DEAR STACY: Can you tell me what the B.D. stands for in "Law & Order: SVU" star B.D. Wong's name? — Nora B., Cedar Rapids, Iowa

DEAR NORA: Bradley Darryl, a fact he enjoyed keeping "mysterious" for years. He started using his initials back in 1988 when he went into Broadway's "M. Butterfly," in which he played a man who masqueraded as a woman. "I was asked to use only my initials in playbills and advertising," he told me. "There was no gender reference, the audiences not having known, early on, what the play was about, and not having any information about me personally." He subsequently had his name legally changed to B.D.

DEAR STACY: What is the song on the Dockers (San Francisco) commercial that starts out, "like a sound you hear that lingers in your ear … " It has a soulful, nostalgic sound. Please tell me the artist or group that recorded it. Gotta have it! — David T., Bronx, N.Y.

DEAR DAVID: That's the 1968 song "California Soul" by The Fifth Dimension. It's on their Stoned Soul Picnic album as well included in several "best of" collections.

DEAR STACY: You never hear about Shelley Fabares and her aunt, Nanette Fabray, anymore. What have they been up to? — Candace L, Shaker Hts., Ohio

DEAR CANDACE: Fabares, 64, has been touring the country with husband Mike Farrell to promote his "Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist" book — which has proceeds earmarked for the Death Penalty Focus organization he leads. She was sidelined by a broken hip and subsequent surgery this past spring. The former "Coach" star and one-time teen queen of Elvis movies and "The Donna Reed Show" (who's been sporting wild magenta, blond and brown hair of late) has done many public speaking engagements having to do with organ transplants (she underwent a liver transplant in 2000) and Alzheimer's Disease. Her late mother suffered the latter, and Shelley has worked with the Alzheimer's Association — as spokeswoman, board member and advocate — for more than 15 years. She's also devoted time to her work as President of the Board of Directors for the Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts. Her aunt, Tony and Emmy award-winning actress Nanette Fabray is living a quiet life in Pacific Palisades, Calif., at age 87.

DEAR STACY: Whatever happened to Mitzi Gaynor from "South Pacific"? — J.J., D.S. and M.K., Guttenberg, N.J.

DEAR J.J., D.S., and M.K.: The vivacious singer-dancer-actress looks terrific at 76 and is poised for a resurgence, with the planned box set release of eight of her TV specials and the autumn launch of a one-woman show she's calling Razzle Dazzle: My Life Behind the Sequins! On July 25, she's being honored at a Castro Theatre gala in San Francisco, hosted by Bruce Vilanch (with a screening of her "Mitzi … and 100 Guys" special). Gaynor's manager, producer and husband of 52 years, Jack Bean, died of pneumonia in 2006. Last year, she was honored by the Museum of Television & Radio in Los Angeles. Check out her website (missmitzigaynor.com) for more info.

DEAR STACY: I would like to know who does the voice of Stewie and Peter on "Family Guy." — Linda, New York, N.Y.

DEAR LINDA: Little Stewie and papa Peter are both voiced by the show's remarkable creator, Emmy winner Seth MacFarlane, who in May signed a $100 million deal with Fox to continue making "Family Guy" and "American Dad" — reportedly making him TV's highest-paid writer. The Kent, Connecticut-born multi-talent, now 34, became TV's youngest Executive Producer at 24 when Fox commissioned the "Family Guy" pilot. A popular college speaker and late night TV presence, he's acted on shows including "The Gilmore Girls" and (known as a sci-fi devotee) "Star Trek: Enterprise." Single, he's been linked with actress Eliza Dushku.

DEAR STACY: Are Sarah Jessica Parker and Mary Louise Parker related? — A.I., Hermosa Beach, Calif.

DEAR A.I.: No relation.

DEAR STACY: On the May 23 "Grey's Anatomy" there was a beautiful song played in the background as all the actors kissed and made up. Will you please, please let me know who the artist is and how I can get a copy of the recording. — Helen B., Bronx, N.Y.

DEAR HELEN: That was "The Quest" — the first single released by ever-hotter Birmingham, U.K. singer Bryn Christopher, who's making the leap from sharing the bill with such artists as Amy Winehouse and Mary J. Blige into his own headliner status.

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.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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