Actors

Nishikawa's one-man show "I'm on a Mission from Buddha," is about some of the culturally-based absurdities he's endured as a Japanese-American. Nishikawa said he wrote it to answer, "all the nerdy, cliche-ridden, Asian-American images." His characters include a Japanese-American World War Two hero and a Sushi-phobic redneck. "I'm on a Mission from Buddha," can also be seen on PBS.

In addition to his movies, Duke directed several off-Broadway plays, and lots of television, including PBS's award winning teleplays, "The Meeting," and "A Raisin in the Sun." His films include, "A Rage in Harlem," and "Deep Cover." His latest film is "The Cemetery Club," about three Jewish widows who meet up with an charming widower.

The daughter of Marlene Dietrich, Maria Riva. Dietrich died last May at the age of 90, with her mystique still intact. Riva has written a memoir, "Marlene Dietrich," which relies on Riva's memories and on Dietrich's letters and diaries. It's been called a "sympathetic" book about a woman who is "uncaring," and who had a complex relationship with her own sexuality. Riva also describes her mother's decline into alcoholism.

We pay tribute to Audrey Hepburn, who died yesterday from colon cancer, with an excerpt from a 1988 Fresh Air interview.

Gardenia passed away today. We re-broadcast excerpts from our interview with him three years ago.

Comedian and actor Garry Shandling stars in HBO's television parody, "The Larry Sanders Show." It features Shandling as a veteran talk-show host. His guests have included Mimi Rogers and Robin Williams, playing themselves. Starting December 7, "The Larry Sanders Show" will compete with late-night talk-shows by presenting a different episode each night for ten days.

Caine has made over 70 films, from Alfie to Sleuth to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to Hannah and Her Sisters. He has a new autobiography called "What's It All About?," and will be appearing in the upcoming Muppet's Christmas movie.

O'Hara is one of the co-founders of the comedy series, "SCTV," and started her acting career with Toronto's Second City comedy troupe. She's best known for her role as the distraught mom in "Home Alone." There's now a sequel, "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," in which O'Hara reprises her roles as the mother.

Reiser was a stand-up comedian for years and was in the sit-com "My Two Dads." He's the creator and co-star of a new show, "Mad About You," a Seinfeldesque comedy on NBC, about a married couple. Helen Hunt plays Reiser's wife.

The comedian plays the sensitive twelve-stepper Stuart Smalley on "Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley" -- a Saturday Night Live skit based on Franken's own experience with a 12-step group. Franken is a co-producer of SNL and works on the cable network "Comedy Central," where he anchored the Democratic and Republican Conventions for "Indecision '92." He has a new book (written by Stuart Smalley) called "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me."