Terry Gross

Actor Martin Sheen. During the filming of Apocalypse Now he suffered a heart attack even though he was only in his 30s. Sheen now stars as President Bartlett in the NBC TV drama West Wing.

August 4th is the 100th anniversary of Armstrong's birth. The archive contains 5000 photographs, 350 pages of autobiographical manuscripts, 270 sets of band part manuscripts, 650 home-made tape recordings and more. Hear excerpts from the tapes. Director of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives Michael Cogswell is in the process of converting the Louis Armstrong House in Queens, where Louis and his wife Lucille lived for almost thirty years, into a museum and educational center. The House is expected to open in 2002.

A native of Mississippi, Barry Hannah has been writing for over thirty years - short stories, and novels set in the South. His writing is described as intensely personal, frenetic and comic. Truman Capote once called him the maddest writer in the USA His first book, the autobiographical novel Geronimo Rex (published in 1972) won the William Faulkner Prize for writing. He followed that with Airships, a collection of short stories now considered a classic.

Psychiatrist, peace activist and feminist Dr Ruchama Marton. She teaches at the Tel Aviv University Medical School Institute for Psychotherapy. She is also President of Physicians for Human Rights, Isreal.

Psychiatrist and Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj. The Programme is a non-profit Palestinian, non-governmental organization, formed to help families cope with the aftermath of torture and violence. El-Sarraj is well known in the occupied territories and Israel as Gazas first practicing psychiatrist and for his efforts to foster co-existence between Arabs and Jews. El-Sarraj is also former Commissioner General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens rights.

Director Mike Nichols was recently nominated for an Emmy award for his direction of the HBO movie of the off-Broadway play Wit. He also directing the star-studded production of Chekov The Seagull at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park (now in previews). Nichols directed the films The Graduate (for which he won an Oscar for Best Director), Who Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Silkwood, Working Girl, and Primary Colors. Before he became a film director Nichols was known for his popular comedy improvisations with Elaine May.

It's not not surprising that Rufus Wainwright would become a musician and singer. He is the son of singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle (of the McGarrigle sisters). He has just released his second album, Poses.

Eight years ago, at the age of 35, Philip Simmons was diagnosed with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig disease. The disease is degenerative, with no cure. Simmons has lived longer with the disease than most. He written a new collection of essays, Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life (Homefarm Books). Simmons is a professor of English at Lake Forest College in Illinois.

Actor, writer, director Christopher Guest. He's best known for his role as Nigel Tufnel, the lead guitarist in the mock rock documentary. This is Spinal Tap. (which just celebrated its 16th anniversary). He got his start with SCTV, and later was a part of the Saturday Night Live crew. Guest went on to make the mockumentaries, "Waiting for Guffman" about a group of amateur thespians working on a community musical, and "Best in Show" about pure breed dogs, their owners and the dog shows they compete in.

John Cameron Mitchell wrote, directed and starred in the off-broadway hit rock musical, –Hedwig and the Angry Inch— (with songs by Stephen Trask). The play has just been made into a new film, also directed by and starring Mitchell. The film won the Audience Award for Drama and the Directing Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. The story is about Hedwig, a German immigrant living in a trailer in Kansas, the victim of a botched sex change operation. With the help of her band, the Angry Inch, she tells the story of her life.