Ask American Profile

Matthew Perry, Micky Dolenz, Enrico Colantoni, Elizabeth Vargas

What has Matthew Perry been doing since the TV series Friends?
—Alexandra F., Augusta, Maine

Perry, who played the Friends role of Chandler, has appeared in several movies, including Fools Rush In and The Whole Nine Yards. Watch him Aug. 13 on the TNT network movie The Ron Clark Story, based on the work of a real-life educator who was cited as American Teacher of the Year in 2000 for his work with disadvantaged kids in rural North Carolina and inner-city Harlem. Perry will also star this fall in a new NBC-TV dramatic series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

What is Micky of the Monkees doing now?
—Mona Reynolds, Fox, Ariz.

After spending most of 2003 and 2004 in the Broadway production of Aida, former Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz released the children's book Gakky Two-Feet. "I was asked to write a children's book based on a Monkees' song, but that didn't interest me," he says. "I'm a big fan of anthropology and was reading about hominids evolving from walking on four feet to two feet. I thought, 'Wouldn't it be interesting to fictionalize that moment?' It's about this little creature who's different, with the moral being that it's OK to be different—because one day it could come in handy."

I love watching Veronica Mars. What can you tell me about the actor who plays Veronica's father? He's terrific.
—Arthur A., Beavercreek, Ohio

You're not the only one who thinks Enrico Colantoni, who plays a struggling private investigator on the popular UPN TV series, is fun to watch. He was named one of the "10 Greatest Scene Stealers" in a recent issue of TV Guide. Born in Toronto and a graduate of Yale University's prestigious School of Drama, Colantoni played a fashion photographer on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me, has made a string of TV guest appearances (Hope and Glory, NYPD Blue, Law and Order), and gained a cult following for his role as the leader of a squid-like alien species in the sci-fi series Galaxy Quest. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

What can you tell me about Elizabeth Vargas, her family and her jobs with ABC World News Tonight and 20/20?
—Dot and Jerry Autry, Burgaw, N.C.

Born in Paterson, N.J., Vargas exited the anchor chair at ABC World News Tonight in May to spend more time at home as she prepares for the birth of her second child in August. She plans to return to 20/20 at the end of her maternity leave. Vargas' husband, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, has recovered from a gunshot wound to his head inflicted last year during an attempted carjacking in Denver, where he had just performed.

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