Q. Is it true that actor Howie Mandel will be hosting his own daytime TV talk show? Is the show going to have guests or deal with issues?
- N.S., Las Vegas, Nev.
A. The syndicated "Howie Mandel Show" premieres across the country June 22. Mandel has a lot of talk show experience, both as a guest and fill-in host. His new L.A.-based talk/variety show will feature celebrity guests, performances and comedy bits. But his announced sidekick, former "Good Morning America" correspondent and actress Brianne Leary, has been dropped in favor of a comedy ensemble.
Q. My husband and I are in disagreement over the career of Kathy Najimy. I know she was in "Sister Act" and "Veronica's Closet." Was she also in "Hot L Baltimore" from several seasons ago? - K.K.P., Lancaster, N.Y.
A. She's a little young to have been in the 1975 Norman Lear series, his first for ABC. Najimy, 41, got her start in the theater. Her two-woman show with Mo Gaffney was a hit on the New York stage, then as an HBO comedy special. Now she stars in two network series, as Kirstie Alley's sidekick Olive on "Veronica's Closet" and as the voice of Peggy on "King of the Hill." And as if that doesn't keep her busy enough, she's in the new Sandra Bullock-Harry Connick Jr. movie "Hope Floats," and, later this year, in Zack and Reba with Debbie Reynolds. Najimy lives in New York and Los Angeles with Dan Finnerty, their baby daughter and two dogs.
Q. I've seen "The Horse Whisperer" and can't place the little girl who co-stars with Robert Redford. She's very familiar. Was she on TV?
- J.D., Dallas, Texas
A. Thirteen-year-old Scarlett Johansson had been in a few movies before "The Horse Whisperer": "Home Alone 3," the independent film "Manny and Lo," "North," "Just Cause" and "If Lucy Fell." Ring a bell?
Q. I would like to know if Katie Holmes of "Dawson's Creek" has a fan mail address. Where is "Dawson's Creek" filmed?
- D.D.
A. Katie Holmes plays Joey Potter on WB's teen hit "Dawson's Creek," which soon begins filming season 2 in Wilmington, N.C. During the show's hiatus, Holmes has been working on the feature films "Killing Tringle," the directing debut of Dawson creator Kevin Williams. She has two more films scheduled for release later this year: "Disturbing Behavior" and "Go!" Write to anyone in the "Dawson's Creek" cast c/o Warner Bros. Television, 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91522.
Q. I saw Salma Hayek in "Fools Rush In" on TV and I was wondering if she has done any TV or movies before. Is she Mexican? Her name doesn't sound it.
- M.B., Huntington Valley, Pa.
A. Hayek is the daughter of a Mexican mother and Lebanese father. She was a Mexican soap opera and film star in her native country before coming to Hollywood. Her past films include "Desperado," "From Dusk Til Dawn" and the TV movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Q. Is Ronald Reagan's first wife still living?
- H.M., Orlando, Fla.
A. After a long career in the movies and a hit TV series, Academy Award-winning actress Jane Wyman, 84, keeps a low profile. She and the future president, then a B-movie actor, were married from 1940-48. It was his first marriage, her second. Wyman played "Falcon Crest" matriarch Angela Channing in the 1980s.
Q. Where can I write to express my displeasure with the way "The Sentinel's" season finale show ended with the death of Blair Sandburg? Have they not realized there are many more viewer-friendly ways to change characters that do not leave an "I don't want to watch anymore" feeling?
- L.G., Dallas, Texas
A. You can write to the UPN network at 5555 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. But be advised that "The Sentinel" is not on UPN's fall schedule. So what you saw was the final episode of the series, not just the season.