Names and faces

There was a time when Jessica Walter couldn’t get Arrested. In 2003, theEmmy-winning actress read the script for Arrested Development and wanted the role of Lucille Bluth, the monstrous matriarch of the quirky sitcom’s decidedly dysfunctional family. “But they weren’t seeing me,” Walter said, referring to the show’s producers. “Yeah, tragic, isn’t it?” she continued, with a sly smile. Walter eventually got the gig, and Arrested Development would go on to win a 2004 Emmy for outstanding comedy series. “It exposed me to a demographic of people who thought I was sick or dead,” said Walter, 72, who previously was probably best known for playing the stalker in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 thriller Play Misty for Me. Arrested Development was never a ratings hit, and Fox canceled it in 2006.But now the show is back with 15 all-new episodes, which just debuted exclusively on Netflix. Walter also gets prestigious enterprise billing (“… and Jessica Walter”) on another current series, the FX toon Archer. With Arrested Development back and Archer just renewed after a season of record-breaking ratings, it appears to be prime time for the veteran actress. “You know, you’re bringing tears to my eyes because I know how lucky I am,” Walter said. “I hope to be Betty White. I want to be working when I’m 92.”

Keith Urban has no idea what’s going on with American Idol. “I have noofficial information of anything,” the 45-year-old country singer-guitarist said. “I’m pretty much in the same boatas everybody else here with the rumors that have been floating around. I don’t know anything more about what’s happening next season. It was like this before I signed on … so it’s not unusual for the Idol folks to be in this place of figuring out what they want to do, then they always pull it together.” Urban’s got plenty to distract him while he waits. The Australian country music star has set a Sept. 10 release date for his new album, Fuse. Urban thinks he’s got a few months of work left to do on the follow-up to 2010’s Get Closer, but leaves on tour in mid-July and hasn’t left himself much of a cushion.