– What has Simon Cowell done to deserve his place on “American Idol” as a celebrity? Where does he come from? –Nancy Gibault, Dundalk, Md.
It isn’t so much what the London, England, native has done to deserve celebrity — an inevitable result of the enormous success of the Fox show — but what he has done to deserve his spot as a judge of talent, and that’s easy to answer. Well before attaining such public fame, Cowell was — and still is — a prominent executive with BMG Records, for which artists he has overseen have scored more than 50 chart-topping songs.
– Is the Eric Close who is now appearing on “Without a Trace” the same Eric Close who appeared on the “Magnificent Seven” series that aired in the late ’90s? –Jack Roberts, Cheboygan, Mich.
He is indeed. He also was a regular on the shows “Now and Again,” “Dark Skies,” “Sisters” (for one season) and “McKenna.”
– Was the African-American actress who died while doing “The District” the same woman who played one of the regular characters on “NewsRadio”? What was her name, and when did she pass away? –Ed Kush, Midwest City, Okla.
The “District” actress was Tony Award winner Lynne Thigpen, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage on March 12, 2003. Her final screen appearance, in the Jack Nicholson-Adam Sandler movie comedy “Anger Management,” was released shortly afterward. Khandi Alexander is the actress who -starred on “NewsRadio”; she currently appears in the CBS drama “CSI: Miami.”
– My family and I are big fans of “Married … With Children,” and we are wondering if there will ever be a set of the fifth season released on DVD. –Doug Pauley, Portage, Ind.
Give it a month. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is planning to release it on June 20.
– Can you give a quick background check on the star of CBS’ “Close to Home,” Jennifer Finnigan? –Herb Stark, Massapequa, N.Y.
For one thing, she may hold the record as the television star to move the fastest from being a lead in a sitcom (NBC’s “Committed”) to heading up a drama series, which happened within a matter of months last year. The Montreal native earned three Daytime Emmy Awards for “The Bold and the Beautiful,” then made the leap to prime time as a supporting player on NBC’s “Crossing Jordan.” Now a Los Angeles resident, Finnigan is engaged to “Weekend at Bernie’s” actor Jonathan Silverman.
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