Ask American Profile 10/4/2009

Eugene Cussons, Dan Blocker, Zack Addy, Melissa d'Arabian

Q I love the show Escape to Chimp Eden on Animal Planet. What can you tell me about Eugene Cussons and his work with the chimps?
—Lisa Salfisberg, Merrifield, Minn.

Cussons, 30, was born in the Mpumalanga region of South Africa and has dedicated his career to wildlife conservation. He has converted much of his family's game reserve into a sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees as he focuses on rescuing chimps from hazardous places, such as war-torn areas of Sudan and Angola. He lives with his wife and daughter near Chimp Eden, which he opened in 2006 in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute. "When I interact with chimpanzees, I have to leave my 'humaness' at the enclosure door and be a chimp," he says. "You need to understand just how different they are [from humans]. Chimps are much stronger and tougher than people."


Q What can you tell me about the late Dan Blocker, who played Hoss Cartwright on the TV western Bonanza? He was our favorite.
—Pamela McMahon, Baytown, Texas

Blocker, who was born in DeKalb, Texas, weighing in at a hefty 14 pounds, died in 1972 of a pulmonary embolism after gall bladder surgery at age 43. He and wife Dolphia had four children, twin daughters Danna and Debra and sons David and Dirk. The actor known as "the gentle giant" spent his boyhood years in O'Donnell, Texas, where the town park today proudly displays a bust of Blocker and the O'Donnell Heritage Museum features an exhibit in his honor.


Q Is Zack Addy ever coming back to Bones? I miss him.
—Arnie Olson, Riverside, Wash.

According to a spokesperson for the TV series, we possibly could see Zack, who is played by Eric Millegan, 35, in an episode or two this season, not unlike the two episodes he did earlier this year. At this point, there are no plans for him to resume his role as a series regular. The executive producers are enjoying a rotation of lab assistants to introduce new quirky characters with whom Brennan, Booth and company can interact.


Q What can you tell me about Melissa d'Arabian, the winner of The Next Food Network Star?
—Debbie Quick, Portland, Maine

D'Arabian, 40, is a wife and stay-at-home mom with four pre-school-aged daughters. "My real love for cooking came from the mother-daughter teas that we started having when I was about 5. We would just cook and cook and cook for that party and that became a big tradition for us. When I had my own daughters, I revived the tradition," says the new host of the Food Network's Ten Dollar Dinners. She and her family recently relocated from Keller, Texas, to Kirkland, Wash.

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