Ask Stacy: What's Next for Jennifer Connelly?

DEAR STACY: Can you tell me what's next for Jennifer Connelly -- a great, sexy lady and fine actress! -- Steve, New York
 
DEAR STEVE: Besides having the films "Little Children" and "Blood Diamond" in release this fall, the Oscar-winning ("A Beautiful Mind") actress has been in production on "Reservation Road" for release next year.

What's Next for Jennifer Connelly?

The Focus Features drama, also starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mira Sorvino and Mark Ruffalo, has to do with two families in the aftermath of a hit-and-run automobile accident in which the son from one family is killed by the father from the other. Jennifer also has a full personal life; she and her husband, actor Paul Bettany, have a 3-year-old son, Stellan, and Jennifer has an 11-year-old son, Kai, from her relationship with photographer David Dugan.

DEAR STACY: There is a commercial on TV for Journey Diamond Jewelry. The song playing in the background is "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life." I have a bet with a friend of mine. I say it's Dusty Springfield singing. She says no. Who is right? -- Barbara L., Jersey City, N.J.
 
DEAR BARBARA: You are. That is indeed the voice of the "White Lady of Soul," British songstress Dusty Springfield, who succumbed to breast cancer in 1999.
 
DEAR STACY: Is it true that Geraldo Rivera had plastic surgery on TV in years past? -- Frank S., Cleveland
 
DEAR FRANK: In 1991, Geraldo had fat removed from his derriere and injected between his eyebrows on TV.
 
DEAR STACY: Is that Judd Hirsch in disguise in the CitiBank card commercials? My mother thinks it's Robin Williams. -- Miriam C., Brooklyn, N.Y.
 
DEAR MIRIAM: You and your mother each have a lot of company in your suspicions, but the CitiBank ads actually star actor Roman Tokar, whose biggest credit prior to this is the role of a cab driver in Aleksei Balabanov's 2000 comedy, "Brat 2."
 
DEAR STACY: Regarding the old "The Gong Show," did any of the contestants ever find fame and fortune? -- Phyllis L., Austin, Texas
 
DEAR PHYLLIS: The only "Gong Show" contestant who became a household name is Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman. He appeared on "The Gong Show" twice.
 
DEAR STACY: What is Mary Tyler Moore doing these days? -- Greg C., West Haven, Conn.
 
DEAR GREG: The TV icon and seven-time Emmy winner remains busy with her causes -- as International Chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, as a supporter of embryonic stem cell research, and as an animal advocate. She also enjoys her home life with husband (since 1983) Dr. Robert Levine. As far as work, it is hoped she'll do lots more in the year ahead. When she appeared as a witchy talk show host character on three episodes of "That '70s Show" early this year, she said she'd love to get more calls for sitcom guestings, since she still loves the milieu: "There's nothing like it -- a combination of theater and film." However, she doesn't have any such guestings or other projects slated for airing at the moment.
 
DEAR STACY: Whatever became of Brett Butler? -- Dana G., Cleveland
 
DEAR DANA: She's definitely still working, but not at the level of her "Grace Under Fire" glory days. That sitcom ended bitterly in 1998 because of her reported drug addiction (she has said she's been sober since later that year). Since then, she has had two pilots in development that failed to sell. She's also done stand-up comedy and movie roles -- including the forthcoming "The Last Guy on Earth," which features a bevy of funny ladies including Carol Burnett and Kathy Griffin. Last year, Butler appeared on "My Name Is Earl" as Jaime Pressly's lying mom.