Question:I have heard that Mariska Hargitay of "Law & Order: SVU" is married to actor Richard Gere. Can you tell me is this is true? If not, who is her husband?

Answer: Short answer: No Gere here. Hargitay — who is the daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield, by the way — is married to a fellow named Peter Hermann. The couple are expecting a child. Methinks you are confusing her with Carey Lowell, who played assistant district attorney Jamie Ross on "Law & Order" from 1996 until 1998 and who is married to Gere.

Question:I have been watching a show called "Prison Break." Could you tell me if the actor who is trying to free his brother is the same actor who played in the movie "Powder"?

Answer: Sean Patrick Flanery starred in that 1995 film. He isn't in "Prison Break." The actor trying to free his brother on "Prison Break" is Wentworth Miller.

Question:Can you tell me about the actor who occasionally appears as the chain-smoking priest on "The Bernie Mac Show"? His character is very funny.

Answer: Wade Williams plays Father Cronin. He also plays Capt. Brad Bellick on "Prison Break" and has appeared on episodes of "Las Vegas" and "CSI: Miami."

Question:I thought that sometime in the 1980s there was a show called "Rags to Riches." But no one I ask about it remembers it. Even my sister, who used to watch it with me, doesn't remember it. Am I losing my mind or was it really a show on TV?

Answer: It was a show all right, but if I were you I'd keep an eye on Sis. "Rags to Riches" ran on NBC in 1987-88. It was about a very rich guy (Joseph Bologna) who decided to adopt a group of orphaned teenage girls. Ewwww. It was very clean and wholesome, however. The show was set in the early 1960s, and the girls sang silly pop songs from that era. They were played by Tisha Campbell, Kimiko Gelman and Heidi Ziegler, among others.

Question: It was my understanding that "Alias" would have a few more episodes after the new year. Is this correct? When?

Answer: "Alias" is scheduled to return on Wednesday.

Question:As a 6-year-old, I saw a black-and-white movie about a young Catholic boy and a young Jewish girl. To prove the fact that their love was sanctioned by God, they tested it with each attending the church of the other. It ended so sadly with the children being so absorbed in each other's company on a small canoe outing that they were inadvertently swept over a dam and both died. Ever heard of it?

Answer: Hey, any kid like me who grew up watching the "CBS Children's Film Festival" in the late 1960s remembers that one. It's the 1960 film "Hand in Hand," which ran several times on that CBS series. The stars are Philip Needs and Loretta Parry.

Question:Perhaps I am the only person in America who did not know that the excellent actor Jesse L. Martin of "Law & Order" is also an excellent singer. I recently purchased the "Rent" movie soundtrack hoping to hear the great voice I am told he has. After fighting with the "theft-resistant packaging" and finally setting free the CD, I was dismayed to find that the individual singer was not identified with each song. I heard a lot of great voices from "the original cast," but I don't know which great voice was his. Sooooooo, David (May I call you David?), can you tell me which songs Jesse sings in "Rent"?

Answer: Martin is heard on the songs "Season of Love," "Rent," "Today 4 U," "No Day But Today," "Out Tonight/Another Day/No Day But Today (reprise)," "Will I," "Santa Fe," "I'll Cover You," "La Vie Boheme," "Goodbye Love" and "Finale/No Day But Today."

Question:Is the man who plays Mr. Bentley, the neighbor on "The Jeffersons," related to or the same person as Graham Kerr the TV chef?

Answer: You mean because they both act like silly blighters? Paul Benedict played Mr. Bentley. He isn't related to Graham Kerr.

Question: A good friend of mine swears that in the 1980s she modeled in Paris with Carmen Electra, who at that time was called Tara. My friend was between 18 and 20 years old at the time, and Carmen was at least five years older. My friend is now 40, which would make Carmen at least 45, rather than 33, which is her "published" age. Can you get to the real truth?

Answer: Here is the real truth about Carmen Electra!

Fact: Electra gives her birthday as April 20, 1972.

Fact: She graduated from Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio, in 1990, which would seem to validate that birth date.

Given that, if Electra did any modeling in the 1980s it would have been of Smurf outfits.

Question: Please settle a disagreement. My sister-in-law insists a young William Hurt played the banjo-playing kid in the movie "Deliverance." I say no. Who is right?

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Answer: Let's be precise, shall we? The credits list the character as "Big-headed banjo boy," which strikes me as a great name for a garage band.

He was played by Billy Redden, not Hurt.

Question: My wife and I have been looking for the title of a movie from the 1950s. It stars Gary Cooper as an older married man who becomes involved with a younger woman. Can you tell us what it is called and if it's on video?

Answer: Sounds like "Ten North Frederick," a 1958 film that also stars Suzy Parker, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Diane Varsi. It's not officially on video or DVD, but there are bootleg copies floating around out there.

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