THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 24, 1995 TAG: 9510240072
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
HERE IS A sampling of little-known stuff about well-known people on television:
Jerry Van Dyke of ``Coach'' sleep-walks in the nude. He's been begging his brother, Dick, to co-star with him in a touring production of ``The Odd Couple.'' Unlike Van Dyke, Dennis Franz of ``NYPD Blue'' sleeps soundly with two 95-pound German shepherds he rescued from the pound. He calls them his ``big loves.''
Mary Tyler Moore of ``New York News'' recently donated $200,000 to a Civil War center in Shepherdstown, W.Va., because an ancestor, coppersmith Conrad Schindler, once owned the building.
Aaron Spelling, the producer of ``Melrose Place'' and ``Beverly Hills 90210'' built a mansion for himself, Mrs. Spelling and daughter Tori with 54,000 square feet of living space. Spelling had a nervous breakdown when he was only 9.
Jason Priestley of ``Beverly Hills 90210'' will spend hours at a party drinking, smoking cigars and talking about the two sports he loves - ice hockey and auto racing.
Candice Bergen of ``Murphy Brown'' is a cool, aloof aristocrat who will bite your head off if your question offends her.
How do I know that?
Because I once asked a question that offended her, and she darn near bit my head off.
I gather up little-known stuff about well-known TV stars while schmoozing with them twice a year in Southern California when they let their hair down - but not their facelifts. Mary Tyler Moore's lift looks great, by the way.
Here's more:
Marilu Henner of ``Taxi'' and several upcoming made-for-TV films first performed in public at age 2 1/2 as Baby New Year at a father-daughter breakfast in Chicago.
Tiffani-Amber Thiessen of ``Beverly Hills 90210'' says it bugs her to read stories in supermarket tabloids that suggest she is overweight and will lose her job unless she drops 20 pounds. ``I like myself just the way I am,'' she said. She recently split from Brian Austin Green, also of ``90210.''
Crystal Bernard, whose character works at a small Nantucket Island airport in ``Wings,'' is taking flying lessons.
At age 15, Robert Stack of ``Unsolved Mysteries'' was rated among the five best U.S. skeet shooters. ``I've been a far better skeet shooter than actor,'' he said.
Jay Leno will party for hours with the press, showing off his automobile collection, answering any and all questions put to him. His competitor on late-night TV, David Letterman, won't go near reporters except at a press conference.
Jason Alexander of ``Seinfeld'' in person is pretty much the same guy you see on the screen every Thursday night. Except for one thing, he says. He really has a full head of thick vibrant hair and is much taller than he appears on TV. Roughly half the people he meets call him George, his character's name on ``Seinfeld.''
Fran Drescher of ``The Nanny'' first dated her husband, Peter, when they were 15.
Jane Seymour of ``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' is committed to the CBS series for six more years. When she was young, she studied ballet on a scholarship. So did Neve Campbell of ``Party of Five,'' who was with the National Ballet of Canada.
Mariel Hemingway of ``Central Park West'' was a ``horribly insecure'' teenager because her teachers in Idaho expected her to write as well as her famous kin, Ernest Hemingway.
Richard Belzer of ``Homicide: Life on the Street'' was a reporter with the paper in Bridgeport, Conn., before he became a stand-up comic and an actor. He was a phys ed major in college.
The star of ``In the House'' has changed his name legally to LL Cool J from James Todd Smith. ``I love being LL Cool J,'' he said. He says he owns a million hats.
Before he became Sheriff Jimmy Brock on ``Picket Fences,'' Tom Skerritt was allergic to television. Whenever he was offered a TV script to read in the past, he broke out in sneezes and sniffles. by CNB