Q. Will Patrick Stewart, the distinguished British Shakespearean actor, stick it out another season on TV's "Star Trek: The Next Generation"?
A. "For now, it continues to be interesting," says Stewart, who plays Capt. Jean-Luc Picard but wasn't even familiar with the original "Star Trek" when he was hired for the follow-up series. "But a bored actor's a deadly thing. He mustn't be let loose on the public." Stewart has sacrificed plenty for a fourth season - his wife and children remain in England, and his award-winning stage career, as associate artist in the Royal Shakespeare Company, stays on hold.Q. Just how old is Michael J. Pollard, the aging actor with the Kewpie-doll face?
A. Pollard, probably best known as Warren Beatty's sidekick in "Bonnie and Clyde," is 51. In Beatty's "Dick Tracy" movie, Pollard plays Bug Bailey. That escapade nearly led to Pollard's appearance in one of Madonna's related videos, "Express Yourself," but fortunately, he says, scheduling problems prevented that. "It was too steamy," he admitted. "She's a real nice woman, very sexy, but . . ." You'll be seeing more of Pollard in three new movies - "Enid is Sleeping," "Dark Angel" with Dolph Lundgren and "Joey Takes a Car" with Jimmy Stewart.
Q. What does a starlet like Madeleine Stowe, the sexy love interest in recent movies, do when she's not filming?
A. "Pool and bowling are the things I love," says Stowe, who will appear as Lillian Bodine, a wildly bereaved widow in "The Two Jakes," with Jack Nicholson. "What I like about pool is that it's about invading what is traditionally a man's territory. And that's what a film set is like. ... Once they know that there is a woman in their environment, it's just not the same anymore."
Q. Whatever happened to Judith Jacklin Belushi, widow of John?
A. Since the comedian's drug-induced death eight years ago, part of her therapy has been to pen her own memoir, "Samurai Widow" (Carroll & Graf Publishers Inc.), in response to Bob Woodward's "Wired," which she felt trivialized John's life. "It was like I was in a smoky room, and just as I opened a window, the corner caught on fire," she says of the book's devastating impact on her. This fall, Belushi will marry writer and producer Victor Pisano, 43.
Q. Isn't actor Christopher Lawford a member of the Kennedy clan?
A. Lawford, son of Patricia Kennedy Lawford and Peter Lawford, has, indeed, inherited the darker Kennedy good looks, like his cousins Maria Shriver and John Kennedy Jr. Lawford, 35, a lawyer who held an academic appointment at the Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Hospital, ventured into acting a year and a half ago. "Most of the stuff I've done, you blink and you miss me," he says. But he has been cast in four commercials and six feature films, including "Impulse" and "The Russia House."
Q. What's the deep dark secret from Suzanne Vega's past that was alluded to at the release of her new record, "Days of Open Hand"?
A. After growing up in Spanish Harlem thinking she was part Puerto Rican, Vega learned from her "father" that he wasn't really her father, that her biological father was Anglo and had left when she was 2. "I was really confused because I had this really strong identity as a half Puerto Rican girl," says the 30-year-old singer-songwriter. "I had all these really weird ideas about white people. So to realize that I was, in fact, white was obviously a big shock." Although her new album is about the family she grew up with, Vega did locate her biological dad in California three years ago.
Q. My friend and I disagree about the age of Robin Williams. Tell us something about him. - B.C., Horsham, Pa.
A. Williams is 36, born in Chicago but grew up in various cities where his auto executive father worked. He studied at New York's Julliard School but turned to stand-up comedy in clubs in New York and Los Angeles. His first TV break was on the 1980 revival of "Laugh-In" but his work as Mork in the TV comedy "Mork and Mindy" made him a star. Since then, he's concentrated on feature films including "Popeye," "The World According to Garp," "Good Morning Vietnam," "Dead Poet's Society" (with Oscar nominations for the last two) and the current "Cadillac Man." He's been married twice and has a son Zachery, 7, by his first wife, and daughter, Zelda. 1, by his second.
Q. Which movie made Jessica Lange famous, "The Postman Always Rings Twice" or "King Kong"? - S.P., Detroit.
A. Lange was a model when she was among many tested for Dino DeLaurentis' 1976 remake of "King Kong" and won the role. "Postman" in 1981 was her third movie. Since then, she's had Oscar nominations for "Country," "Sweet Dreams," "Music Box" and "Tootsie," for which she won.
Q. How many times was Tyrone Power married? To whom and how many children? I thought Linda Christian was his only wife. What did he die of? - G.F., Wichita, Kan.
A. Christian, with whom he had two daughters, was the second of Power's three wives. Actress Annabella was his first wife; the third Mrs. Power was a non-professional and mother of his son Tyrone Jr., now starting his own acting career. Power died of a heart attack in Spain while filming "Solomon and Sheba" in 1958. He was 45.
Q. During the 1950s Richard Conte played in many good movies. I haven't seen him in ages. Has he retired? - T.H., Chicago.
A. Conte was last seen in "No Way Out" in 1975, the year he died.
Q. I recently saw the "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton. Who was the brilliant actor who played Roger Byam? He was fantastic. Is he still alive? - G.W.E., Hillsboro, Ore.
A. Franchot Tone was nominated for an Oscar for his work as Byam in the 1936 "Bounty." (Gable and Laughton also were nominated but Victor McLaglen won for "The Informer.") He usually played man-about-town roles but dipped into drama occasionally and liked to work on stage. In the 1950s, when his movie career waned, he did stage and TV, including a regular role on "Ben Casey." Joan Crawford was the first of his four wives. He died of lung cancer in 1968.
Q. Can you tell me about Roscoe Born, who plays Robert Barr on "Santa Barbara"? - Curious, San Antonio, Texas.
A. After a hiatus, Born is back on "SB" in a dual role, his previous one of Robert Barr and as Quinn Armitage, a villainous double. A graduate of Boston University School of Fine Arts, Born also studied under actor Robert Prosky. He's done two previous soaps, "Ryan's Hope" and "One Life to Live." He's been seen in TV movies, "The Haunting of Sarah Hardy" and "Lady Monster," and features, "The Powwow Highway," "End of the World" and "Jailbait Babysitter." He's married to actress Randall Edwards.
Q. Give the address of the writers of "The Young and the Restless"? - Mrs. B.R., Philadelphia, Pa.
A. Senior executive producer William J. Bell is also head writer. Write him: Columbia Pictures Television, 3300 Riverside Dr., Burbank, Calif. 91505.
Q. Who is Harry Hamlin, the hunky "L.A. Law" co-star, seeing these days?
A. After one divorce and a torrid affair (and son) with actress Ursula Andress, Heartthrob Harry is back on the dating scene. Recently he was spotted at a Hollywood charity event with actress Nicolette Sheridan.
Send your questions to Celebrity Questions, Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Mich. 48231.