Ask Mr. Know It All

By Gary Clothier

Q. I was reading about an old cemetery in Colorado. The writer was attempting to identify everyone interred there and the causes of death. One person “fell victim to miner’s con.” Did this guy try to pull a fast one and meet up with a speeding bullet?

J.M., Lenoir, N.C.

A. The first time I saw this notation on a cemetery list, I thought the same thing. I asked the attendant, who told me “miner’s con” is short for “miner’s consumption,” which covers several lung diseases caused by inhalation of mineral particles or coal dust.

Q. What happened to Josephine the plumber?

M.U., Charles City, Iowa

A. “Josephine the plumber” was a character in a series of TV commercials for Comet cleanser that aired in the 1960s and ’70s.

Jane Withers (born 1926) played Josephine. Withers began her acting career at age 3; she was one of the most popular child film stars of the 1930s and ’40s. She even starred opposite Shirley Temple in “Bright Eyes.”

In 1947, Withers took a hiatus from acting and returned to show business a few years later. She has almost 70 movie and TV credits ‚ö including voice work — to her name. She lives in Los Angeles.

Q. Whatever became of actress Yasmine Bleeth?

D.F., Woburn, Mass.

A. Yasmine Amanda Bleeth (born 1968) is best known for the roles of Caroline Holden in “Baywatch” and LeeAnn Demerest on “One Life to Live.”

In late 2000, Bleeth voluntarily entered a rehab clinic to overcome cocaine addiction. The following year, she was arrested in Michigan for possession of cocaine. She was sentenced to two years of probation. In 2002, she married Paul Cerrito, a nightclub owner.

Q. I was a fan of Jeanne Crain’s. How old was she when she died? Was she married? How many children did she have?

J.M.P., Newton Falls, Ohio

A. Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was born in 1925. She died of an apparent heart attack in 2003.

Crain began her acting career in 1943 and remained active until she retired in 1975. She appeared in more than 50 movies and TV shows. She received an Academy Award nomination for best actress for the 1949 film “Pinky,” in which she played the leading role of an African-American woman passing for Caucasian. She was an accomplished ice skater.

Crain married actor Paul Brinkman on Dec. 31, 1946, and the couple had seven children.

Q. Why are new potatoes called “new”?

G.L.L., Ocean City, Md.

A. New potatoes are young potatoes of any variety. Because the potato hasn’t had time to convert all of the sugar into starch, these immature tubers have a slightly different flavor from a mature potato.

Q. Did Judge Joseph Wapner of “The People’s Court” date Lana Turner?

V.T., Owosso, Mich.

A. Wapner did date Lana Turner, but in high school only. According to Wapner, the couple went on a few dates in the six weeks she attended Hollywood High School with him.

Wapner married his wife, Mickie, in 1946; they had three children. He retired from the Los Angeles Superior Court bench in 1979. Three years later, “The People’s Court” premiered. Wapner presided over about 7,000 cases. The show was canceled in 1993.

Turner, known as “The Sweater Girl” for her lovely physique, was a movie star in the 1940s and ’50s. She married seven times.

Q. In the movie “Secretariat” (2010), what was the name of the horse who played the former Triple Crown winner?

D.F., Woburn, Mass.

A. Five horses played Secretariat. The principal horse was Trolley Boy, who won a look-alike contest at the 2008 Secretariat Festival. He was the horse who walked the red carpet at the film premiere in Hollywood. Longshot Max was chosen after his owners submitted his photo to secretariat.com. The other three were used for racing scenes only.

Send your questions to Mr. Know-It-All at AskMrKIA@gmail.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

2012 Gary Clothier