Ask American Profile 9/21/2008

Q Many years ago I watched Days of Our Lives and there was a woman named Gloria Loring who sang as beautifully as she looked. I was wondering what she’s doing now.
—Barbara McCloud, Laconia, N.H.

Loring, 61, appeared on Days of Our Lives from 1980 to 1986. She was born in New York City and began singing with a folk group at 14. She married actor Alan Thicke in 1970, and the couple composed the themes for the TV shows Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life, and had two sons before divorcing in 1984. If you had a radio turned on in 1986, you probably heard her pop hit, “Friends and Lovers.” Most recently she’s been concentrating on writing, recording and musical theater, and raising awareness for diabetes, with which one of her sons was diagnosed at age 4. She and her husband of 13 years, art director René Lagler, live in California.

Q What’s my favorite singer from the ’80s, Rick Springfield, doing these days?
—Jordan Griffith, Nevada, Mo.

There’s no slowing down for Springfield, 59, who just released Venus In Overdrive, his 17th album. “It’s about love in all of its forms,” says the Australia-born “Jessie’s Girl” singer and General Hospital TV show heartthrob. For a chance to meet Springfield on tour and win a complete wardrobe from Riders jeans, enter the “Girls Night Out” sweepstakes online at americanprofile.com.

Q I’d like to know more about Brandon Routh, the latest Superman. Does he have any other movies planned?
—D. Martin, Bartlesville, Okla.

Routh, 28, brought vibrant new life to the Man of Steel in the 2006 movie Superman Returns. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he grew up reading Superman comics and performed in community theater after graduating from the University of Iowa. Married to actress Courtney Ford, he expects to slip into the Superman outfit for another film that’s projected to begin production next year. In the meantime, you can see Routh on the big screen in Miss Nobody, Lie to Me and Stuntmen, and on television this summer in the “Community” episode of NBC’s new series Fear Itself.

Q I really enjoyed Armand Assante in the TV movie about John Gotti. Is he doing any other TV these days?
—Charles Ponti, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Assante, 58, who won an Emmy for his role in Gotti, most recently appeared on television in the Hallmark Channel movie Shark Swim and in episodes of October Road and NCIS. He also had a juicy part in the Oscar-nominated movie American Gangster. Between acting jobs, the divorced father of two lives on a 225-acre farm in upstate New York, where he raises horses, champion German shepherds, bulls and trees. He also works with the Landmine Survivors Network to provide assistance to victims of landmine explosions.

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