Entertainment

Musician Lenny Kaye is perhaps best known as Patti Smith's guitarist. But he's also a music writer, whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and Creem. His new book, You Call it Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon, chronicles the male singers of the 1930s known for their suave, sophisticated and romantic interpretations of song: Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee and Russ Columbo.

Team America: World Police is a new spoof of action adventure films starring puppets. It's the work of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the animated TV show South Park. David Edelstein offers a review of Team America.

Dangerfield died Tuesday at the age of 82. He recently published a book about his life, Rodney Dangerfield: It's Not Easy Bein' Me. This interview was originally broadcast on July 6, 2004.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews the new Pixar animated film The Incredibles. Voiced by Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter, among others, the comic film tracks a family of superheroes who must abandon a quiet life in the suburbs to fight evil.

Victoria Price is the daughter of actor Vincent Price, who was best known as the "king of horror" for his performances in horror films. He starred in a number of Roger Corman's films including House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, Tales of Terror, The Raven, and The Masque of the Red Death. Victoria is the author of the book: Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography. (Rebroadcast from Oct. 28, 1999.)

Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx are the songwriting team behind the 2004 Tony award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q (which won Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical). Their subversive show features people and puppets and is about a group of aimless 30-somethings with low expectations and active libidos. It includes such songs as It Sucks to be Me, Everyone's a Little Bit Racist, If You Were Gay, and I Wish I could Go Back to College.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews recently released DVDs of Judy Garland musicals. Meet Me in St. Louis, Ziegfeld Girl and In The Good Old Summertime are among the titles.

His new film is I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, directed by Mike Hodges. Owen and Hodges first worked together on the film Croupier. You can also see Owen in the new film King Arthur, in which he plays the title role. He also appeared in the films The Bourne Identity and Gosford Park.

His new film is Baadasssss! It's the story of the making of 1971 classic Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. In the film, Mario Van Peebles plays his father, director Melvin Van Peebles. Mario got his start directing and starring in the film New Jack City. Other acting credits include the role of Malcolm X in the film Ali, and a role in Ten Thousand Black Men Named George, about the unionization of Pullman train porters.

Seagle has written for Superman and Uncanny X-Men as well as House of Secrets: Foundation, a supernatural court drama comic. He's teamed up with artist Teddy Kristiansen for the new graphic novel, It's a Bird... In this semi-autographical book Seagle deconstructs the classic Superman myth and reflects on power and powerlessness.

He's been acting since he was a child. Culkin first attracted attention as John Candy's inquisitive nephew in the John Hughes film, Uncle Buck. The film Home Alone turned him into a star. He also made the films Home Alone II, Jacob's Ladder, and most recently Party Monster. Recently he returned to acting after a 6-year hiatus. His latest film is Saved! He plays a high school student in a wheelchair attending an evangelical Christian High School, whose friends are all outsiders. The film has been described as part religious satire, and part teenage rite of passage film.

She's starring in her one-woman show, Bridge and Tunnel. The play about the immigrant experience in America has been critically acclaimed. Margo Jefferson of The New York Times writes, "Humor, compassion and daring have more often found a place in solo performance. This free form frees gifted artists to change sex, race, age, body type and personality in an instant. It takes great craft and generosity. Sarah Jones has both."

Guitarist and singer Marty Grosz and cornet player Randy Reinhart join us for a special in-studio performance in honor of the 100th birthday of Thomas "Fats" Waller. He would have been 100 on May 21. Grosz and Reinhart will perform songs composed by the great pianist and vocalist. Waller wrote many hit songs, appeared in films in the 1930s and 1940s, and wrote Broadway musicals.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews A Song I Knew By Heart,the new novel by Bret Lott.

Victor Argo died earlier this week. He was 69.

He's starring in the new film The United States of Leland. His other films include Boogie Nights, Ocean's Eleven and Traffic.

On March 7, the actor and monologist Spalding Gray was found dead in the East River in New York. Gray, 62, had been missing for two months. His family believes he committed suicide. Gray was best known for his autobiographical monologues, including Swimming to Cambodia, Monster in a Box and It's a Slippery Slope. Over the last 19 years he was a frequent guest on Fresh Air. We listen back to excerpts of his performances and interviews: Swimming to Cambodia (rebroadcast from Aug. 20, 1985), Monster in a Box (rebroadcast from Sept.

Actor Spalding Gray, famous for his autobiographical monologues, was found dead on March 7 in New York's East River. He'd been missing for two months. In the first of a two-part series, Terry Gross speaks with people who knew Gray well, including his wife, Kathie Russo, and his friend, Robby Stein. The second program features excerpts of Gray’s Fresh Air interviews.

Winfield was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Sounder. He appeared in many television shows, and was a voice on The Simpsons. He died at the age of 62 from a heart attack.

As an actress, she's best-known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies. She's also the author of the bestsellers Postcards From the Edge (which she adapted into a screenplay for the film of the same name), and Surrender the Pink. Like Postcards from the Edge, Fisher's new book The Best Awful is based on her own life. In it, Hollywood actress Suzanne Vale's husband leaves her for another man, and then she is diagnosed with bipolar illness.