By Cindy Elavsky
Q: I was channel-surfing the other day and came across and old episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” I was sure one of the actresses on the show that episode was Ashley Judd. Was it her? If so, what year was that? — J.W., via e-mail
A: That was indeed the “Someone Like You” star, who guest-starred on two episodes of “The Next Generation” back in 1991. That was Ashley’s first role in Hollywood, where she came after college and studied with renowned acting teacher Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West.
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Q: I was happy to read in your column about David James Elliott’s new Hallmark Channel movie “Dad’s Home.” It got me to thinking that I’d love to see him in another series so I can watch him on a regular basis. Does he have any plans to come back to television in a new series? — Kim T., St. Louis
A: You’re in luck. David co-stars in the summer series “Scoundrels,” which airs Sunday nights on ABC. He plays Wolf West, the incarcerated patriarch of a family of small-time criminals. His wife (Virginia Madsen) must try to make ends meet as the family tries to go straight.
David is thrilled to try on this new role, telling me: “This guy, he has a lot of me in him, and he’s got a lot of people that I know in him. It’s just a great opportunity that came along, and I’m just happy to be a part of it. He’s completely different from Harmon Rabb (his character on ‘JAG’), and that’s dynamite.”
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Q: I know Alec Baldwin is very politically vocal, but is it true he is going to run for office? — Paul T., Altoona, Pa.
A: According to Alec’s spokesman, Matthew Hiltzick, this rumor is false. He told the New York Daily news that Alec has no current plans to run for office, but “who knows what may happen in the future?”
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Q: My mother and I are having a disagreement. We both can remember this series of Polaroid commercials from the early 1980s that featured Mariette Hartley and another actor, and they played a cute, bickering husband-and-wife team. My mother insists the actor was Rock Hudson, but I say no. However, I can’t remember who it was. Can you help? — Genie W., via e-mail
A: I can, Genie, I can. But I also see this as a perfect opportunity to have another contest. Readers, here’s your chance to win an autographed copy of Mariette Hartley’s autobiography, “Breaking the Silence.” Can you tell Genie who that actor was who co-starred with Mariette in those cute ’80s Polaroid commercials?
Send your answer (with your name and address) to: Cindy Elavsky, Celebrity Extra, King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Or go to www.celebrityextraonline.com to enter. Entries must be received (or postmarked) by July 31. Five winners will be chosen and announced in a future column.
Write to Cindy at King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475; or e-mail her at [email protected]. For more news and extended interviews, visit www.celebrityextraonline.com and twitter.com/Celebrity_Extra.
© 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.