Ask American Profile 4/12/2009

Boston Legal, George Carlin, John Edward, Jan Clayton, Beyoncé

Q Boston Legal is without a doubt one of the best TV shows going. So why was this its last season?
-A.G. Waring, Weed, Calif.

While Boston Legal has done reasonably well in the ratings, its audience skewed older than the desired 18-49 age range that is the primary target for advertisers. In addition, the cost of producing a series rises each season as cast and crew salaries increase. Also, season five brought the total number of Boston Legal episodes to slightly more than the 100 required for syndication, a point at which the show can "live on" in reruns indefinitely.


Q I recently watched PBS' George Carlin: The Mark Twain Prize, and I was wondering if the comic had any children following in his footsteps?
-Richard Ames, DeSoto, Texas

Carlin, who died of heart failure at age 71 in June 2008, has one daughter, Kelly, 45, who is not following her father into the comedy business. "I got the funny in my DNA, but I certainly never wanted to be a stand-up," she says. "No thank you. I could not do that." She is, however, writing a book about her life with her father. "It was a crazy rollercoaster ride filled with lots of love, lots of laughs and lots of insanity."


Q I always enjoyed watching the psychic medium John Edward on TV. What is he doing now?
-Rita Rupert, Marinette, Wis.

When not hosting his TV series, Cross Country, on the WE network, Edward, 39, takes his show on the road with lectures and seminars. In between, he returns to his home in New York, where he lives with wife Sandra, son Justin, 6, and daughter Olivia, 2.


Q In the 1948 movie The Snake Pit, starring Olivia de Havilland, there is a young lady singing "Going Home" from a hymnal. Do you know the name of the actress? Is her recording available anywhere?
-Pete Yancick, Morton, Ill.

That was Jan Clayton, who went on to star as the mom in the TV series Lassie from 1954 to 1957. Although a soundtrack of The Snake Pit isn't available, you can hear Clayton's impressive singing on the original cast recordings of the Broadway musicals Showboat and Carousel, in which she also appeared.  


Q Did Beyoncé do her own singing when she played Etta James in Cadillac Records?
-Regina Kaiser, Du Quoin, Ill.

Not only did Beyoncé, 27, do her own singing, she gained 20 pounds, watched lots of videos and visited a rehab clinic to more accurately portray James, who was addicted to heroin during the time depicted in the movie. Her performance of James' signature song, "At Last," is on the film's soundtrack. But even when filming was done, playing James left its mark on Beyoncé. She says it influenced her performance on her new double album, I Am ... Sasha Fierce. Beyoncé finally met James, who is still touring at 71, after the movie was completed.

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