– I just finished watching “Rent,” and I was blown away by Jesse L. Martin. I love him on “Law & Order,” but can you tell me where he learned to sing and if there’s anything else I can catch him in? — Becky Echtenkamp, Denver
Chances are good he honed that talent while a student at New York University, and he also got to use it in the stage version of “Rent,” largely considered his launching pad to stardom — and undoubtedly a prime reason he, like so many other of the cast members, wanted to return for the screen edition. He was written out of “Law & Order” for a number of episodes so he could make the movie.
If you’re wondering where else you can hear Martin sing, he played the Ghost of Christmas Present in NBC’s 2004 musical remake of “A Christmas Carol” (available on DVD). He’s also been cast as soul singer Marvin Gaye in the drama movie “Sexual Healing,” intended for release later this year.
– Who is the actor who played the president’s brother on “Prison Break” and, I think, Meredith’s father on “Grey’s Anatomy”? I just realized they are the same person. — Nancy Waddell, Clinton, Wash.
He’s Jeff Perry, who has done plenty of guest-star work over the years — from “NYPD Blue” and “The West Wing” to “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “Lost” — but his most sustained role was that of casually dressed San Francisco police detective Harvey Leek on “Nash Bridges.”
The Chicago-area native’s early career concentration was on stage work, to the extent that he teamed with Gary Sinise and Terry Kinney to found the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Perry has a daughter by his ex-wife, actress Laurie Metcalf (“Roseanne”).
– Was Johnny Carson the host of a show called “Do You Trust Your Wife?” in the early ’50s? —
David Cohen, Randallstown, Md.
That was the original title of a quiz show Carson assumed from first host Edgar Bergen after CBS moved it from prime time to daytime in 1957. At that point, it also was renamed “Who Do You Trust?”
Carson’s announcer on the program was none other than Ed McMahon, and they left together in 1962 to take over NBC’s “Tonight Show.” After their departure, Woody Woodbury became the host of “Who Do You Trust?” for the rest of its run, which wrapped up at the end of 1963.
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