Ask American Profile

Randy Travis, Sondra Locke, Judy Woodruff, Bruce Feiler

What can you tell me about Randy Travis? Is he still making albums?
—Doyle H., Tennessee

He sure is. His current album, Passing Through, comes on the heels of his gospel CD Rise and Shine. The latter contained the hit Three Wooden Crosses, which earned a Grammy and the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year award. "I’ve had one foot in Christian music and the other in country music for the past several years," Travis says. The entertainer, who is married to his manager, Lib Hatcher, also performs music ministry work, which he says has "been like another career, though I love the country shows, too." His next album, Glory Train, contains selections recorded in the 1940s by Sister Rosetta Thorpe (one of Elvis Presley’s inspirations) and debuts Oct. 3.

Do you have any information about Sondra Locke, who starred with Clint Eastwood in the 1980 film Bronco Billy?
—Bob O., North Carolina

Locke, born May 28, 1947, makes the occasional motion picture, including 2005’s Loving Annabelle. But she’s kept a low profile since 1996, when she successfully settled a lawsuit against Warner Bros., in which she claimed the movie studio enticed her to sign a bogus development deal in exchange for dropping a $25 million suit against her ex-boyfriend, Clint Eastwood. "I don’t have to worry about working—let’s put it that way," she says of the settlement price. A native of Shelbyville, Tenn. (pop. 16,105), she attended Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (pop. 68,816), before moving to Los Angeles and pursuing an acting career. Locke, a breast cancer survivor, lives in the Hollywood Hills.

Do you know if Judy Woodruff is doing anything specific now that she is no longer with CNN?
—Marli N., Arizona

She’s not doing one specific thing, but many different things. "I’m actively exploring a number of journalistic projects, among them consulting with the Pew Charitable Trusts about producing a year of televised reports on what’s on the minds of America’s younger generation," says Judy Woodruff, who is married to Al Hunt, a fellow journalist who works for The Wall Street Journal. "I’ll be a senior fellow this fall at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center for the Press, Politics and Public Policy. I remain a consultant and occasional contributor for CNN, have appeared on NBC News’ Meet the Press as an analyst and have packed two sons off to college!"

Author Bruce Feiler explores religion's birthplace

Best-selling author Bruce Feiler, 40, has unveiled Where God Was Born, which not only explores the roots of modern religion, but also takes the readers to the places where religion was born. "Forty years ago, Time magazine asked, ‘Is God dead?’ Now religion is bigger than at any time in the last century," he says of the third of his books on the Bible and the Middle East. "To make sense of this situation, I decided to go back to the place where God was born and ask, ‘Is religion tearing us apart, or can it bring us back together?’ For a year I traveled over 10,000 miles through the frontlines of Israel, Iraq and Iran, visiting biblical sites unseen by Westerners in decades, including the Garden of Eden, the spot where David fought Goliath and the rivers of Babylon. I came away with a surprising message of hope." A film crew followed him for a three-hour documentary focusing on a previous book, Walking the Bible, that he hopes will air on PBS early next year. "The footage is spectacular, from the slopes of Mount Ararat to the top of the pyramids," he says. "It’s what my wife calls a ‘never-in-a-lifetime’ experience." The native of Savannah, Ga., lives in New York City with his wife, Linda, and their twin daughters, who were born in April. He describes his home life as "bountiful, sleep-deprived and doubly blessed." He says, "I hope they make the journey I made in peace sometime in their lives."

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