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Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns vs. Lions live …
Akron Zips:
Akron trounces Howard to reach .500
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Robiskie, Harrison inactive
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
A Random Rant on Testing
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
It's Haitian-born actor. Also, woman is first for band on 'Tonight Show'
Published on Thursday, Aug 09, 2007
If it's Thursday, this must be the mailbag . . .
Q: In the movie ''Phat Girlz'' with Monique, who was the actor who played her love interest? His character was a gorgeous Nigerian man and a doctor.
A: That would be Jimmy Jean-Louis, who played Dr. Tunde Jonathan in the comedy. Born in Haiti, he has been a model, worked in musical theater in Spain, and been in the movies Monster-in-Law, Hollywood Homicide and Tears of the Sun. He has also been on NBC drama Heroes as a character known as the Haitian.
Q: I would like to know who that adorable little lady is who plays in the Kevin Eubanks band on ''The Tonight Show.'' She is so perky and I love watching her.
A: That's Vicki Randle on percussion and vocals. According to NBC, she is the first female band member in Tonight Show history. She has played with Narada Michael Walden, John Handy, Pharoah Saunders, George Benson, Lionel Richie,
Aretha Franklin, Kenny Loggins and the late Laura Nyro, among others. And music is in her blood: Her father, Norvell, is a jazz pianist and her brother, Tom, an opera tenor.
Q: Do you know whatever happened to the actor William Katz, who starred in ''The Greatest American Hero''? That show was one of my favorites.
A: William Katt not Katz is still a working actor and occasional director. You may have seen him on House in a second-season episode; according to the Internet Movie Database, he has completed work on four movies for this year and next. He is also scheduled to appear at the Dragon*Con fantasy festival in Atlanta from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3.
Q: In the early 1950s, my dad sang me a song with the lyrics ''and though she's only 3, I know she'll always be that little girl of mine'' and ''a tiny turned-up nose, two cheeks just like a rose.'' He's deceased and no one seems to know the title of the song. Can you help?
A: I actually found a couple of songs that come close. One is Little Rosa, a weeper by Red Sovine that includes some of those lyrics around a Sovine monologue. But it's more likely that your father knew the song That Little Boy of Mine, which some performers turned into That Little Girl of Mine. It was co-written by bandleader Wayne King in 1929. (King also reportedly played with the Canton Bulldogs football team before opting for a music profession.) It has had a long life in recordings by Eddy Arnold and others.
Q: Will ''The Contender'' with Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard ever return?
A: After a single season on NBC, the boxing series moved to ESPN for a second season with Leonard but without Stallone. A third season, still with Leonard, begins telecasts on Sept. 4.
Q: What is the title of the movie featuring Lou Gossett, Richard Widmark, Woody Strode and several others, about men who show up to defend Gossett after he shot a man (I think) while protecting (I think) a white woman. There is a long standoff as Widmark attempts to negotiate a surrender. HELP!
A: Although some of the details don't match perfectly, you are remembering the 1987 TV-movie A Gathering of Old Men, based on the book by Ernest J. Gaines. It starred Gossett, Widmark, Strode and Holly Hunter, among others, and is available on DVD.
Q: I have been searching for the movie ''Grand Avenue.'' It was released in 1996. I'm looking to buy a copy.
A: You're not alone. The fine HBO production about life among modern American Indians was released on VHS, but copies are so hard to find that Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) has a new VHS priced at about $180. I did not find it on DVD.
Do you have a question or comment for the mailbag? Write to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309. Please mark for ''mailbag.''
Letters may be edited. Please do not phone in questions. Because of the volume of mail received, individual replies cannot be guaranteed.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in a blog at http://www.ohio.com.
If it's Thursday, this must be the mailbag . . .
Q: In the movie ''Phat Girlz'' with Monique, who was the actor who played her love interest? His character was a gorgeous Nigerian man and a doctor.
A: That would be Jimmy Jean-Louis, who played Dr. Tunde Jonathan in the comedy. Born in Haiti, he has been a model, worked in musical theater in Spain, and been in the movies Monster-in-Law, Hollywood Homicide and Tears of the Sun. He has also been on NBC drama Heroes as a character known as the Haitian.
Q: I would like to know who that adorable little lady is who plays in the Kevin Eubanks band on ''The Tonight Show.'' She is so perky and I love watching her.
A: That's Vicki Randle on percussion and vocals. According to NBC, she is the first female band member in Tonight Show history. She has played with Narada Michael Walden, John Handy, Pharoah Saunders, George Benson, Lionel Richie,
Aretha Franklin, Kenny Loggins and the late Laura Nyro, among others. And music is in her blood: Her father, Norvell, is a jazz pianist and her brother, Tom, an opera tenor.
Q: Do you know whatever happened to the actor William Katz, who starred in ''The Greatest American Hero''? That show was one of my favorites.
A: William Katt not Katz is still a working actor and occasional director. You may have seen him on House in a second-season episode; according to the Internet Movie Database, he has completed work on four movies for this year and next. He is also scheduled to appear at the Dragon*Con fantasy festival in Atlanta from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3.
Q: In the early 1950s, my dad sang me a song with the lyrics ''and though she's only 3, I know she'll always be that little girl of mine'' and ''a tiny turned-up nose, two cheeks just like a rose.'' He's deceased and no one seems to know the title of the song. Can you help?
A: I actually found a couple of songs that come close. One is Little Rosa, a weeper by Red Sovine that includes some of those lyrics around a Sovine monologue. But it's more likely that your father knew the song That Little Boy of Mine, which some performers turned into That Little Girl of Mine. It was co-written by bandleader Wayne King in 1929. (King also reportedly played with the Canton Bulldogs football team before opting for a music profession.) It has had a long life in recordings by Eddy Arnold and others.
Q: Will ''The Contender'' with Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard ever return?
A: After a single season on NBC, the boxing series moved to ESPN for a second season with Leonard but without Stallone. A third season, still with Leonard, begins telecasts on Sept. 4.
Q: What is the title of the movie featuring Lou Gossett, Richard Widmark, Woody Strode and several others, about men who show up to defend Gossett after he shot a man (I think) while protecting (I think) a white woman. There is a long standoff as Widmark attempts to negotiate a surrender. HELP!
A: Although some of the details don't match perfectly, you are remembering the 1987 TV-movie A Gathering of Old Men, based on the book by Ernest J. Gaines. It starred Gossett, Widmark, Strode and Holly Hunter, among others, and is available on DVD.
Q: I have been searching for the movie ''Grand Avenue.'' It was released in 1996. I'm looking to buy a copy.
A: You're not alone. The fine HBO production about life among modern American Indians was released on VHS, but copies are so hard to find that Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) has a new VHS priced at about $180. I did not find it on DVD.
Do you have a question or comment for the mailbag? Write to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309. Please mark for ''mailbag.''
Letters may be edited. Please do not phone in questions. Because of the volume of mail received, individual replies cannot be guaranteed.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in a blog at http://www.ohio.com.
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