Ask American Profile

Dick Wolf, Vince Gill, Selma Blair

I would like to write to Dick Wolf, the creator of Law & Order. May I have his address? What can you tell us about him?
—Thelma D., Virginia

A New York City native, Wolf got his start as an advertising copywriter, and eventually turned his talents to writing screenplays. He made his first foray into television police drama as a writer for Hill Street Blues, and went on to work on Miami Vice as executive producer. He also wrote the prep school-based movie School Ties. (Wolf has his own prep school background, attending Andover at the same time as President George W. Bush.) But it was Law & Order and its multiple spin-offs that have made him a household name. “When I was growing up,” Wolf told The Boston Phoenix a few years back, “there were cop shows like The Defenders and Naked City, and the great thing about them was how real they were. Law & Order is a direct descendent of those shows, and it’s the most ambitious show I’ve worked on. But beyond that, it has been an instrument for telling stories in a totally different way than I’ve ever been able to tell them before.” You can write to Wolf at Universal Studios, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA, 91608.

I read that Vince Gill is stepping down as the host of the annual Country Music Association awards. Why?
—John R., California

The affable Gill, the award show’s host for 12 years, says he’s stepping down to concentrate on his music. A song from his 2003 album, Next Big Thing, was nominated for a Grammy, but ignored by CMA voters, who perhaps take the easygoing entertainer for granted. “My greatest fear is that I’ll walk out there and people will start rolling their eyes like, ‘Oh great, not him again,’” he joked last year about his hosting duties. But, Gill, a father of two daughters who is married to singer Amy Grant, promises with a hint of Arnold Schwarzenegger, “I’ll be back!” In the meantime, he’s involved in a number of projects, including a studio reunion of the Cherry Bombs, Rodney Crowell’s old backup band, with Crowell, keyboardist Tony Brown, and steel guitar player Hank DeVito. The idea sprung from Crowell’s appearance on a Gill showcase in 2002. “Rodney called the next day and said, ‘Hey man, I was so inspired last night,’” Gill recalls. Then the band jammed for a music industry function, and they all knew they wanted to make an album together. “There’s something about being with those guys that makes me the most comfortable I ever feel playing music,” Gill says. “Rodney’s my hero.” No release date has been announced.

What’s happened to Selma Blair? I haven’t seen her in anything since last year’s A Guy Thing.
—Louise S., Pennsylvania

She’s been busy. In January, after a six-month courtship, the 31-year-old actress married Star Search judge Ahmet Zappa, 29, son of the late rocker Frank Zappa. And, the Cruel Intentions star has a trio of films scheduled for release this year—the comedy-romance Hating Her, with Bridget Moynahan and Blythe Danner; Hellboy, an action-adventure/sci-fi flick co-starring Ron Perlman and John Hurt; and the comedic A Dirty Shame, with Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville and Chris Isaak. Blair says she yearns for more dramatic parts, but has learned to appreciate her affinity for the lighter side of life. “I feel like nothing’s worth telling unless it haunts somebody,” she explains, “but I know I’d rather laugh than be haunted, so I need to keep that in mind.”

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