Terry Gross

Casting director and actress Joanna Merlin has written a new guide for actors, Auditioning: An Actor-Friendly Guide (Vintage Books). Merlin was casting director for Harold Prince and his productions of Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Evita, and more. She casted films, as well as acted in films and on television.

He recreated the journey Jules Verne described in Around the World in 80 Days. Michael Palin turned his journey into a very successful eight-part TV BBC series. He is of course also known for his tenure as a member of Monthy Python's Flying Circus and his appearances in The Missionary and A Fish Called Wanda.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is being re-released in theatres this summer in anticipation of a new DVD release this Fall. Idle has also written a number of books. His latest is a comic science-fiction thriller, The Road to Mars: A Post-Modem Novel.

Comic Graham Chapman was the straight man in the Monty Python troupe who would come in and break up the skits. A physician by training, he was a writer and activist for gay rights. He died in 1989.

Actor, writer, and Monthy Python member John Cleese. Post-Python, Cleese is best known for Fawlty Towers, and a number of movies, including his 1988 comedy, A Fish Called Wanda. He's also written a book called Families and How to Survive Them with therapist Robyn Skinner, and he makes training films for corporations.

Historian and civil rights activist Roger Wilkins has written a new book Jefferson Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism (Beacon Press). Wilkins considers our founding fathers and their conflicting attitudes toward race and how it affects his own sense of patriotism. Wilkins is a professor of history at George Mason University, a Pulitzer-prize winner, and former Assistant Attorney General under President Johnson.

Brazilian actress Sonia Braga starred in the 1985 independent film Kiss of the Spider Woman (with William Hurt and Raul Julia). The film is currently being re-released. Braga is also a guest star in the HBO comedy series Sex and the City. And she plays Jennifer Lopezabused mother in the film Angel Eyes. Her other films include Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, and The Last Prostitute.

Animation director J.J. Sedelmaier is the animator of the TV Funhouse skits which run on Saturday Night Live. They include The Ambiguously Gay Duo, Fun with Real Audio, and The X-Presidents. Sedelmaier and his animation company work on many other projects for TV and commercials. They have worked for MTV and Nickelodeon. He also has his own Cartoon Network series, Capt. Linger.

John Lithgow is one of the stars of the animated hit movie, Shrek. His comedy TV series Third Rock From the Sun just finished its run on NBC. Lithgow also writes children's books. He's just published the book Marsupial Sue (Simon and Schuster), and he has released a new CD of music for children called Farkle and Friends (Watershed Records). Lithgow is currently performing his children's material live in concert.

Singer-songwriter Steve Earle has released ten critically acclaimed albums; his latest CD is called Transcendental Blues. He's just published his first book, a collection of short stories called Doghouse Roses. Earle is also politically active. He currently serves as a board member of the Journey of Hope and is affiliated with both the Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the Abolitionist Action Committee.