The Hollywood Exclusive - Column by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

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The Hollywood Exclusive: Ask Stacy

Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith

DEAR STACY: I enjoy Jada Pinkett Smith's "Hawthorne" and would like to know if Will Smith is ever going to come on the show? -- Leslie D., Cedar Rapids, Iowa

DEAR LESLIE: Will Smith already appeared on the medical drama, as an extra, which Jada described as "a very costly walk-by." No telling yet whether he'll show up on Season 2, which won't air till next year. Jada describes Will's regular role on the TNT show as that of "ghost producer." "He spends much of his time on the set with me," she said, "serving as my mentor and helping me acquire many skills."

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DEAR STACY: I'm sorry they didn't continue "Samantha Who?" Where will we see Christina Applegate next? -- Ben B., Dumont, N.J.

DEAR BEN: She plays beloved TV star Elizabeth Montgomery in Billy Clift's forthcoming feature, "Everything is Going to Be Just Fine." It's the adaptation of his memoir about his unique life journey -- going from being Montgomery's hair and makeup man to his involvement with paranormal things following her death. Christina will be heard as one of the girl group The Chipettes (along with Anna Faris and Amy Poehler) in "Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel" at Christmastime. She'll be seen in the planned new version of "Shalom Sesame" in 2010. And the breast cancer survivor will be seen as celebrity ambassador for Lee National Denim Day, which raises funding for breast cancer education and research.

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DEAR STACY: Can you tell me something bout Allie Grant, who plays Isabelle on "Weeds"? This young actress is very good. -- Colleen O., Chattanooga, Tenn.

DEAR COLLEEN: I can tell you that the 5-foot-2.5-inch, Tupelo, Miss.-born "Weeds" actress is only 15 -- she was 11 when she started the show -- though she's dealt with quite a few adult issues via her character Isabelle, the lesbian younger daughter of Elizabeth Perkins' character. I can tell you she has a brother and a sister, and that her other credits include the big-screen "Fanboys" and such shows as "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody." And I can tell you she feels that Isabelle "is different from me in every way." As for the pot smoking and sexuality of her part? "I kind of compare this to how painters can paint a scene without having been there," she said. "In art, you can observe and make an opinion about something."

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DEAR STACY: There is a Yaz commercial on TV. Can you tell me the name of the song that is playing in the background? It is a jazz song. -- Rob. S., Elmont, N.Y.

DEAR ROB: The cool jazz tune heard on the Yaz spot -- and its FDA-mandated follow-up, clarifying the effects of the pill -- is "Sure Thing" by St. Germain (French composer/producer Ludovic Navarre), off his 2000 album, "Tourist."

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DEAR STACY: Whatever happened to Sandy Duncan? -- Jennifer M., Brooklyn, N.Y.

DEAR JENNIFER: At 63, she stays busy. She completed her run starring in "The Glass Menagerie" in Jennerstown, Penn., on Sept. 27, with her son Jeffrey Correia performing as her son in the play. Last year, she was one of the stars of the City Center's Encores! Series production of "No, No Nanette," and also toplined a production of "Driving Miss Daisy" in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texas-born, politically liberal performer, who has candidly discussed her past struggles with alcoholism and depression, has been married to third husband, choreographer/dancer-turned-realtor Don Correia, for 29 years. They have two sons -- Jeffrey (who was born in 1983) and Michael (born in '84). They split their time between their Upper East Side abode and a waterfront country home in Connecticut.

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DEAR STACY: Looking forward to Tim Burton's upcoming "Alice in Wonderland." Was there a TV version with Telly Savalas as the Cheshire Cat, or am I imagining things like my coworker says? -- M.K., Brooklyn, N.Y.

DEAR M.K.: You're thinking of the "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" adaptation that aired over two nights on CBS in 1985, and did indeed feature Savalas as the famous disappearing kitty. Its huge all-star cast also included such oddities as Karl Malden as The Walrus, Carol Channing as The White Queen and Ringo Starr as The Mock Turtle. One of around 20 TV and film productions of the classic Lewis Carroll work over the last 100 years, this TV Alice was released on DVD in 2006.

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DEAR STACY: Whatever became of the cute child actress who did all the Pepsi ads and was in the movie "Paulie"? -- T.B., Cedar Rapids, Iowa

DEAR T.B.: You're referring to Hallie Kate Eisenberg, who is now 17, is still pretty and still acting. Recent years have seen her in the movies "How to Eat Fried Worms" and "P.J." She made her Broadway debut in Clare Booth Luce's "The Women" at Roundabout Theatre. Her latest role was in "Holy Rollers," an indie flick with Justin Bartha, about an Orthodox Jewish youth who becomes an Ecstasy dealer. No word on its release as yet.

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To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

Copyright 2009 Creators Syndicate Inc.

This news arrived on: 10/03/2009

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