Ask American Profile 2/22/2009

Q What was the phrase that Dennis Weaver always said in McCloud?
—Mary Deveny, Lake Almano, Calif.

Among numerous down-home homilies spouted by Dennis Weaver’s cowboy-lawman character on the 1970s hit TV series, “There you go” was his go-to phrase.

Q I’m a big fan of Emeril Lagasse. I’d like to know where he lives, and if he’s got a family.
—Lavina H. Peterson, Clear Lake, Iowa

Chef Emeril Lagasse, 49, lives in New Orleans with his wife and 5-year-old son, Emeril Jr. The Food Network star grew up in Fall River, Mass., and turned down a music scholarship to follow his culinary dream, studying in France before returning to the United States. He opened his first restaurant in 1990 in New Orleans, and now has more than a dozen around the nation. He’s written several cookbooks, including his latest, There’s a Chef in My World.

Q Is the baby’s face on the Gerber Food jars that of Brooke Shields when she was a toddler?
—Ernestine Cosby, Andalusia, Ala.

Hold on to your pureed carrots. The face of Gerber baby food products isn’t that of actress Brooke Shields, nor did it ever belong to any of the other famous folks—including Richard Nixon, Elizabeth Taylor and Humphrey Bogart—who’ve been rumored to have the most famous baby-food face in history. The “Gerber baby,” who has been part of the company’s official trademark since 1931, actually was Ann Turner Cook, now 82 and a retired teacher and mystery novelist living in Tampa, Fla. A sketch of her cherubic baby face was chosen from among thousands of other submissions in 1928, and it’s been used on Gerber products ever since.

Q I think Eva Longoria Parker is one of the most glamorous women in Hollywood, but last season she’s looked really drab and frumpy on Desperate Housewives. How much weight did she gain for the role?
—Donna Phelps, Bossier City, La.

According to Parker, 33, she gained no more than 7 pounds. “I am the same size, believe it or not,” she says. She admits she enjoyed how her “drabby” look meant spending less time on makeup and hairstyling before filming. “It is way more fun to play frumpy, because then you can focus on story and character as opposed to always having to look great.”

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