Luke Perry is very much in touch with his inner cowboy these days — to the point that he's told Hallmark Channel honchos that whenever they want him for a Western, he's in. A horse owner himself, he feels more at home on the range than in, say, Beverly Hills, 90210 or the year 2021 (ala his "Jeremiah" sci-fi series). But there's more to it than that, he says. It's a point of view, as exemplified by his July 5-debuting "A Gunfighter's Pledge."

"It's simple subject matter about a guy keeping his word — back when your word was your bond, not just a line in a text message," says Luke, whose character is tasked with returning the body of a man he accidentally killed to his family. "It's when you looked at somebody and said, 'This is going to happen,' and meant it. I guess people think that's some sort of provincial outlook, but I don't think there's enough of it in this world."

The father of a son and daughter, ages 12 and 7, he stresses, "There's no time during this movie that a parent couldn't walk out of the room and leave their kid watching. It would be OK."

He adds, "We had to make it very fast, out in the desert. It was a little challenging, but when you're working like that, it makes you concentrate more on the intimate parts of storytelling, more about what is going on with the character," he says.

Not that his character has a whole lot to say. Perry says he told producers, "'The more I ride and the less I talk, the better off we'll all be in this. Less of me talking, more of me riding is probably the way to go.'"

As for what's ahead, Luke says he's open. "I always love working on a good series. I enjoy working on the same character for a long time. With movies, it seems like just when you're getting into your character's shoes, they take the shoes away."

EVERY BOY'S DREAM: "Cold Case" regular Thom Barry will be trading his detective's badge for a microphone later this summer. The actor was invited to be a celebrity performer for the Aug. 26 L.A. date of the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp Summer Tour, and can hardly contain his excitement about it.

"I don't even know everybody who'll be there, but they brought me in as a vocalist and a guitar player, and just to be able to participate in that and be on stage at the House of Blues … I don't even know what I'm singing, and it really doesn't matter," he says. "I'll be on stage with the head guy from Winger, the guitarist from Metallica … "

Meanwhile, Barry, who plays Det. Will Jeffries on the CBS police drama, says the "Cold Case" troupe has gotten a jump on new episodes for the show's sixth season returning this fall — just in case the pending actor's strike becomes a reality. "We're working on episode four now. We're going to shoot five, take another month off and see what happens."

AND THEN HE SAID: Kenny Hotz of "Kenny vs. Spenny" says things could be changing for the better now that his show has become a staple on Comedy Central. It's certainly a big step for a small show that originated in Canada. "The reality is, our show is on Comedy Central. If this works, I could buy my butler a Bentley. I could be mega rich and famous. I could be dating Scarlett Johansson and her mom at the same time," claims the jovial Hotz. Now whether these things might actually happen is a different story. Luckily, Hotz has a backup plan if things don't work out.

"I have some other projects that I'll always do because it is Hollywood and I'm waiting to crash and burn at any time."

Of course he admits he'd love to do another project with "South Park's" Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who are executive producers on his show. However, there is only one problem. "I call with ideas all the time. They just don't answer my phone calls."

MEMORABLE INDEED: There is bound to be plenty of laughter and story swapping — in addition to sighs and tears — at today's (6/27) Beverly Hills Hotel memorial reception honoring show biz publicity man and character about town Howard Brandy, who passed away Monday after a long illness. In a career that spanned from heading PR departments at A&M and Motown Records to repping hundreds of films and filmmakers, from "Help!" and "Young Frankenstein" to "Sexy Beast" and the soon due "Kabluey," Howard cut his own swath. His profile provided the inspiration for client Jay Ward's Dudley Do-Right character, and his arrestingly raspy voice reportedly stunned Stevie Wonder into jumping up on a bed the first time he heard it. He had a knack for making zany and/or impossible things happen. He seemed to know everyone, and delighted in bringing together friends and acquaintances who could help one another. His heart was as big as his personality. We'll miss him.

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

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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