is autistic. Leah Nikki was born in 1966 to Dickinson and her then-husband, Burt Bacharach, and was diagnosed with the disorder as a toddler. Dickinson turned down roles that required her to leave her daughter. When the television series Police Woman came along, it fit Dickinson’s criteria, and the Hollywood sex symbol soon became a television sex symbol in her 40s. Motherhood always was her priority, though, and starring in Police Woman meant too much time away from Leah. She chose not to renew her contract for the series, which ran for four seasons. Dickinson has taken small parts in recent movies, including Pay It Forward and Ocean’s Eleven.

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