You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: I would like to know more about the actor who plays Kelly Severide on “Chicago Fire.” I don’t recall seeing him on any series before.
A: Besides the “Chicago” series, Taylor Kinney has been seen in TV series and movies such as “Trauma,” “The Vampire Diaries” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” but appears to like keeping things low-key (even during a romance with Lady Gaga that ended several years ago). His official NBC biography is terse, listing just a handful of roles and a People’s Choice Award for favorite dramatic actor in 2016.
USA Today in 2012 summed up his early years this way: “Raised in Lancaster, Pa., by a single mother who worked as a dental hygienist, Kinney had no connection to Hollywood. In his sophomore year at West Virginia University, Kinney took an elective theater course that ‘held my interest outside of the classroom more so than any other subject I'd ever taken.’ … He left school after his junior year, and after spending a year in Hawaii learning to surf, skydive and frame houses (‘I wanted a life experience of my own') Kinney moved to Los Angeles and began auditioning.” Even after his acting career took off, he told USA Today, "I like walking around the woods and riding a motorcycle by myself for hours at a time and not talking about work all the time.”
Q: I was wondering if the game show host Bert Convy was still around. He was my favorite.
A: Convy died in 1991 after battling cancer. He was 57 years old. According to the Associated Press, he had been a professional baseball player and a musician. As part of the group The Cheers, he scored a hit with “Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots” in 1955. He went on to acting, including on Broadway, and in movies and TV. But for many the affable performer was best known for hosting game shows including “Tattletales” (where he won a daytime Emmy), “Super Password” and “Win, Lose or Draw.” That last show, by the way, came from a production company formed by Convy and his friend Burt Reynolds.
Q: My husband and I have enjoyed “Foyle’s War.” One of the best bits was when Foyle and his driver had back-and-forth conversations. The driver was played by Honeysuckle Weeks. Now we watch the reruns just before “Magnum P.I.” is on. The pretty girl on that show is Perdita Weeks! What relationship do the two women have?
A: Sisterhood. Honeysuckle Weeks, who played driver Samantha Stewart on “Foyle’s War” during its 2002-15 run, is the older sister of Perdita Weeks, who plays Juliet Higgins on the current version of “Magnum.”
Q: My wife is a huge “American Housewife” fan, but doesn’t know what happened to the show; she did not hear about it being canceled.Do you know the status of the show?
A: The enjoyable comedy starring Katy Mixon was canceled in 2021 after five seasons; several reports called that a surprise because the ratings were still OK. But the show had hit some bumps late in its run.
Deadline reported in December 2020 that Carly Hughes, the only Black regular on the series at the time, left the show over what she called a “toxic environment” and “discrimination.” After an investigation sparked by Hughes’ comments, “'American Housewife' creator Sarah Dunn is no longer an active producer on the show, Mark J. Greenberg stepped down as line producer, and showrunners Rick Wiener and Kenny Schwartz underwent sensitivity training,” Deadline said.
Also, Julia Butters, who played Anna-Kat, left the show to pursue other opportunities following her fine performance in the movie “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.” (Giselle Eisenberg replaced Butters on the show.). Right now you can find repeats of "Housewife" on CMT and Hulu. Beginning this fall, look for episodes to air on local stations as part of a syndication deal.
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