--Answer to "WHO
AM I?"
Dick Van Dyke. He won a Tony Award for his performance in "Bye, Bye, Birdie" and in 1963 made his feature film
debut in the hit movie version of the play. By that time, however, he was already well known to audiences as the star of his
very own CBS sitcom, "The Dick Van Dyke Show", which began airing in 1961.
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Tony Randall. In addition to appearing on numerous game and panel shows, Randall enjoyed an extensive television
career that included "Mr. Peepers", his own short-lived TV series called "The Tony Randall Show" and "Love, Sidney".
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Ben Stiller. In Los Angeles, Stiller began
work on "The Ben Stiller Show", a half-hour sketch comedy that aired on MTV before being picked up by Fox for a brief run.
Like the
"Saturday Night Live" of the 1970s and 1980s, "The Ben Stiller Show" became fertile breeding grounds for young,
hip comics. Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick and Janeane Garofalo were among those who wrote or acted for "The Ben Stiller Show".
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Mike Myers. As one of the youngest actors on "SNL", Myers had big shoes to fill - former members of the
SNL cast included Second City
alumni Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi, as well as Eddie Murphy. His most famous alter-ego, heavy
metal enthusiast Wayne Campbell, broadcast his own TV show, "Wayne's World", from the basement
of his parents' house in suburban Aurora, Illinois
- Myers has said he based the character on his own experience growing up. The tremendous popularity of "Wayne's World" on SNL led to a movie version,
which Myers co-wrote and starred in.
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Randy Travis. Awards and accolades quickly accompanied Travis' rise to fame and he was invited to become
a member of the prestigious Grand Ole Opry in 1986. The following year, the LP Always And Forever earned Travis a Grammy Award,
as well
as the Country Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year Award.
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Robert Redford. Redford's first acting job came in 1959, when the stage manager for the Broadway production
of "Tall Story" asked him to audition for a small part after another actor left the project. Over the next several years,
Redford combined stage work in such Broadway plays as "The Highest Tree", "The Iceman Cometh" and "Sunday in New York".
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Michael Caine. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Caine turned out films at a formidable rate - often three
per year - to somewhat mixed results. In 1983, Caine was nominated for
another Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of an
alcoholic professor in "Educating Rita"; he finally took a statue home in 1986, for his supporting turn as Mia Farrow's adulterous
husband in Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters".
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Calista Flockhart. Born to a teacher and Kraft Foods employee, Flockhart moved around a great deal in her
youth, finally settling in Medford, New Jersey.
After graduating from high school in Medford, she attended nearby Rutgers University, where she studied drama.
"Ally McBeal" became an immediate popular success and Flockhart's portrayal of the character became the subject of heated
controversy.
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh is best known for being the first pilot to complete a nonstop solo flight
across the Atlantic. In pursuit of a $25,000 prize, he obtained funding for his efforts from
a group of St. Louis businessmen. On May 20, 1927, Lindbergh
lifted off from Roosevelt Field, New York,
in a monoplane named the Spirit of St. Louis.
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Donald Trump. Trump had transformed himself into one of the most powerful real-estate moguls of the '80s,
with ownership of buildings such as Trump Tower
on 5th Av., Trump Parc, the Plaza Hotel, and the New Jersey Generals. He also penetrated the casino business in Atlantic City and New Jersey, and transportation
with the Trump Shuttle airline.
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Dame Judi Dench. She is a five-time BAFTA winner, including Best Actress in a Comedy Series for "A Fine
Romance" and Best Supporting Actress in "A Handful of Dust" and "A Room with a View". She has also won an ACE award for her
performance in the television series "Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill" and a Best Actress in a Dramatic Picture Golden Globe for "Mrs.
Brown".
***
--Answer to "WHO AM I?"
Morgan Fairchild. Born Patsy McClenny, she began performing on stage at the
age of 12. After a brief marriage, she took the name Morgan Fairchild as her professional name. In 1973, Fairchild landed
the role of the murderous ingenue Jennifer Pace on the long-running daytime drama "Search for Tomorrow". Fairchild became
well known during the 1980s for her portrayal of various glamorous, temperamental temptresses in such prime
time melodramas
as "Dallas", "Flamingo Road", and "Falcon Crest".
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Kate Winslet. Winslet attracted more attention with her role as the winsome Marianne Dashwood in Ang Lee's
film adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility". As the "sensibility" of the movie, Winslet earned an Academy Award nomination
for Best Supporting
Actress.
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Kathy Bates. She played Lenny McGrath in Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Crimes of the Heart",
and the abused waitress Frankie in Terence McNally's Off-Broadway play "Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune" -- a part
which was written especially for Bates and won her a prestigious Obie award. Bates had prominent film roles in "Dolores Claiborne",
"Diabolique", "Titanic", "The Waterboy", and "Primary Colors" for which she received another Oscar nomination.
***
--Answer
to "WHO AM I?"
Merv Griffin. In 1964, Griffin formed Merv
Griffin Productions, which later expanded into Merv Griffin Enterprises. After "Jeopardy!", Griffin also created "Wheel of Fortune", which debuted in 1975 and began its tremendously
profitable run in syndication in 1983. His own daily talk show, "The Merv Griffin Show", ran in syndication from 1965 to 1986.
He also broke ground by mixing political guests with Hollywood stars and
taking his show on location to places as diverse
as Cannes, Venice, Alcatraz, and Harlem.
***
--Answer to "WHO AM I?"
Ricki Lake. Her show's
unprecedented success seemed to derive from Lake's no-holds barred take on such heated issues
as teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and infidelity, as well as her skillful provocation of the emotionally
charged audience. Although "Ricki Lake"
has significantly bolstered Lake's career, she still seeks a
return to her true loves,
acting and singing.
