Ask American Profile

I was hoping to get some information on Nashville recording artist Lucky Shy.
—Elisha H., New Mexico

Lucky Shy lives in St. Louis, Mo., where he was born. He may sport a cowboy hat while onstage, but it’s a captain’s helmet he wears on his day job as a professional firefighter, commanding a rescue squad. He first imagined being a musician when his father’s best friend played country songs on his guitar for the neighborhood kids. “I was hooked,” he says. “That passion just got inside of me very young.” But he also dreamed of becoming a public servant. A much-decorated firefighter, he also works to raise money for the Backstoppers, an organization that assists the families of fallen policemen and firefighters. On a trip to Nashville, Tenn., Lucky met producer Joe Stampley, who helped him get his music recorded. “My goal is to entertain to the best of my ability and to take my career as far as my fans allow me to,” he says. His CD is available through his website, www.luckyshy.com.

Is it true that actor Peter Boyle of Everybody Loves Raymond was married to Madeline Kahn when she passed away recently?
—Jewell H., Indiana

No. The Emmy-award winning actor, who plays Frank Barone on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, has been married to Loraine Alterman since 1977, a show spokeswoman says. Boyle and Kahn were both in the Mel Brooks film Young Frankenstein. He actually met his wife, who was then a reporter for Rolling Stone, on the set for that film. Boyle’s most recent movie role is that of the villainous Old Man Wickles in Scooby Doo 2. His film credits include Taxi Driver, Monster’s Ball and The Candidate.

What can you tell me about Rick Rubin, the eccentric genius behind Johnny Cash’s last records?
—Clay S., North Dakota

Rubin, 41, is head of California-based American Recordings and admits to being a vegetarian who studies Eastern mysticism and follows wrestling. He was born on Long Island, N.Y., and grew up listening to the Beatles, an experience he says taught him everything he knows about music. In 1984, while attending New York University, he co-founded Def Jam, a rock and rap label which boasted the Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C. and the Black Crowes. By the time Cash hooked up with him in 1994, Rubin was known as one of the major figures of hip-hop, rap, and metal. Cash, who died last year, seemed an odd fit in the roster, but Rubin approached him as a fan. “The goal was always to create a safe environment to work in where Johnny would feel comfortable being vulnerable,” Rubin explains. “It was being able to see into that personal side that makes the albums so beautiful.” Cash’s final sessions yielded about 50 songs, still to be released.

I understand Patricia Cornwell has sold her copyrights to a filming company. Is this true?
—Tom J., West Virginia

Authors don’t actually sell their “copyrights” to film companies—they sell secondary rights, such as motion picture rights, giving studios permission to adapt their story to the screen. Cornwell’s agents shopped the rights to her Kay Scarpetta novels for years, but it wasn’t until summer 2000 that they finally struck a deal. Sony Pictures reportedly paid $5 million for a five-year option to 11 Scarpetta books to produce a series of films. No word on who will play the brilliant Scarpetta. At one point, both Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon threw their hats into the ring, but the author desperately wanted Jodie Foster, who passed. Cornwell’s latest novel is Blow Fly.

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