Entertainment

British actress and comedienne Emma Thompson. She's best known here for the double role she played in "Dead Again," as a woman with amnesia and a past life. (she played opposite her husband, Kenneth Branagh). She also played a dippy Duchess in "Impromptu," and Jeff Goldlum's girlfriend in "The Tall Guy." In England she had her own show, "Thompson," which featured her in a series of comedy sketches. She's now appearing in "Howards End," a Merchant-Ivory production based on the E.M. Forster novel.

Hungarian writer Gyorgy Konrad. When he was 11 he bribed local police so that he and his sister could leave town and escape being deported. In 1974 he and a fellow writer were arrested in Budapest and imprisoned shortly for writing a sociological manuscript which was considered "subversive." Asked to leave the country, he decided a writer "should not emigrate, should not turn away from the risks of his profession." Konrad has written several novels, "The Case Worker," "The City Builder.

Actor Larry Fishburne. He was Cowboy Curtis on "Pee-wee's Playhouse," and he played a young G.I. in "Apocalypse Now" when he was only 15. He was last in "Boyz in the Hood" as the main character's father. His latest role is in the soon-to-be-released film "Deep Cover," in which he plays an undercover cop. (Fine Line Pictures).

Sheila Kuehl is now a women's rights lawyer. But most people will remember her as Zelda Gilroy on the old TV show "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Her TV career ended when rumors began to circulate that she was a lesbian -- and those rumors were true. Now Kuehl is one of the most vocal lesbian activists in Los Angeles

Punk rocker and now actor John Doe of the soon to be reunited band, "X." Since the band broke up, he went solo with his own album, and took up acting. He's now starring in a new independent film, "Roadside Prophets," written and directed by Abbe Wool, who co-wrote the punk rock movie, "Sid & Nancy."

British actress Juliet Stevenson of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She's probably best known for her role in "Truly, Madly, Deeply," a role that was written for her. She create the role of Madame de Tourvel in the original British production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." And she's playing the role of Nora in Ibsen's "A Doll's House," which airs on PBS'S Masterpiece Theatre this Sunday (March 29).

Australian actress Judy Davis. She first gained fame in the 1979 film "My Brilliant Career." She later starred in "A Passage To India." More recently, she had supporting roles in "Barton Fink" and "Naked Lunch." Her latest role is as a prissy Victorian Englishwoman in the film version of E.M. Forster's "Where Angels Fear To Tread."

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the newly re-released Orson Welles adaptation of Shakespeare's "Othello."

Playwright Lanford Wilson. Wilson won the Pulitzer Prize for his play, "Talley's Folly." His new play is "Redwood Curtain," the story of a Amerasian girl in the Pacific Northwest, looking for her father, a Vietnam Vet.

British actor Michael York. Over the years he's starred in such films as "Romeo & Juliet," "Cabaret," "Logan's Run," and "The Three Musketeers." He's written his autobiography, "Accidentally on Purpose." (published by Simon & Schuster).

Actor Stephen Lang. He starred in the film adaptation of "Last Exit to Brooklyn," and is about to play Hamlet on Broadway. He's also co-starring in a made-for-TV movie based on the story of the rape of Nancy Ziegenmeyer.

Dame Edna Everage. Dame Edna describes herself as a housewife, megastar, investigative journalist, chanteuse, swami and polymath. She's become a media star in England and Australia, and has just written her memoir, called "My Gorgeous Life: The Life, The Loves, The Legend" (published by Simon and Schuster). Dame Edna, in case you didn't know, is a fictitious creation, the alter-ego of Australian comic Barry Humphries.

Actor David Mcallum. He's still known for the TV role he had back in the 60s, as secret agent Illya Kuryakin in "The Man From UNCLE." Since then, he's had dozens of stage, TV, and movie roles. Currently, he has a supporting role as a police detective in the new English movie "Hear My Song."

Satirist Harry Shearer. Shearer has an eclectic career: he does many of the voices on the TV series "The Simpsons," he has a weekly program on many public radio stations called "Le Show," he often has character roles in movies, and he's one of the members of the parody heavy metal rock group "Spinal Tap." This year, Spinal Tap's releasing a new album and going out on tour.

Charles Dutton, star of the T-V comedy series "Roc." Dutton came to acting in a very roundabout way: while serving a manslaughter sentence in the Maryland State Penitentiary, he organized the performance of a play, and realized he loved acting. ("Roc" airs Sunday nights on Fox.)

A concert and interview with singer/songwriter/guitarist Jules Shear. He was with the "Funky Kings," and later, "Jules & The Polar Bears." The songs he has written have been recorded by The Bangles, Cyndi Lauper, and many others. He has a new album out this month, "The Great Puzzle." (on Polydor).

Film critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new Disney animated film "Beauty and the Beast."

Filmmaker Isaac Julien. His new movie, "Young Soul Rebels," explores the rise of British funk clubs in late 70s London.

Comic book artist Diane Noomin. She's the editor of (and a contributor to) a new collection of underground comics drawn by women. It's called "Twisted Sisters." It's published by Penguin.

Actor Alan Rickman. Rickman stars in the new drama, "Close My Eyes." In recent years, he's played a couple of great bad guys...the suave terrorist Hans Gruber in "Die Hard," and the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."