Nov. 7, 2005

From 'Crooklyn' to 'Down in the Delta' and 'Radio,' 'Desperate Housewives' star Alfre Woodard has an impressive body of film projects on her resume. The four-time Emmy Award winning actress now plays Betty Applewhite on the top-rated ABC comedy, and she's shocked about all the attention her return to television is garnering. "I've never gone away from TV," reminded the actress, who was featured on series such as 'L.A. Law' and 'St. Elsewhere,' in addition to starring in made-for-TV films such as 'Mandela' and 'Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad.'

Woodard is certain her thriving acting career comes from her formal training, something she believes many younger actors lack. "The generation of actors that I'm in, age 40 to 65, are the trained generation. We all went to the Actors Studio. We all went to the conservatory. We were that group that went and really trained before we came to Hollywood," she explained.

The Tulsa, Okla.-bred actress added that while many dream of flourishing careers as actors and actresses, most never attain that goal. "You know the statistics. Only a small percent of us working actors make more than $10,000 a year. There's 5,000 of us in it and another 400,000 trying to get in it."

Woodard herself has defied all the odds -- she's 54 years old and still working in Hollywood. "Once my group turned 40 -- we all know that most interesting people are over the age of 40 -- but for some reason, we're not on screen. Many of my Caucasian girlfriends who had active careers got kicked out once they reached the age of 35 and had to find new avenues."

Soul Survivor

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson strolled through the swank Essex House Hotel in Manhattan alone. No bodyguards, no managers, no agents, no assistants, no boys from the 'hood -- no one but the rapper, and a talent escort from Paramount Pictures, who walked him from interview to interview. Quite a change of pace for the trouble-prone rapper, whose movie 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' details his hard-knock upbringing and the infamous night he was shot nine times.

"I wear a bulletproof vest, though not right now. But I feel safe right now. I just can't have a lot of people around me all the time. It really bugs me out to have that many people around me. I need to be by myself," he replied, when I questioned the absence of an entourage.

50 Cent or "Fiddy" or Curtis -- "Call me either one. Whichever one you're comfortable with," he offered -- enjoys changing peoples' impressions of him. He recognizes that many of the ideas about his persona are warranted, but he's quick, at least today, to reveal who he really is. "To give you an example of who I am ... What you see in the film is kind of true. When I got to the point when I had friction with my uncles and I moved into my grandparents' basement, I had the opportunity to be out later than usual and them not notice that I wasn't there because there was so many kids upstairs," he said. "When I started hustling initially, I could only hustle from 3 to 6 [p.m.] while my grandparents thought I was in the after school program. I'm still a 12-year-old kid regardless. But what you don't see with my character is that I don't carry myself in a way that I become intimidating to people. I've been showing them my teeth more than me showing them me frowning, even while saying aggressive things. I've had to be aggressive in the neighborhood, and it shows that in the film, but at home I'm my grandmother's baby. So I've had to be able to have both of those characteristics. So when I came here [for these interviews], I don't feel threatened so I don't give off that energy."

Most people assume that being shot nine times caused 50's life-changing epiphany. The rapper-actor, and author of The New York Times bestseller 'From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens' (MTV Books, $23), said that's not the case.

"It was my son," he disclosed. "He's the reason why I write music. He's the reason why everything is different for me. When he came into the picture my priorities changed. When it's not just about me ... see I can risk possibly being incarcerated 'cause the only person that pays for it is me. Until he comes into my life, I know that if I'm not physically available to take care of him, nobody else will. I wanted to have the relationship with him that me and my father didn't have."

Take Two

Keith Robinson, star of the FX series 'Over There,' doesn't have a problem with rappers transitioning into acting. "I feel that if you have the skills, it's all to the good! If you're just on the mark because you're selling records and you're not really taking it seriously, I feel like you should be treated like the rest of the people, everybody else who ain't cutting it," he said, over lunch at the Pool Cabana Caf‚ at The Beverly Hills Hotel.

The actor is a part-time musician himself and was once signed to Motown Records as a part of an R&B trio called Bliss. "When we got out to Los Angeles, we eventually split up. One of my cats fell in love with his chick. I started working on 'Power Rangers.' My other boy, we're still cool. He still writes right now. But we all kind of went our separate ways," he explained.

Next up for the actor, who brought Bill Cosby to life in the film adaptation of 'Fat Albert,' is the Hallmark film 'The Reading Room,' opposite screen legend James Earl Jones. "He's the ultimate professional! You can just talk to him and get a grasp of the years and the hard work and the body of work that he's created over the years. He's so eager and willing to impart that to young artists like me," Robinson said of Jones.

Can't Say Names

Sources say a twice-married Hollywood starlet is waiting in the wings for an A-List movie man's divorce to be final, so that she can hyphenate her last name. There were sparks when the bachelor-bound multimillionaire took said actress on a couple of dates recently, but friends claim she's already shopping for a wedding gown. I guess only time will tell if the chemistry the two stars once had on screen will translate into their personal life.

Buzzworthy

Looks like 'Desperate Housewives' hunk Mehcad Brooks has brought a secret of his own to Wisteria Lane -- and I'm not talking about the man in the basement. Brooks faced a run-in with the law during the wee hours of New Year's Eve in 2004, according to the Globe. The actor, who plays the son of new cast member Alfre Woodard, was arrested along with his brother William when cops in his hometown of Austin, Texas accused him of becoming belligerent after refusing to step up on a sidewalk following a party. Cops also claim the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Brooks resisted arrest and additional officers had to move in to help. He was taken to jail, released on a $1,500 bond and is due back in court on Nov. 15. To Brooks' defense, Austin police and the city's minority residents have a history of trouble. The actor and his brother are being represented by their stepdad, attorney Gary Bledsoe, who also runs the state chapter of the NAACP.

'Get Rich or Die Tryin' director Jim Sheridan is upset about the recent controversy surrounding the posters for his upcoming movie. The billboards for 'Get Rich' feature two images; one with a shirtless 50 Cent holding a gun in one hand and a microphone in another, and the other with the bare-chested rapper cradling a baby with a gun tucked in his waste. A group of Los Angeles community activists rallied to get Paramount Pictures to remove the images from several Los Angeles communities. Sheridan feels the drama shows there's a gross double-standard in regard to black films. "You can have guns on a poster if you're Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith,' but you can't if you're f-ing 50 Cent," he griped.

'Entertainment Tonight' is getting some more color! In addition to regular correspondent Kevin Frazier, the show has added '227' and 'Sister Sister' star Jackee Harry as a special correspondent. Harry will serve as the show's insider for VH1's 'Celebrity Fit Club,' which is currently taping its new season. Harry appeared on last season's 'Celebrity Fit Club.' The actress had an exclusive one-on-one with Cher's daughter, Chastity Bono, on last week's show and will spotlight other contestants and their struggles on the show as well. Rapper Young MC, Kelly LeBrock ('The Woman In Red'), Countess Vaughn, ('The Parkers') rapper Bizarre (D12), Tempest Bledsoe ('The Cosby Show'), comic Bruce Vilanch and Jeff Conaway ('Grease') round out the cast.

Get well wishes go out to Bowlegged Lou of the veteran R&B group/producing team Full Force. The singer (real name Lou George) was struck by a vehicle while crossing West 25th Street in Manhattan last week and was just released from the hospital this past Friday. This is apparently Lou's second near-fatal automobile accident, but it looks as though he'll make a full recovery. Lou and his Full Force partners are responsible for numerous hit records for artists like Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Cheryl Pepsii Riley, Backstreet Boys, James Brown, N'Sync, Lil' Kim and Rihanna.

Precious Times magazine announces "The 50 Faithful" in its new winter issue. The Christian women's lifestyle glossy celebrates 50 notable personalities that are "doing the work that God appointed." Among those making this year's list include gospel singer Yolanda Adams , Chico Benymon ('Half & Half'), Xernona Clayton (executive producer of the Trump Awards), Al "The Bishop" Hobbs (National Association of Black Gospel Record Company Owners), Dr. Dorothy Height (National Council of Negro Women) and Commander Sergeant Major Michele Jones (Army Reserve). The issue also has a health special on breast cancer and a feature on the film, 'The Gospel.'

BV Scene

Prince and Sheila E. were spotted at the Temple Bar in Santa Monica, Ca. checking out the Go-Go Live Part II concert by singer Sy Smith ... Stacie J ('The Apprentice') and domestic maven B. Smith taking in controversial comic Paul Mooney's show at Carolines on Broadway in New York City ... Actress Monica Calhoun shopping for a designer gown in Saks Fifth Avenue on Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, Ca. ... Ja Rule and New Jersey chiropractor Dr. Thomas Haveron, hosting a charity dinner at Newark's Guitar Bar. The event, which aided Ja Rule's L.I.F.E. Camp foundation and the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey (BIANJ), raised more than $48,000.