Ask American Profile 8/2/2009

Jillian Michaels, Andrea Bocelli, Victor Mature, Rhonda Fleming, Johnny Mack Brown, Jimmy Durante, Craig Stevens, Billy: The Early Years, Bijou Phillips

Q: On TV's The Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels is my favorite trainer. She really puts the folks through their paces. Does she have any good advice for losing the last 10 stubborn pounds?
—Cyndi Perrette, Glendale, Ariz.

Yes! Her book Making the Cut details this very topic. "Cut out processed foods," says Michaels, 35. "Work to a higher level of intensity—85 to 100 percent of your maximum heart rate. Cut sodium down to 1.5 to 2 milligrams a day, and boost your water intake to about 80 ounces a day. That should do the trick."


Q: What can you tell me about opera singer Andrea Bocelli?
—Tamara Sonnier, Baton Rouge, La.

Bocelli, 51, grew up in an Italian village. He was born with poor eyesight and became totally blind at age 12 after a soccer accident. He holds a law degree from the University of Pisa, but once he got his big break as a singer—chosen to record a duet with opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti in 1992—music has been his passport to the world. The divorced father of two, who's recorded more than 20 albums of classical and pop music, lives in Forte dei Marmi, a town in northern Italy on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.


Q: When I was a young feller, my favorites were actor Victor Mature and a gorgeous, red-headed actress, Rhonda Fleming. Are these two still with us?
—Larrie Hilderbrand, Deer Park, Wash.

Mature, a big star in sword-and-sandal epics of the 1950s, including The Robe, Samson and Delilah and Demetrius and The Gladiators, died of leukemia in 1999 at the age of 86. Frequently assailed by critics, he was once turned down for membership at an upscale Hollywood country club because they didn't accept actors. "I'm not an actor-and I've got 67 films to prove it!" he protested. Fleming, called the "Queen of Technicolor" for her luminous complexion and flaming red hair, retired from acting nearly 30 years ago after leaving a lasting impression in such films as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Serpent of the Nile. Now 85, she lives in Los Angeles and remains involved in various charitable causes.


Q: Back in the 1940s there was a movie cowboy named Johnny Mack Brown. I heard he was once a star football player. How many movies did he make?
—Leo Crosby, New Stanton, Pa.

Brown, a halfback for the University of Alabama, went to Hollywood after leading his Crimson Tide team to victory in the 1926 Rose Bowl. Initially groomed as a leading man in the waning days of the silent-film era, his Southern drawl didn't translate well into more debonair "talkie" roles and his star began to fall just as that of another young actor, Clark Gable, was rising. But Brown found his niche in the cowboy genre, making 160 movies between 1927 and 1966, most of them low-budget Westerns. He died in 1974 at the age of 70.


Q: Who was Jimmy Durante's "Mrs. Calabash"?
—J.W. Knox, Schenectady, N.Y.

Durante, whose career as a singer, actor and comedian stretched across much of the 20th century, frequently signed off his radio and TV appearances  saying, "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." As author David Bakish explained in the biography Jimmy Durante: His Show Business Career, the famous big-nosed comic started using the name to close out his shows after he saw producer Phil Cohan smoking a calabash pipe. For years afterward, he gave a variety of explanations about the name, finally admitting that it was his way of saying good night to his late wife, Jeanne.

Q: My son and I used to enjoy a private-eye TV series called Peter Gunn. Who played Gunn?
—Dorothy Hearne, Hemphill, Texas

Craig Stevens portrayed the stylish detective on the series, which ran from 1958 to 1961.


Q  Could you tell me what happened to the new movie about the life of Billy Graham? It was supposed to play here, but I've seen nothing about it.
—Barbara Kortvely, Spring Hill, Fla.

You're referring to Billy: The Early Years, which starred Armie Hammer in the title role. The film had a limited theatrical release last fall. The producers plan to release it on DVD later this year, and it may make its way to a cable movie channel.


Q: Is Bijou Phillips related to Mackenzie Phillips? What films has she made?
—Marty Goodwin, Cheyenne, Wyo.

Bijou, 29, and Mackenzie, 49, are half sisters. Their father is the late John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas. A former model and singer, Bijou's movie credits include Bully, Choke, Wake, What We Do Is Secret, You Are Here, Hostel II, Havoc, The Door in the Floor, Made for Each Other and The Bridge to Nowhere. Bijou's 2008 movie Dark Streets, in which she portrays a glamorous 1930s nightclub singer, was recently released on DVD.

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