Terry Gross

His new semi-autobiographical novel, The Fortress of Solitude, tells the story of Dylan Ebdus, a white kid growing up in an African-American and Latino neighborhood in New York. His last novel, Motherless Brooklyn, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. His other books include Girl in Landscape and Amnesia Moon.

He's best known for his scene-stealing performance in High Fidelity as a sarcastic record store clerk. He is also the lead singer of the rock-folk comedy group Tenacious D. The group appeared on HBO, went on tour and recorded an album. Black's other roles include the films Shallow Hal, Orange County and Saving Silverman. He's currently starring in the film The School of Rock.

We remember influential theater and film director Elia Kazan. He died yesterday at his home in Manhattan. He was 94. Kazan directed Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront and James Dean in East of Eden. He was a member of the Group Theater and co-founded the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg.