Question:We have been watching reruns of "Bonanza" and enjoy them, but we also get a lot of laughs at the unreality of so many things. Then we found that there is a show called "Ponderosa," which turns out to be about the Cartwright family at an earlier age as they were building the Ponderosa ranch. Is this a recent show or has it been around for quite a while? The only character who resembles one of the "Bonanza" characters even somewhat is the one who plays Hoss. What's the story?
Answer: "The Ponderosa" ran on the PAX network in 2001-02. Like many of the shows on that network, it was seriously budget-impaired, so the ranch was actually the producer's backyard. Daniel Hugh Kelly played a younger Ben Cartwright. Sons Adam, Hoss and Little Joe were played by Matt Carmody, Drew Powell and Jared Daperis, respectively.
Question:Pat Boone and Buddy Hackett starred in a movie about life on a Navy LST. What was the title? Is it available on video or DVD?
Answer: A Navy comedy with Pat Boone? Is it as funny as I think it is? Anyway, it's 1961's "All Hands on Deck," which also stars Barbara Eden. It's not on video or DVD.
Question:Could you please tell me the name of the artist who sings on the Dockers commercial? I think the song is titled "Sunday Kind of Love." Some friends and I would like to buy her CDs and see her in person.
Answer: The singer is Etta James, the CD is "Love Songs," and you're in luck — she's still touring.
Question:My mother is off her rocker. She says that Elvis is not singing the song in the opening credits of "Las Vegas." I say there is no other voice than that of the King on that soundtrack. Please help me set her straight. By the way, I only watch the show until the song is over. It is the only good part of it!
Answer: The singer is Presley. It's a remix by JXL of the Presley song "A Little Less Conversation."
Question:Can you explain why the movie "Trapeze," which I believe came out around 1959, has never been shown on TV? Does someone such as Burt Lancaster, who was in this movie, own exclusive rights to this film?
Answer: If it's never been shown on TV, then what exactly is that box in my living room with the buttons and the glowing screen? For I have seen "Trapeze," and it was by virtue of that magical machine! You can also rent or buy a video or DVD of this film, which, for the record, was released in 1956 and co-stars Gina Lollobrigida and Tony Curtis.
Question:Could you please help me in finding out if Cheryl Ladd is Alan Ladd's daughter or daughter-in-law? My friend and I have had a discussion on this subject and cannot agree.
Answer: Oh, a "discussion," eh? It didn't involve fisticuffs or heated invective, did it? Well, rest easy. Cheryl Ladd was married to David Ladd, Alan Ladd's son, which means that she was technically his daughter-in-law, except that she married David Ladd 10 years after his father's death in 1964.
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: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:Just saw the movie "Annapolis" and something is bugging me about Chi McBride, who's in it. I seem to recall a show he starred in about a slave during the Civil War. I think it was a comedy, and I think it only lasted a few weeks. Does this make any sense at all?
Answer: The show was "The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer," which ran on UPN for a few weeks in 1998. McBride played a British citizen who is run out of that country and finds work as a servant in the Lincoln White House. It is the only sitcom in TV history to feature Abe Lincoln, wife Mary and Gen. U.S. Grant as regulars. (They were played by Dann Florek, Christine Estabrook and Kelly Connell, respectively.) Because it was so offbeat and was canceled so quickly, you might think it was daring and funny. You would be wrong.