Ask American Profile 6/29/2008

Q I am 46 years old and remember a show when I was under 10 about a man who worked as a cartoon artist. His office was in his home, in his attic, I think. The cartoon characters that he drew would come to life and speak to him whenever something was going on in the artist’s life. No one I know seems to remember this show and I am beginning to think I have lost my mind!
—Sandy Cote, Merrimack, N.H.

You’re not losing your mind—you’re remembering the short-lived TV sitcom My World and Welcome To It, which aired for only one season in 1969-70. The show starred veteran actor William Windom—who has appeared in nearly 250 other TV and movie roles—and was based on the whimsical cartoons and essays of real-life humorist James Thurber.

Q Who sings the song for the new J.C. Penney “American Living” commercials? I love that song!
—Yvonne G., Brainerd, Minn.

The song is “Killing the Blues,” performed by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. It’s one of the mesmerizing, genre-bending tracks on the recent CD collaboration, Raising Sand, between the Led Zeppelin howler and the bluegrass songbird.

Q What can you tell me about the actor who played Jake on Becker? Is he really blind?
—Rollin C. Smith, Chamberlain, S.D.

No, Alex Désert (pronounced Dez-air) is not blind. “I did a lot of research before getting the part,” he says. “I went to the Braille Institute and shadowed some blind people to get some lessons.” Since Becker left the air in 2004, Désert, 39, executive-produced a film called Fronterz, “about some classically trained black actors who can’t get any acting jobs because the rappers have taken them all.” In addition to his TV and movie work, he’s also the lead singer with a Los Angeles ska band, Hepcat.

Q Who is the voice for the Nasonex bee? It sounds so familiar.
—Julie Hartsell, Locust, N.C.

Spanish-born actor Antonio Banderas, best known for starring in the 2005 movie The Legend of Zorro, is the voice of the bee. You also may remember him as the voice of Puss in Boots in the Shrek movies, a role so popular that, in 2010, the charming, swashbuckling cat will get his own film.

Q I really enjoyed watching Patrick Duffy on Dallas. Can you tell me what he is doing now?
—Julia McMahon, Grand Forks, N.D.

Duffy has a recurring role on The Bold and the Beautiful as Stephen Logan Sr., and he’s also trying his hand at something new—hosting a game show, Bingo America, for the Game Show Network. “I have worked 15 to 18 hours a day on a TV show, but it isn’t anywhere near as exhausting as putting in half that time doing a game show,” says Duffy, 58. “But it’s so unbelievably exhilarating, I understand why Drew Carey (The Price is Right) and Howie Mandel (Deal Or No Deal) do it.”

Q How did former Saturday Night Live star Tina Fey get the scar you can sometimes see on the left side of her face?
—Burl Simon, Elko, Nev.

If anyone knows, they’re not telling—including Fey. The scar, often concealed by makeup or studio lighting, is the subject of rampant buzz on the Internet, where numerous websites have been created to discuss it, and speculation about its origin ranges from plausible (dog bite) to impossible (a battle wound from the War of 1812). Fey, who writes, produces and stars in the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, won’t discuss it, although she told a reporter in 2001 that it was from a “rather grim” childhood accident.

Q I want to know about the actress Erin J. Dean from the movie Lolita.
—Sergio G., Cottonwood, Ariz.

Ex-actress is more like it. The intriguing child star of the 1997 movie Lolita is now 27 years old—and retired from show biz. Dean began acting and doing stand-up comedy as a preteen, and she once took second place on the TV show America’s Funniest People. She made only a handful of movies and TV appearances before deciding that acting wasn’t really for her. Following her most recent role as a teenager who befriends a space alien left behind on Earth in the Nickelodeon series The Journey of Allen Strange, which aired from 1997 to 2000, she entered college to study interior design. Now married and out of the spotlight, she has no intention of returning to acting.

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