Ask American Profile

I am an avid fan of Law & Order. Can you let me know whose voice it is announcing all the episodes of the program?
—Kathyrn R., Wisconsin

That deep voice belongs to Steve Zirnkilton, who does voiceovers for Law & Order, entering its 15th season, and both spinoff shows Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Zirnkilton, who had a role in the pilot of the show, had done voice work for series creator Dick Wolfe, who asked him to read the show’s intro. “I was an actor, not a very successful one,’’ says Zirnkilton, who mostly works from his studio in his home in Seal Harbor, Maine. He also narrates documentaries and does promos for CNN and NBC. “I think anyone who’s fortunate enough to be successful in the entertainment industry has to be happy,’’ he says of his career path. Zirnkilton is married and has two teenagers.

Where did coach Jody Conradt of Texas University and coach Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee graduate?
—Margaret F., Texas

Tennessee’s Pat Head Summitt earned a bachelor’s in physical education from the University of Tennessee-Martin in 1974 and a master’s in physical education from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1975. Coach Jody Conradt attended Baylor University, earning a degree in physical education in 1963. She taught and coached at Waco (Texas) Midway High School before returning to her alma mater, where she earned a master’s degree in 1969. Summitt’s 852-167 record puts her No. 3 in all-time men’s and women’s basketball victories, while Conradt’s 847-269 record puts her No. 4. Only North Carolina’s Dean Smith, now retired, and the late Adolph Rupp of Kentucky won more basketball games as college head coaches than Summitt or Conradt.

After watching World War II movies The Dirty Dozen and Midway, I spotted an old favorite, Robert Webber. What became of him?
—Vicki F., Washington

In a career that spanned more than 40 years, Webber portrayed all types of characters, though war films held special appeal for him. An ex-Army man, he played Lee Marvin’s general in 1967, and real-life Adm. Frank J. Fletcher in 1976’s Midway. Physically, the California native resembled actor Kevin McCarthy, which made him appear sensitive, yet rugged. His other film credits include The Great White Hope (1970), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), and 10 (1979). He had just completed the TV movie Something is Out There when he died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1989 at age 64.

What is Polly Parsons, the daughter of musician Gram Parsons, doing these days?
—Richard F., New Jersey

“Over the last couple years I have been focusing on perpetuating my father’s music, not only to his die-hard fans, but to a new generation of music listeners,” says Polly Parsons, 36, the daughter of the late country-rock musician Gram Parsons. She staged several recent tribute concerts to her father in Nashville, Tenn., London and Los Angeles. “Before I started organizing this huge event, I had spent a portion of the last year getting into the research of my family history and where it was I came from and how I could best be of service to my father and his legacy,” she says. Parsons, who is single and lives in Los Angeles, also is a partner in an independent record label called Sin City Music.

I have always been interested in Peter Falk. What happened to him?
—Jennie L., Connecticut

He’s been acting, most recently providing the voice of Don Feinberg for the upcoming animated film Shark Tale. In the last few years, he’s appeared in the films Corky Romano and Made, the TV movies A Town Without Christmas and The Sunshine Boys and, yes, even a couple of Columbo TV-movie specials. A native New Yorker, Falk was working as an efficiency expert for the Budget Bureau of Connecticut when he got interested in acting. Starting his professional career on Broadway, he easily moved on to television and films, with Columbo earning him household-name status as well as three Emmy awards.

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