Ask American Profile

Nancy Grace, Lawrence Welk Family, Styx, Pete Duel

Please tell us about Court TV’s Nancy Grace.
—Jessica R., New York

Tragedy was the basis of Nancy Grace’s professional choice and lifelong quest for justice. The never-married Grace was just 20 when her fiancé was murdered and her original plan to become an English professor was derailed. Born in Macon, Ga., Grace graduated from Mercer Law School and served a decade as a special prosecutor in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in Atlanta before she sat on a panel of legal experts in New York and was noticed by Court TV’s founder. Thus her television career was born in 1997. She hosts Court TV’s Nancy Grace: Closing Arguments and Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News, "wearing the same pair of cowboy boots every night of my show for good luck," says New York-based Grace, 45. "Getting to do this allows me to continue to be a victim’s rights advocate. I always try to do what’s right, be it on the side of the defense or the state."

We love the Lawrence Welk Family programs. Is Tom Netherton married?
—Samuel M., Arizona

Tom Netherton has never married. Netherton, 58, was born in Munich, Germany, where his father was stationed in the Army, but he returned to the United States when he was 9 months old.

Netherton didn’t really know he could sing until he was dared to audition for a high school musical and ended up getting the lead. He joined the Lawrence Welk Show in 1973, stayed until the show’s end in 1982, and still can be seen in reruns and TV specials. He recently concluded two years at the music theater in

Williamsburg, Va. (pop. 11,988), where he lives. He is working on a few new CDs, which will be available on his website, www.tomnetherton.com. Netherton, who speaks often about his Christianity, enjoys not only performing for audiences, but speaking with them as well. "I love entertaining and looking in the eyes of people," Netherton says. "I really like to make it personal. People know they can come to a show that is great for the whole family, whether they’re Christians or not."

I love the rock group Styx. What are its members doing now? Where can I write them?
—Sharon V., California

 The group that began in the 1970s is no longer the group you would see in concert today. There are two factions of Styx now—one that carries the name Styx and has two longtime members (Tommy Shaw and Chuck Panozzo) and one led by Dennis DeYoung, the original lead singer and primary songwriter—and both perform Styx songs in concert. According to DeYoung, 1999’s Brave New World was his last recording with the group. "I became ill, and the guys in the band wanted to go on the road. I asked them to wait another six months for me to recover, and they chose not to," says DeYoung, 58, a father of two who lives in Chicago with his wife of 35 years. In 2000, DeYoung and his band began to perform with a symphony orchestra, singing the Styx material he wrote, such as Lady, Babe and Come Sail Away. You can contact both groups through their websites: www.dennisdeyoung.com and www.styxworld.com.

What can you tell me about Pete Duel from the TV show Alias Smith and Jones? I understand that he committed suicide. Is this true?
— John W., Arkansas

Yes, Pete Duel, who had a history of depression and alcoholism, died in 1971 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was only 30 at the time, with a very promising career ahead of him. Born Peter Deuel in Rochester, N.Y., he began his career on stage with a national tour of Take Her, She’s Mine and moved to Hollywood in 1963. After roles in the TV series Gidget and Love on a Rooftop, he landed the part of Hannibal Heyes in Alias Smith and Jones in 1970. Roger Davis took over the role in the series after Duel’s death.

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