Newspaper Page Text
A
Michelle Ryan, 23, wiU be all over TV
this month as Jaime Sommers in NBCs
. The Bionic Woman. But moviegoers
I got a sneak peek of the British ac-
m
RYAN
s jii
and had a tiny part in summer’s Hairspray, nearly
20 years after creating Tracy Tumblad on film.
Morreale has hosted shows as varied as Junkyard
Wars and Foody Call. On Sept. 10, he starts a new host- r
ing gig, Temptation, and he tells us he’d be tempted rs he i
were a contestant on his shopping-pkis-pop-culture game V
show. Tm a big bargain shopper,' Morreale says. "I spend
money on things She golf dubs, a big TV, but man, do I love
Target, lean spend $l5O on T-shirts there." As Temptation's host
hell try to get players to spend their winnings (earned by
answering pop-culture questions correctly) on 'great .
prizes at crazy prices,'he says. Hen use guilt, toa
*m say to a married guy. If you love your wife,
you reaiiy should buy this Prada purse for heri" I
2
USA WEEKEND* Aug. 31-Sept 2,2007
By LORRIE LYNCH
tress in this summer's Cashback.
Those two roles are in stark
contrast to the role of Zoe,
which Ryan played for five
years on the hit British drama
East Enders. *Zoe was down
trodden, needy, sweet and
insecure and never took re-
I sponsibifity," Ryan says. Tm
more like Jaime, who throws
herself into things head on.
Ultimately, she wants a rela
tionship but also wants to be
exited and chalenged by life.'
Next year, Ryan wttl play Maria
Bertram as a pretentious iitue
minx'in a new version of Jane
Austen's MansMd Park on PBS.
Q< Will Rkki Lake make a TV
’ comeback soon? Might she
be a contender to co-host ABC's
America's Funniest Home Videos
with Tom Bergeron?
Sylvester Rmando, Reseda. Calif
Bergeron seems to be han
dling that job just fine with
out Lake’s help. Lake, who
had a talk show that aired
B from 1993 to 2004, seems
R more interested in act-
s' ing. She was in a sit
m com pilot that wasn’t
picked up this season
News
To ask a question, e-mail whosnevY9@usaweekend.com or click on "Contact Columnists' at our website. Include name, city, state.
THIS WEEK'S
BIRTHDAYS
9.2.07
Salma Hayek 41
Keanu Reeves 43
Mark Harmon 56
9.3.07
Charlie Sheen 42
9.4.07
Beyonce 26
Damon Wayans 47
9.5.07
Michael Keaton 56
Raquel Welch 67
BobNewhart 78
9.6.07
Jeff Foxworthy 49
Swoosie Kurtz 63
9.7.07
Evan Rachel Wood 20
Diane Farr 38
Corbin Bemsen 53
9.8.07
Pink 28
David Arquette 36
r *£
- ‘k
■~‘J, . jfHPjB -t’.-
Morreale s Temptation is syndicated.
r: f «
< ;W. - 1
" Jr v- i
- 0 w-. \
l
In Mad Men, AMC's
summertime drama,
John Slattery de
parts Wisteria Lane
for 1960 s Madison
Avenue, playing stoic
ad exec Roger Ster
ling. Fie realty wanted
the lead role of Don
Draper, a dazzier with
business deals and
SLATTERY
dames.'They said,'No, but you cart play
this guy.' I was a little disappointed, but
I see what they wanted.' This hill, Slat
tery, 44, returns to Desperate Housewives
as Eva Longoria's hubby, another role that
delivered a letdown of sorts.'My TV wife
got married this summer'to NBA star Tony
Parker, he says, laughing.'Now my actual
wife (Talia Balsam) plays my wife on Mad
Men. I decided to drag her into things
because I was so hurt*
Q, Major networks don't give new
’ shows much of a chance to
succeed anymore. A few that I
loved — Justice, The Nine and Drive
are examples. Why should
viewers get invested in this season's
new shows when it's likely the
networks will pull them off the air?
Carol Cowell, Apache Junction, Ariz.
I wish I could tell you it will be
different this year, Carol, but I’m sure it won’t Of the new shows
I’ve seen, I think these will stick around: ABC’s Women’s Murder
Club and Pushing Daisies, which is like Ugly Betty meets Des
perate Houseivives. Critics have liked NBC’s Chuck, which I found
somewhat engaging, ca
Contributing: Maggie Gordon, Nancy Mills, Kathy - Rowings, Jon Tollestrlp
CELEB GOSSIP
onYOURCELLPHONE
Q, What has happened to Norah O'Donnell of MSNBC?
Wendell Barnes, Union, Ohio
O’Donnell, 33, MSNBC’s chief Washington
correspondent, has been on maternity leave
since giving birth to twins Henry and Grace
in mid-May. She tells us she plans to return
to work after Labor Day: “I know the cam
paign will heat up right after September, and
O'Donnell
added
twins
Grace and
Henry to
her family.
I plan to be very involved in covering politics.” She’ll
have a nanny to help at home, and husband Geoff
Tracy, a Washington, D.C., restaurateur, will check
in on the kids while O’Donnell is at work. “I have a
greater appreciation for what all
moms do,” she says of balancing
work and family.
Jane Alexander, who
is enjoying her summer
home in a little fishing
village in Nova Scotia,
has two new projects.
One is about affairs of
the heart the other
is about weß, sex.
She said yes to j
Feast of Love be- I
cause of her trust in director Robert Benton
(*a master at the relationship movie") and be
cause she got to play Morgan Freeman's wife.
But it's Tell Me You Love Me, her sexy HBO se
ries premiering Sept 9, that's getting the buzz.
Alexander, 67, plays a therapist and is part of
one of the show's four couples as it explores
the sexual side of committed relationships.
She's hoping the response to the show will
be good because she's in no hurry to retire.
’
TEXT 44*36 (41NFO)
WITH SUBJECT
[BUZZ
M ’
irk
tty
Tt Pt
At
f WLi * 19
Alexander gets frisky.
Women s Murder
Club, above,
and Pushing
Daisies look like
they'll be hits
this fall.
RYAN JON KOfWLOFF. f lIMMAGC LAKE. SLATTERY: GRAHAM WHITBY. ALLSTAR/GLO6I PHOTOS. MORREALE LOW CONN. ZUMA PRESS; ALEXANDER JASON KfMPfN, HLMMAGIC; WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB ABC/808 D'AMICO