Saturday, September 25, 2010

SNL

Gina Wilhelm Actress - SNL

This weekend brings the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live," now starting its 36th season.

This week's guest star is Amy Poehler, who used to be a cast member of the show and is now starring in NBC's "Parks and Recreation."

Also appearing will be Katy Perry as the musical guest. Perry has created a stir this week when she appeared in a "Sesame Street" sketch while wearing what appeared to be a revealing outfit.

The skit, which was shown on the web as a teaser to "Sesame Street's" 41st season, will no longer appear on the children's show, but you can still see it at Perry's website. Or by clicking this link.

In other SNL news, New York governor David Paterson is scheduled to appear on the show tonight after having lambasted the show in the past.

Finally, NetFlix has worked out a deal to have every episode of Saturday Night Live for the past 35 years available, as well as have day-after watching of every new episode, until 2012.

That means if you miss tonight's Amy Poehler/Katy Perry episode, you could still see it tomorrow on NetFlix. Or, you could see that "Dueling Brandos" sketch I was looking for last week.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

JoAnna Garcia

Gina Wilhelm Actress - JoAnna Garcia

JoAnna Garcia was disappointed when her show "Privileged" was cancelled. However, she now thinks it was for the best.

"It was a great role, and I'm proud of the work I did on that show, but everything that happened after it was canceled has been great."

Garcia, who had also starred on "Reba," got engaged to Nick Swisher, a player for the New York Yankees, and she's now starring on a new TV show, "Better With You."

"Better" focuses on three related sets of couples at different stages of their relationships. Garcia's character, Mia, has only known her boyfriend, Casey (Jake Lacy), a few weeks.

The rest of the cast comprises Jennifer Finnigan as older sister Maddie and Josh Cooke as Maddie's boyfriend Ben. Debra Jo Rupp and Kurt Fuller play Maddie and Mia's parents.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Kelly McGillis

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Kelly McGillis

This week brings the news that Kelly McGillis, star of "Top Gun," "Witness," and "The Accused," was joined in a civil union with her long-time girlfriend, Melanie Leis, on Wednesday, September 15.

McGillis revealed that she was a lesbian in a 2009 interview with Shewired.com. She explained, "I really didn’t have to protect anyone by skirting the question, and I just decided to be absolutely honest.”

Recently she has appeared on stage as well as in two episodes of "The L Word." Her latest film is "Stake Land," a vampire movie that will be shown this week at the Toronto Film Festival.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Nikita CW

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Nikita CW

The CW show "Nikita" had its premiere tonight. The show is a reimagining of the movie and USA Network TV series "La Femme Nikita." The prior series starred Peta Wilson

So what of star Maggie Q? Her real name is Margaret Denise Quigley, and she grew up in Honolulu.

She went to Taiwan after high school to try modeling, but got rejected. However, she started getting movie and TV roles there.

Maggie was handpicked by Jackie Chan to train while in Hong Kong. She had never done any martial arts training before that.

She has three tattoos, including a phoenix on her hip, which she usually has to cover for acting roles. However, she does get to keep it exposed for "Nikita."

Maggie works with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and in 2007 earned the title of PETA Asia-Pacific "Person of the Year."

She has worked in "Mission: Impossible III" and "Live Free or Die Hard." Craig Silverstein, executive producer of "Nikita," decided he wanted Maggie Q for his show after seeing her in "Live Free or Die Hard."

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Minka Kelly

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Minka Kelly

Minka Kelly, star of "Friday Night Lights" denies that she "had an epic meltdown" on an airplane on September 7.

The actress was allegedly told she couldn't have her dog in first class seating with her during takeoff and landing, leaving her pet in coach at those times.

The animal did ride in first class when the plane got to cruising altitude.

According to reports, it took all seven flight attendants, a plea from the pilot, and a phone call to her boyfriend, Derek Jeter, to calm her down.

However, Kelly's lawyer says the actress paid extra for her dog to ride in the cabin. He adds that if Kelly had required as much attention as reported, she would have been kicked off the flight.

He adds that Kelly called not ballplayer and boyfriend Jeter, but her manager. She wanted to get the manager to convince the attendant that the dog had been paid for properly.

In addition to her work on "Friday Night Lights," Kelly has acted on episodes of "Parenthood" and will appear in upcoming movies "Searching for Sonny" and "The Roommate."

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Sunday, September 5, 2010

The Sound of Music

Gina Wilhelm Actress - The Sound of Music

As we learn that the BBC will not produce a tribute to Julie Andrews on her 75th birthday, and as ABC shows "The Sound of Music" tonight we wonder about Dame Julie's costars from the 1965 movie.

Charmain Carr, who played oldest daughter Liesl, does radio and TV appearances related to that role, for which she is still recognized. She acted for many years, and wrote two books about her experiences in the movie.

Nicholas Hammond played oldest brother Friedrich. He graduated from Princeton and appeared in movies like "Spiderman" and Mission: Impossible." He lives in Australia and acts on stage and screen there.

Heather Menzies portrayed Luisa. She starred on the television series "Logan's Run." She was married to Robert Urich and now works for the Robert Urich Cancer Foundation.

Duane Chase, who played Friedrich, didn't act after "The Sound of Music." He has a master's degree in geology and lives with his wife in Washington State.

Angela Cartwright appeared in shows such as "Make Room for Daddy" and "Lost in Space" after her turn as Brigitta. She is the author of two photography books.

Debbie Turner had been acting since six months of age by the time she played Marta. She left showbusiness to ski professionally after "The Sound of Music" and now owns a floral design business.

Kym Karath played Gretl, and appeared on shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "Lassie" as a child and "As the World Turns." She lived in France for a while to study art history and did some modeling.

After taking some time off to be a stay-at-home mom, Karath is getting back into acting.

Christopher Plummer is about to play Prospero in a made-for-TV version of "The Tempest."

Dame Julie Andrews, who turns 75 in October, is expected to lend her voice to "Enchanted 2," having just appeared in "Dispicable Me."

Meanwhile, "The Sound of Music" aired tonight, September 5, on the ABC network (heavily edited) and will be released on Blu-Ray for this first time this November.

Gina Wilhelm Actress