LITTLE ROCK — Q. I was watching a tribute to the director Mike Nichols and could not figure out who his wife is.
A. That’s Diane Sawyer, the newscaster for ABC. They married in April 1988, reportedly after six months of dating. She is Nichols’ fourth wife; he is her only husband. They married the same day as Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson; those two untied the knot a little under seven years later.
Q. I have searched everywhere for an English TV show from the ’70s about a girl band. It had a theme song about “Sugar Mountain” or something.
A. That was Rock Follies, about a trio called the Little Ladies. The six episodes originally aired on British TV in 1976; a second six-episode series, Rock Follies of ’77, followed. Charlotte Cornwell, Julie Covington and Rula Lenska starred. Lenska was in American commercials for Alberto V05 hair products. The ads prompted great amusement because Lenska was presented as a famous actress though basically unknown in the United States.
Q. Kyle Chandler, who stars in Friday Night Lights, also had a TV show a few years ago about a guy who was able to get tomorrow’s newspaper a day in advance, which allowed him to circumvent problems. Can you tell me the show’s name, how long it ran, and the name of his cohort?
A. Early Edition originally aired on CBS for four seasons, 1996 to 2000. According to The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TVShows, Chandler played Gary Hobson; Shanesia Davis-Williams played his friend Marissa. In the first two seasons, Gary had a friend named Chuck - played by Fisher Stevens - who wanted to use the early edition more selfishly than Gary. The first two seasons have been released on DVD. He was first seen in Tour of Duty in 1990 followed by Homefront, in 1991-93.
Q. I would like to know what makes chef Gordon Ramsay such an expert. I like his shows but I’d like to know his credentials.
A. Here are some, from his online biography: “Ramsay’s first years in the kitchen were spent training under culinary luminaries such as Marco Pierre White and Albert Roux in London, after which he moved to France where he worked in the kitchens of Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon for three years, which allowed him to enhance his expertise in classic French cooking. In 1993, Ramsay became chef of the newly opened Aubergine in London, within three years the restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars.
“Gordon’s first book, Passion for Flavour, was published in 1996. ... In 1998 at the age of 31, Ramsay set up his first wholly owned restaurant, Gordon Ramsay, in London. On Jan. 19, 2001, it won its third Michelin star. In October 2001 he opened Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s, which won a Michelin star in 2003. You can see more at gor donram say.com.
Style, Pages 27 on 07/27/2010