Lifetime movies dawned at just the right time for Brec Bassinger

Q: I was impressed by Brec Bassinger in the “V.C. Andrews’ Dawn” movies. Did she make those while she was still doing “DC’s Stargirl”? – April Kay, via e-mail

A: She landed the “Dawn” job shortly after “Stargirl” wrapped filming, and she told us that she felt fortunate to be available for the Lifetime set of four films, with her reporting to the set within days of having her first conversation about the opportunity.

She also said that she appreciated the timing of that production, since she felt that diving right into it right after parting company with her “Stargirl” colleagues gave her something else to focus on … rather than only experiencing sadness over the end of her three seasons of work on that show.

Q: I read somewhere that Dr. Joyce Brothers was a big game-show winner before she became a psychologist. Is that true? – Ken Winter, Elkhart, Ind.

A: She proved to be hugely knowledgeable about the subject of boxing when she was a contestant on the classic show “The $64,000 Question,” ultimately winning the top prize of … well, $64,000. Her husband was a boxing fan, inspiring her to choose that subject, and she did a huge amount of research on the topic – helped by the photographic memory she had.

Later, Brothers appeared on the related series “The $64,000 Challenge,” and she again claimed the maximum prize amount. Part of the appeal clearly was her being such an unlikely expert on boxing, and her fame from the games earned her a spot as co-host of the series “Sports Showcase” in the mid-1950s, making her one of TV’s first female commentators on sports. That led to many other television appearances in which Brothers largely focused on the psychological information she wanted to dispense to viewers.

Q: How old would Sean Giambrone have been when he started playing Adam on “The Goldbergs”? – Paul Sweet, Fairfield, Calif.

A: The show went on the air in 2013, so he would have been 14 at that time. He spent a good portion of his adolescence playing the part, which ended this past May with the ABC sitcom’s series finale. At this writing, it wasn’t clear what Giambrone’s next acting project would be, though repeats of “The Goldbergs” continue in syndication and on the cable networks TV Land and Pop.