Ask American Profile 3/13/2005
Jodi Applegate, Jodie Sweetin, Janice Rule, Ralph Emery
—Darla B., New York
After Jodi Applegate appeared on the Today show in 1999, she spent four years in Boston working at WFXT, the Fox affiliate. Late last year, Applegate, 40, moved back to New York City to co-anchor Fox’s Good Day New York. "Every work place is a different experience, whether it’s network or local," says Applegate, a Pittsburgh native. "I enjoyed my time in Boston—there is a high quality of life there. I was able to live in the ‘burbs’ and have a 10-minute commute, which was a nice change of pace. Now I’m in the city, but I’m close to Central Park, so it’s almost like having a huge yard. We’re trying to create a suburban experience in the city. I get up at 4 a.m., and I’m at work by 4:30, so I didn’t want a long commute. We bought an apartment, in an old building, which we’re renovating, which is fun," says Applegate, whose husband, Rob Nikoleski, is a sportscaster, currently looking for a new job. "In television, you tend to have to move around. I welcome every new experience," she says.
What is Jodie Sweetin from Full House doing now?
—Rebecca T., Wisconsin
Now 23, Jodie Sweetin lives in Long Beach, Calif., in the same area where she grew up, and has been married to a police officer for two years. "I still audition occasionally for the entertainment business and keep in touch with the Full House cast as much as we can with our busy lives," she says. Sweetin recently graduated from Chapman University in Orange, Calif., and plans to teach elementary school. She and her husband have no children yet, "but within the next few years, we hope to start our family," she says.
Whatever became of Janice Rule? She used to be married to Ben Gazzara.
—Maria P., Idaho
Actress Janice Rule, a native of Norwood, Ohio (pop. 21,675), died in 2003 at age 72 at her New York City home. A dancer in her teens, she found her way into the movies, debuting in the 1951 film Goodbye My Fancy, and appeared on the cover of Life magazine as a rising star. She went on to star in Bell, Book and Candle, The Swimmer and Three Women. In the 1960s she became interested in psychoanalysis, eventually earning a doctorate in the field and practicing in New York and Los Angeles. She and actor Ben Gazzara, her third husband, were married from 1961 until 1979. She was survived by two daughters, Kate Thom Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gazzara.
Could you please tell me what became of Ralph Emery, the former host of Nashville Now?
—Vernon C., North Carolina
When Ralph Emery left Nashville Now in 1993 after 10 years, he stayed on with The Nashville Network for five years, doing a monthly interview show, On the Record. "I think we raised the bar for country music a little bit," says Emery, 72. "I take pride in it." He has authored four books, including his most successful, Memories, in 1991, and 2001’s 50 Years Down a Country Road. Emery also has a comedy act that he occasionally takes to various state fairs and casinos. "Johnny Carson was my hero, and I enjoy watching comedians," says Emery, who particularly enjoyed working with Grandpa Jones and Minnie Pearl. "I studied their timing," he says. He and wife Joy live in Nashville, Tenn., and have two sons, and Emery also has a son from a previous marriage. When weather permits, Emery plays golf with his buddy, singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall. "We play twice a week and we go out on the golf course and solve the world’s problems," he says, laughing. "And some of our own."
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