INFORMATION PLEASE
A recent episode of The Closer had an actor who looked very familiar, playing a lawyer named Goldman. Who is he, and what can you tell me about him? Jeanne Winnick It was Curtis Armstrong, who also portrayed the character in several earlier episodes of the crime drama. In television terms, he’s best known for his regular role on Moonlighting, but he’s also provided voices for a number of animated series including American Dad and The Emperor’s New School. He also had multiple- episode roles on such shows as Grey’s Anatomy, Boston Legal, Ed and Felicity. As for his movie work, Armstrong arguably is most familiar as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds series, but he’s also somewhat iconic for his 1983 screen debut as the high- school pal who advises Tom Cruise to throw caution to the wind — and we’re taking major paraphrasing licence there, since this is a family- friendly column — in Risky Business. Among his many other feature films are Jingle All the Way, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Akeelah and the Bee and last year’s Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star. Why do some cable channels start their shows at odd times? Harry Clary This may sound like a smart- alecky answer, but it’s true: because they can. The broadcast networks have obligations to affiliates across the country that have to work in local commercials and also start their late news on time — unless it’s the case of a live program with an unpredictable ending time, such as a sports event or an award show — whereas most cable channels are answerable only to themselves in that regard. Do you know of any plans for Alana De La Garza to appear in another television series? Ed Gribbins We don’t know of plans for another series for the Law & Order and CSI: Miami alum, but she has made a TV movie for U. S. cable which will likely air in Canada later this year. It’s called Deadly Hope, and it casts her as an obstetrician who finds the men around her being slain. Eventually, it becomes pretty clear that she’s the actual target.