Q. Tell me something about Barbara Hershey. Has she done any movies other than "Beaches"? - W.F., Lakewood, Colo.
A. Hershey's career divides into three parts. As a teen-ager, still in Hollywood High School, Barbara Lynn Herzstein changed her name and made her TV debut as a regular on the series "The Monroes." There were more TV roles before she made her movie debut in 1968 in "With Six You Get Egg Roll." During the 1960s and '70s, she changed her name to Barbara Seagull and lived a hippie lifestyle with David Carradine, including giving birth to their son Free in 1973. In 1979, she changed her name back to Hershey and resumed her career with TV's "From Here to Eternity" and the movie "The Stuntman." Her other movies include "The Baby Maker," "Love Comes Quietly," "Boxcar Bertha," "Heaven with a Gun," "The Right Stuff," "The Natural," "Hoosiers," "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "The Last Temptation of Christ."Q. I would appreciate the address of Jack Valenti of the motion picture industry. - E.J.W., Mt. Clemens, Mich.
A. Valenti is the movies' chief lobbyist in Washington. Write him in care of The Motion Picture Association of America, 1600 I Street NW., Washington, D.C. 20006.
Q. How old is Lena Horne? - B.L., Birmingham, Ala.
A. She was born June 30, 1917.
Q. How did Burt Lancaster get started? Was he ever a circus performer? - L.E.W., Orange, Calif.
A. A fine athlete who went to college on an athletic scholarship, Lancaster quit college to tour with circuses and in vaudeville with childhood buddy Nick Cravat as the acrobatic team of Lang and Cravat. It wasn't until after World War II service that he started acting, making his stage bow in 1945 and finding instant stardom in his impressive movie debut in "The Killers" in 1946. Lancaster used his acrobatic ability in several movie swashbucklers and in the circus film "Trapeze."
Q. Tell me about Randolph Scott. He was such a handsome cowboy actor. Is he still alive? - M.K., Essington, Pa.
A. Scott, born Randolph Crane in Organe County, Va., studied to be an engineer but started acting in 1929 as a movie bit player. In the 1930s, he was a romantic leading man in many movies before turning to westerns in the 1940s. His last movie was "Ride the High Country" in 1962. He invested his money in oil, real estate and securities and his wealth when he retired was estimated at more than $50 million. He died at 84 in 1987.
Q. What happened to the original Alan Spaulding on "The Guiding Light"? I miss him. - C.C., Newberry, Mich.
A. Christopher Bernau, who played Spaulding for over 10 years, died in May 1989. No cause was given when his death was announced.
Q. Tell me why Margo left "As the World Turns"? The new Margo is OK but doesn't come up to the original. - C.J.B., Dimondale, Mich.
A. Hilary Bailey Smith who was Margo, 1983-89, retired from acting to raise her two children. She was the second Margo. Margaret Colin, who went on to prime-time TV stardom in two series, "Foley Square" and "Leg Work," created the role in 1981, left in 1983. Ellen Dolan, once Maureen Reardon on "The Guiding Light," took over as the third Margo late last year.
Q. How can I write to "One Life to Live"? I am especially interested in Gabrielle Medina although I don't know her real name. - D.M., Philadelphia.
A. Fiona Hutchinson plays Medina. Write: OLTL, ABC-TV, 77 W. 66th St., New York, N.Y. 10023.