Terry Gross

Arnold Rampersad edited The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry. His two-volume biography of writer Langston Hughes is now out in a second edition. It was praised by critics as one of the best biographies of a black American writer. He's associate dean for the humanities at Stanford University.

Brian Walker, son of Hi and Lois creator Mort Walker, has co-edited a new book that traces the history of America's funny pages in the 20th century. Walker now writes the Hi and Lois strip with his brother, editor Greg Walker, and illustrator Chance Browne.

Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner co-wrote the screenplay for the new Stephen Spielberg film Munich. Kushner won a Pulitzer for his 1993-1994 play Angels in America, which was performed in two parts and set in New York in the mid-1980s in the midst of the AIDS epidemic.

Born Jerome Silberman, Gene Wilder made his film debut as a kidnap victim in Bonnie and Clyde, in 1967. Wilder is best known for his work with Mel Brooks, in the films Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and The Producers. But he also anchored the children's classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, still popular today.

Musicians Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, two New Orleans natives, have been friends for years — back to the days when Connick took piano lessons from Marsalis' father, Ellis

He's been called the King of Venereal Horror. He directed the films M. Butterfly, The Fly, Dead Ringers and Naked Lunch, all of which tell a story of sexually deviant behavior. In the film Crash he continued the theme, combining sex and car wrecks. His new film A History of Violence is a psychological thriller about one man's potential for violence.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Philip Roth has been a favorite of readers since his memoir Goodbye, Columbus emerged to help define the culture of postwar America. Now the Library of America is releasing Roth's books — a rare step for a living author.

Actor, producer, writer, director George Clooney directed and co-wrote the new film Good Night, and Good Luck, about the showdown between legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy that took place in 1954. Clooney also has a role in the film, portraying Murrow's producer Fred Friendly. The film is receiving much critical acclaim.

Thelma Schoonmaker has edited every one of director Martin Scorsese's movies, from Raging Bull to The Aviator. She talks about how film editing has changed over the past 30 years and how she got her first big break editing Scorsese's student film at NYU.

The actor died on Dec. 16, 2005, at age 58. We replay an interview from April 2000. Spencer is best known for his character Leo McGarry, the president's chief of staff, on the popular NBC series The West Wing.