Ask American Profile

Richard Chamberlain, Jason Lee, Robin Meade, Eric Burdon

Where is Richard Chamberlain these days? I haven’t seen him in a movie or mini-series since The Thorn Birds back in the 1980s.
—Patricia Rains, Conway, Ark.

Chamberlain reprised his priestly role as Father Ralph de Bricassart in The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996), and appeared in another mini-series, Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke, in 1999. In 2003, at 69, he published his autobiography, Shattered Love. Last year, he was on tour with Scrooge: The Musical, a stage adaptation of the holiday classic. "Scrooge really finds his heart in his exploration," Chamberlain told an interviewer, "which is what life is all about."

Other than My Name is Earl, what else has actor Jason Lee been in?
—P. Brothers, Bowling Green, Ky.

Mostly movies. Born in Huntington Beach, Calif., Lee was a professional skateboarder until deciding to pursue acting. His big break came in 1995 with the lead role in the movie Mallrats, after which he starred in Chasing Amy, for which he won an independent-film Spirit Award for best supporting male actor. That was Lee as the lead singer of the fictitious band Stillwater in Almost Famous, and as Tom Cruise’s best friend in Vanilla Sky. He played the demonic Azrael in the comedy Dogma, and has a cameo in the upcoming The Passion of the Clerks, and a voiced role in the animated comedy Monster House, due for release this summer.

What can you tell me about CNN’s morning anchor Robin Meade? Who is her husband and does she have children?
—Virginia K., Crystal Lake, Ill.

Lead anchor of CNN’s news morning show Robin & Company, Meade, 36, was born in New London, Ohio, where childhood friends recall her playing broadcaster on a small tape recorder as a youngster. She honed her skills at local TV stations in Ohio, Illinois and Florida before settling in Atlanta for CNN. She has no children but notes that her husband, Tim, has tolerated her unconventional schedule for 12 years—in bed by 6 p.m., at work by 3 a.m. She enjoys interior decorating (she’s even sewn some of her own window treatments) and singing. Many viewers ask about her distinctive laugh. "It’s real," she says. "Something this loud and different couldn’t be fake!"

Is singer Eric Burdon still performing or writing songs?
—Fran Sanders, Kalispell, Mont.

Yes, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Burdon—lead singer of the 1960s British pop group The Animals ("House of the Rising Sun," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood") and later the ’70s funk powerhouse band War ("Spill the Wine," "The Cisco Kid," "Why Can’t We Be Friends")—remains very active in music. He recently released a blues album, Soul of a Man, and is rehearsing for an upcoming world tour. Burdon, 67, loves the freedom of his life now, as opposed to the ’60s. "I didn’t quite like that period," he confesses. "All of the freedom I had experienced earlier was taken away from me when I ended up in a commercial product known as The Animals. We were told by management, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ Now I have control over what I do."

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