Television Dish: Kaley Cuoco and Reba McEntire

DEAR STACY: I have enjoyed watching Kaley Cuoco since "8 Simple Rules … for Dating My Daughter" and now on "The Big Bang Theory." Can you give some background about her -- her age, where she's from, other shows or movies? -- Jay B., Holbrook, N.Y.
Kaley Cuoco of "The Big Bang Theory" (Image: Wenn)

DEAR JAY: The Camarillo, Calif.-born former "Charmed" costar (she played Billie Jenkins) turned 22 last month. She began her professional life as a model and actress at age 6. Her first big breaks were the TV movie "Quicksand: No Escape" with Tim Matheson and Donald Sutherland in 1992, and, two years later, she played "Little Ellen" on Ellen DeGeneres's old sitcom. Cuoco, a serious amateur tennis player, has had a very busy year -- not only with "Big Bang Theory" but also with the movie "Cougar Club" (recently released on DVD), the upcoming low-budget horror flick "Killer Movie," a couple episodes of "Prison Break" and the cable movie "To Be Fat Like Me." She voices Brandy in the "Brandy and Mr. Whiskers" cartoon show. Pretty Kaley is single, but she recently said on "The View" that she is dating a shoe designer.

DEAR STACY: Is Reba McEntire acting in any new TV shows or movies? I miss her, though I enjoy the "Reba" reruns. -- Florence C., Torrance, Calif.

DEAR FLORENCE: No, McEntire's been focused on the music side of her career in recent months, with her "Duets" album (featuring names including Justin Timberlake, Rascal Flatts and Faith Hill) adding to her long list of successes. Come Jan. 17, she will be in Dayton, Ohio, to launch her 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour (15 markets in the Midwest and South) with Kelly Clarkson, with whom she has the smash hit "Because of You" on the album. She's also featured on a Ronald McDonald House Charities fundraising CD being offered at Dillard's -- "Give a Little, Get a Lot." You can see Reba, though not acting, Dec. 21 on CBS in the "A Home for the Holidays" special celebrating the joys of adoption.

DEAR STACY: A few years ago, I was addicted to watching a show called "Good Day Live" with Steve Edwards (who seems similar to Regis Philbin inasmuch as he came from the Bronx and is very handsome), Dorothy Lucey and Jillian Barberie. I read that Jillian got married and had a baby. Is that so? She was always outrageous, and the show was so unconventional. Where are they all now? -- Olga S., Rockaway Beach, N.Y.

DEAR OLGA: As their loyal Los Angeles audience knows, though the nationally syndicated "Good Day Live" was cancelled in '05, the three are still doing the local show, "Good Day L.A." Jillian, also a familiar face from "Skating With Celebrities" and "Fox NFL Sunday," wed actor Grant Reynolds and began using that surname last year. She gave birth to their daughter, Ruby, this past July 6.

DEAR STACY: Whatever became of Bert Convy of "Win, Lose or Draw"? -- Robin E., Austin, Texas

DEAR ROBIN: The genial game show host -- also remembered as an actor whose credits included "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Cabaret" on Broadway -- passed away in 1991 at age 57 due to a brain tumor.

DEAR STACY: I am sure this question will tax your detective abilities, but I feel your wonderful column should appeal to all ages. My question: June Haver, long-ago blonde beauty married to Fred MacMurray, had a sister in show business. Who was she? -- A.M., New York City

DEAR A.M.: Haver's younger sister, Evelyn, was a dancer whose professional life included a stint at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in the 1950s. She was among the femme hoofers who were 5 feet, 6 inches or under, known as pony dancers, who typically appeared with male stars of shorter stature, such as 5-foot, 7-inch Frank Sinatra. Dancer Jo Burdick recounts in her BJB Productions recollections of the Sands in those days that Haver and MacMurray "came to watch June's baby sis on several occasions. … At that time, the Sands was one of the most grand hotels on the strip."

DEAR STACY: Is Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network any relation to the movie producer Dino De Laurentiis? -- Gary S., Cleveland, Ohio

DEAR GARY: Giada is a granddaughter of the 88-year-old movie maestro, whose credits range from "The Valachi Papers" and "Barbarella" to "Three Days of the Condor" and "Conan the Barbarian."

DEAR STACY: I would like to know what Tia Texada, who played Sergeant Cruz on "Third Watch," is doing lately. She is very beautiful. -- Richard M., Brookyn, N.Y.

DEAR RICHARD: Texada, who appeared in episodes of "The Unit" in '06 and this year as Mariana Ribera, made a crime procedural series pilot called "The Line-Up" for TNT, but it failed to make the lineup. She also stays active in her careers as a singer and voice actress, whose credits include the "Static Shock" cartoon show.

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