Television

Davidson's act earned him a spot on the sketch comedy show In Living Color, starring the Wayans brothers. He grew up in Washington, DC and began performing at a topless club. Davidson's comedy special will soon air on the Showtime network.

Comedian Dave Thomas. Thomas first hit it big as a member of the "SCTV" comedy series. He currently has a summer-replacement comedy variety show on CBS, called "The Dave Thomas Comedy Show."

Actor Meshach (mee-shack) Taylor. He plays Anthony Bouvier on the T-V series "Designing Women," and he's appearing in the upcoming film, "Mannequin on the Move."

Television critic David Bianculli takes an early look at ABC's plans for the fall.

Actress Barbara Hershey. Hershey's had a long career in Hollywood, from films such as "Boxcar Bertha" in the 60s to "Hannah and Her Sisters," and "The Last Temptation of Christ." Next week, she stars in a made for T-V movie called "A Killing in a Small Town." It's based on the true-list story of a Texas woman who brutally murders her friend.

Journalist Hedrick Smith. He's the host of the new PBS series, "Inside Gorbachev's U.S.S.R." Smith won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from the Soviet Union in the 70's. His book, "The Russians" was a bestseller. He's now writing another book on Russia, "The New Russians."

Actor, comedian, filmmaker, and author Michael Palin. In the fall of 1988, Palin set out to recreate the journey Jules Verne described in "Around the World in 80 Days." Palin circled the globe by using just about every means of transportation except airplane (since that wasn't available in Verne's time). Palin turned his journey into an 8-part TV BBC series (it aired in this country on the A&E network) and a book that's a bestseller in England.

Comedian Imogene Coca. Coca is a television legend, co-starring with Sid Caeser on the groundbreaking comedy series, "Your Show of Shows," in the 1950s. Since then, Coca's had numerous roles on TV, on stage, and in movies. Imogene Coca is teeming up with Sid Caesar once again, for a series of appearances at Michael's Pub in New York City, beginning April 17th.

Actor Timothy Busfield. He plays Elliot Weston on the ABC series, "thirtysomething." (he's the one with the red hair). He also appeared last summer in the movie, "Field of Dreams." Those roles follow a career that included commercials, parts in "Revenge of the Nerds," "Reggie," and "Trapper John M.D." Next week, Busfield is hosting a Lifetime cable special called "Don't Divorce the Children," about the trauma of childhood separation and divorce.

Actress Laurie Metcalf. Metcalf plays Roseanne's sister in the hit TV series. She's appeared in several movies, such as "Uncle Buck," "Making Mr. Right," and "Desperately Seeking Susan," and she plays a cop in the new film "Internal Affairs," starring Richard Gere and Andy Garcia. Metcalf got her start at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, which she started with John Malkovich and Terry Kinney.