Ask American Profile

Blake Shelton, Ben Johnson, Marvin Rainwater, Pat Boone

I was watching a country music video recently that caught my eye. I noticed Blake Shelton’s eyes. Are they really that blue?
—Louise M., New York

Shelton’s blue eyes were enhanced with computer technology in The Baby video. "Being as simple-minded as I am, I haven’t the slightest clue what they did to make them appear that blue," the country music singer says. "To me, it is more creepy than cool!" Shelton, 28, was raised in Ada, Okla. (pop. 15,691), and moved to Nashville, Tenn., at age 17 to pursue a music career. Known for hits such as Ol’ Red and Austin, he recently released his third CD, Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill. "I like to think of my new CD as a place rather than an album," he says. "Thus the name, Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill! As you listen to this album, you can almost imagine yourself sitting in some old smoky bar, listening to the people’s conversations around you." In 2003, he married his longtime girlfriend, Kaynette Williams. "We went to a log cabin chapel in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (pop. 3,382). We wanted something that was just about us getting married and nothing else."

What can you tell me about Ben Johnson, who played Sgt. Tyree with John Wayne in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon?
—Sally G., Colorado

Johnson had been acting for 10 years, often as a stuntman and double for Gary Cooper and James Stewart, when he appeared in that famous 1949 John Ford film. Born in Oklahoma in 1918, Johnson was working as a rodeo performer when Howard Hughes asked him to take a herd of horses to California. He liked California, so he stayed and began getting work as a stunt man and horse wrangler. The actor, who made more than 300 movies, many of them Westerns, lived by the cowboy code. As such, he first turned down his Oscar-winning role in 1971’s Last Picture Show because the script contained too many curse words. With director Peter Bogdanovich’s blessing, Johnson rewrote some of his lines, removing the offensive language. He died of an apparent heart attack in 1996 at age 77.

What happened to Marvin Rainwater? The song he was known for was Gonna Find Me a Bluebird.
—Kent B., Mississippi

Now 79, the rockabilly and country star still performs with energy and enthusiasm to audiences around the world. "I’m a health nut, take the right kind of vitamins and anti-oxidants," he says. "In fact, I’m a walking advertisement for anti-oxidants, because I just finished building a new house myself." The house has a room for him to work on his music, which he says still takes up 99 percent of his time. "The rest is fishing," he jokes. Born in Wichita, Kan., he often traveled to Minnesota on fishing trips and decided to stay. He and his wife of 22 years live in Aitkin, Minn. (pop. 1,984).

Pat Boone Celebrates 50 Years of Entertaining

To celebrate his 50th anniversary in show business, Pat Boone has recorded five albums in five different genres: patriotic, gospel, country, adult contemporary love songs, and R&B classics. "My wife, Shirley, says, ‘People don’t know who you are. Are you a gospel singer, a rock and roller . . . just what are you?’" he says with a laugh. He’s all of those, even a heavy metal rocker, if you believe his 1997 album, In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, which he promoted in leather. The Jacksonville, Fla., native, who was raised in Nashville, Tenn., is branching out again with special guests from James Brown to ZZ Top. Now 70, Boone has run out of career aspirations. "This sounds crazy, but all my goals were accomplished before I was out of college," says the father of four who resides in Beverly Hills, Calif., and recently celebrated his 51st wedding anniversary. "I’ve lived three or four lives already."

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