Who's the blonde?

Question.: I'm writing about the blond actress with all the kids on "Desperate Housewives." Where have I seen her before? I know I've seen her but can't place her.

Answer.: The actress is Felicity Huffman, and she's always punching the time clock. That's a clever phrase we TV columnists use to convey that she is a very busy actress! She's appeared in the movies "Magnolia," "The Spanish Prisoner" and "Raising Helen," among others. She appeared in the TV movies "Reversible Errors," "Path to War" and "Door to Door," which also starred her husband, William H. Macy. She played Dana Whitaker on the ABC sitcom "Sports Night," which ran in 1998-99. She was also a regular on two series that ran on Showtime: 1996's "Bedtime" and 2003's "Out of Order." And she played Julia Wilcox on "Frasier" in 2003.

Question.: Was Kellie Martin the actress who played Lucy on "ER"? Lucy was killed by a mental patient, and Noah Wyle's character was injured. If it was Kellie Martin, where is she now? She has dropped out of sight.

Answer.: There, there. Martin has just been at college for the last few years -- Yale, to be exact.

She's still found time to appear in several films and made-for-TV movies, however, including "Open House," "Mystery Woman" and "Malibu's Most Wanted."

Question.: Is Josh Lucas of "Secondhand Lions" and "Hulk" the son of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward?

Answer.: Nope.

Question.: I wonder if you can help me out in a matter of domestic harmony? I am trying desperately to think of the name of the short- lived show that was on either between or after "The Golden Girls" and "Empty Nest." It involved the hospital in the town of both shows, where the doctor of "Empty Nest" worked. My daughter-in-law does not remember it being a separate show, but I remember a special evening where all three shows kept a running theme about strange happenings during a Blue Moon party. Can you shed some (moon) light on this? If not, I'm sorry to bother you.

Answer.: The show you remember was called "Nurses," and it ran on NBC from 1991 until 1994. At the outset, the show was about nurses Sandy Miller (Stephanie Hodge), Annie Roland (Arnetia Walker) and Julie Milbury (Mary Jo Keenen). In its final season, Hodge left the show, and Loni Anderson was added as the hospital administrator. You're also correct in recalling that, since all three sitcoms were set in Miami, they would sometimes share a plotline like the blue moon thing. This meant that Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) of "The Golden Girls" could appear on all three shows, which she did. Getty also played her Sophia character on an episode of a short-lived sitcom called "The Fanelli Boys" and on a spinoff of "The Golden Girls" called "The Golden Palace," which means she holds a record for playing the same character on the largest number of shows, most of which weren't any good.

Question.: What happened to the Greenbush twins from "Little House on the Prairie"? What are they doing now? Are they still in show business?

Answer.: The young actresses who played Carrie Ingalls are all grown-up now, with kids and stuff. They're 34. Lindsay Greenbush is married, is out of showbiz and has a 9-year-old daughter. Sidney Greenbush is married and is a pro rodeo rider -- in fact, she's one of the top-ranked barrel racers on the West Coast.

Question.: I want to ask about the male lead on "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." Is he the same man who played an alien in "Men in Black"? The mannerisms are the same.

Answer.: I think we can all agree that when it comes to alien mannerisms, Vincent D'Onofrio is your go-to guy. He played Edgar the alien (or the stupid, abusive farmer whose form was taken over by the alien) in "Men in Black," and he plays Detective Robert Goren on "Law and Order: C.I."

Copyright C 2004 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.