Pop culture Q&A

April 4, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Rich Heldenfels

McClatchy Tribune

Q. I always admired how Steve McGarrett’s hair always looked so perfect on “Hawaii 5-0,” and have considered that possibly Jack Lord wore some kind of hairpiece. Any thoughts?

A. Lord’s hair was considered an architectural marvel, and was thought in all its lacquered glory to add as much as 2 inches to his height. But, while there was one claim that Lord used a hairpiece, the wider consensus is that the hair was all his.

Q. My wife and I saw a movie in the early ’70s that stuck with us. It was a black-and-white starring Richard Benjamin (we think) and revolved around a wedding. One of the lines was “More soup, Frank?” One of the lead female characters said she was getting a divorce (from Richard Benjamin’s character) because his hair didn’t smell like raisins anymore. We can’t come up with the title.

A. That’s “Lovers and Other Strangers,” a 1970 ensemble comedy based on the play by Ren e Taylor and Joseph Bologna. Bea Arthur is the one asking about soup; Diane Keaton misses the smell of raisins — although it’s Joseph Hindy, not Richard Benjamin, playing her husband, and the movie is in color. It is on DVD and is also famous for the Oscar-winning song “For All We Know.”

Q. Some years ago, I think in the early to mid-’70s, I remember watching a TV movie starring Darren McGavin, called “The Night Stalker.” This led to a sometimes campy series of the same name. Along with Dennis Weaver’s “Duel,” this ranks near the top of all TV movies, in my opinion. I wonder if there are any DVDs or tapes of this movie.

A. “The Night Stalker,” which starred McGavin as reporter Carl Kolchak, was a huge TV-movie hit in 1972. McGavin reprised the role in 1973’s “The Night Strangler” and in the 1974-75 TV series “Kolchak: The Night Stalker.” The whole thing helped inspire “The X-Files,” where McGavin was an occasional guest star. In 2005, the series “Night Stalker” (no “the”) aired briefly, with Stuart Townsend as Kolchak.

The original “Night Stalker” and “Night Strangler” are available on a double-feature DVD; the “Kolchak” TV series and the 2005 “Night Stalker” series are also on DVD. So, by the way, is 1971’s “Duel,” which in addition to starring Weaver, was directed by a kid named Steven Spielberg.

Q. Can you give us an update on the Statler Brothers since their retirement from touring and concerts? We miss them so much. Are they well and are they doing any recording?

A. Harold Reid, Phil Balsley, Jimmy Fortune and Harold’s brother Don have been retired since 2002. (Longtime member Lew DeWitt left the group for medical reasons in the early ’80s and was replaced by Fortune; DeWitt died in 1990.) According to the group’s Web site (www.statlerbrothers.com), Balsley is still involved in the group’s day-to-day operations. Don Reid has been writing books and, with Harold, did a memoir about the Statlers which came out in 2008. Fortune has done some solo recording.

“The Gospel Music of the Statler Brothers,” a two-DVD set of performances from their TNN TV series and recent interviews, is due May 18 from Gaither Music; there’s a clip on www.gaither.com. The group has also given thumbs up to a tribute CD by bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent; the 12-song “Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers” is available through Cracker Barrel restaurants.