DEAR STACY: Whatever happened to Heather Menzies from "The Sound of Music"? — Dave A., Brooklyn, N.Y.

DEAR DAVE: The actress, who lost her husband of 26 years, popular actor Robert Urich, to synovial cell sarcoma[live link] in 2002, has continued her efforts in the fight against cancer with the inauguration last year of the California-based Robert Urich Foundation for Cancer Research. That's in addition to her affiliation with the Urich Fund at The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Menzies herself is a survivor of ovarian cancer. She also stays busy mothering 10-year-old Allison, the youngest of the three children she and Robert adopted. There is also 29-year-old Ryan, who is becoming a doctor, and Emily, 27, a mother of two girls. Menzies stays in touch with her fellow Von Trapp family members from "The Sound of Music." In the past year, she reunited with "SOM" sisters Charmian Carr (Leisl), Angela Cartwright (Brigitta) and Kym Karath (Gretyl) at a Douglas Kirkland movie photography exhibition at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, hosted Deb Turner (Marta) at her vacation home, caught up with movie brother Nicholas Hammond (Fredrick) as he was traveling, and visited her film papa, Christopher Plummer, backstage after a performance of "Inherit the Wind" on Broadway.

DEAR STACY: Was there ever a definitive answer about what is in the suitcase in the movie "Pulp Fiction"? -- Frank K., Cleveland, Ohio

DEAR FRANK: Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino's answer is that what's inside is "whatever you want it to be."

DEAR STACY: On March 21, I watched an episode of "House" with guest star Joel Grey as a dying man. On his deathbed, a song was played in the background. A woman sang this beautiful song with a soft, beautiful voice. Could you please name that song and the woman who sang it? -- Dave S., Staten Island, N.Y.

DEAR DAVE: You heard Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star singing the haunting tune "Into Dust," from the pop group's 1993 album "So Tonight that I Might See." That was a repeat airing of an episode from the show's third season, titled "Informed Consent."

DEAR STACY: Whatever became of Matthew Laborteaux, who played Laura Ingalls' brother, Albert, on "Little House on the Prairie"? Last I heard, he made a horror movie in the '80s.

-- G.P., Chattanooga, Tenn.

DEAR G.P.: Laborteaux, who played the genius who brings a dead girl back to life in the 1986 Wes Craven film, "Deadly Friend," was seen frequently in a Verizon commercial last year. He's also done a lot of voice work as an adult, with credits including the "Spider-Man" cartoon and the big-screen "Mulan." The 41-year-old actor and his brother Patrick ("Jag") founded a charity dedicated to helping runaways, Youth Rescue Fund, and reportedly raised some $11 million for youth shelters across the country.

DEAR STACY: Perhaps you'll be able to enlighten me as to why Joan Rivers' daughter, Melissa, is referred to as "Melissa Rivers" when, in fact, Rivers is her mother's maiden name and not her name. Also, how old is Melissa's son and has she remarried? -- Birdie M., East Meadow, N.Y.

DEAR BIRDIE: Melissa adopted her mother's famous surname to give her a leg up professionally when she decided to make acting her career after she'd graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 -- and after the suicide of her father, producer Edgar Rosenberg, in 1987. Divorced from horse breeder John Endicott in '03, she remains unmarried. Her son, Edgar Cooper Endicott, who goes by Cooper, is now 7 years old and close to grandma Joan, who refers to him in her latest one-woman show, "Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress."

DEAR STACY: I am a fan of Don Johnson. Please tell me what he's been doing. -- Joan K., Brooklyn, N.Y.

DEAR JOAN: Johnson's been spending a lot of time working in Europe. He had "Bastardi" with Franco Nero released in Italy in January, and a Norwegian war comedy released in March. Early last year, he played Nathan Detroit in a production of "Guys and Dolls" on London's West End. On the home front, he and second wife Kelly Phleger have three children, ranging in age from eight to two. He also has daughter Dakota, 18, from his former marriage to Melanie Griffith, and son Jesse, 25, with Patti D'Arbanville.

DEAR STACY: Are Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman engaged? -- Judy B., Cleveland, Ohio

DEAR JUDY: "Not that I know of," said Kimmel when I asked him recently. Silverman has gone on the record saying they don't need a piece of paper to make their relationship better.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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