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Susan Powter, Brad Garrett, Buck Owens, Sidney Poitier

Can you tell me if Susan Powter, the fitness instructor, is still writing or making any new videos?
—Gail K., Virginia

After a seven-year hiatus to raise her three sons, single mother Susan Powter is back with a book, The Politics of Stupid, and a video, Trailer Park Yoga, which are available through her website, www.susanpowteronline.com. The outspoken fitness guru also has a live radio show and a cooking variety show called Taste My Broth in the works. She exploded onto the scene in the 1990s with her "Stop the Insanity" campaign for physical fitness. She authored six books, including three New York Times best sellers, and made nine videos and four infomercials. "Everything I’m doing now makes ‘Stop the Insanity’ look like a dress rehearsal," says Powter, who lives in New England. "I am now a 47-year-old menopausal woman not taking synthetic estrogen, wiser and healthier than I have ever been. I’m still a size two; I lost 133 pounds and never found them again," Powter says.

My husband and I are enjoying the reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond. We especially like Brad Garrett playing Robert. What is he doing now?
—Melietta E., Minnesota

Now that the popular sitcom has ended, actor Brad Garrett is contemplating new projects while enjoying a little time off to be with his children—Hope, 5, and Max, 6. "It was a great nine-year run and we’re very grateful, but I thought it was the right move to stop on top," says Garrett, 45. The time on Everybody Loves Raymond, though, was "life-changing on many levels," Garrett says. During that time, the actor met his wife of six years, Jill, and they had their two children. Garrett was born in Oxnard, Calif., brought up in Woodland Hills, Calif., and still lives in the San Fernando Valley. He’s keeping busy by doing some stand-up comedy, including a stint at the Mirage in Las Vegas this summer. "I’m doing it to aggravate people," he teases. "Stand-up is hard and I love the challenge." He’s also thinking about pursuing one of his dreams to do Broadway. "I’m picky and I’m not in demand," says Garrett, laughing. "It’s a brutal combination."

Can you please tell me if country artist Buck Owens is the father of country singer Dwight Yoakam?
—Dorothy S., Texas

No, Buck Owens, 74, is not Dwight Yoakam’s father, although they became great friends in the 1980s after Yoakam claimed him as a huge musical influence. After they sang Owens’ Streets of Bakersfield together on a CBS TV special, Yoakam persuaded Owens not only to go on tour with him, but to record the song together. It became a hit in 1988 and won Owens a younger audience. Owens has lived in Bakersfield, Calif., his entire life. Married and divorced three times, he has three sons—Buddy, Mike and John—and while he is basically retired, he still performs at his Crystal Palace in Bakersfield most Friday and Saturday nights. His three volumes of DVDs, Buck Owens’ Ranch Shows, are available through his website, www.buckowens.com. "I’d like just to be remembered as a guy that came along and did his music, did his best and showed up on time, clean and ready to do the job, wrote a few songs, and had a (heck) of a time," Owens says.

What is Sidney Poitier doing today?
—Florence L., New Mexico

Sir Sidney Poitier, who was knighted in 1968 by Queen Elizabeth, has officially retired from the entertainment business. The 78-year-old actor, producer and director holds a dual ambassadorship—one from the Bahamas to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) and another from the Bahamas to Japan. Poitier, who was born in Florida and raised in the Bahamas, has four honorary doctorates as well and has written two books. The Oscar winner currently resides in Los Angeles with Joanna, his wife of 29 years with whom he has two daughters. He also has four daughters from a previous 15-year marriage.

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