Amsterdam, NL —I read a rude and troubling story in Amsterdam's Metro News this morning.   It said that that the Netherlands’s most accomplished and award winning actress Carice van Houten is past her prime and probably won’t be able to make waves in Hollywood. First let me say that van Houten looks young, wonderful and works out religiously to stay fit.  This beautiful and talented Dutch actress still has exactly what it takes to take Hollywood by storm. Currently van Houten plays the role of Melisandre in HBO’s Game of Thrones .   She has starred in a terrific Paul Verhoeven film, Black Book as a Dutch Resistance spy and hero.  Along the way she made several other films. If there is something unfortunate about van Houten’s Game of Thrones role is that hoods, capes and a long red wig cover her.  That made van Houten nearly unrecognizable to American journalists when she walked the Red Carpet for the show’s third season premier in Hol...

Los Angeles, CA —Aside from being a licensed investigator and an investigative TV news producer, I’m an actor and a member of SAG-AFTRA since 1997. I watched the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman play his very diverse roles with absolute envy.  Hoffman walked away with an Oscar for playing Truman Capote.   Capote was a flaming Gay toad with a real gift for writing that was very comfortable with his bizarre persona. Hoffman by all accounts was a straight guy with a longtime girlfriend with three children.  He simply had a gift to make any character he played really believable. Hoffman became his characters, bringing real life to the words written in a film script.  That took tremendous discipline that was very inconsistent with his apparent drug addiction. My first acting coach at Arizona State University made it clear to me that if I was afraid to look foolish or strange before an audience I’d be better off not acting.   I thought of how I really ...

Chicago, IL —In February of 2005 off duty railroad cop Howard Morgan was shot by Chicago police officers at least 25 times.  Somehow Morgan miraculously survived but currently sits convicted in an Illinois prison for many more years than he has left on this earth. I wrote about this strange case when it happened. There are still many more questions than answers.  Something awful happened during that traffic stop in the Lawndale neighborhood that led to a horrific firefight. Chicago police officials could not seem to find a motive for their claim of Morgan’s attack on their officers.   The only thing that ever made sense to me was a sudden misunderstanding that provoked the firefight. I don’t for a second accept the idea Morgan simply went from law-abiding citizen and former Chicago cop, to a railroad policeman and then finally became a mad dog killer. This case never made sense to me.   It needs to be reinvestigated and I want the job. ...

New York, NY —Becoming a successful actor is incredibly difficult for most even if they have talent. Just getting a decent manager and or agent is a major task.  An actor without an agent is unemployed. Aside from my investigative and media work I'm an actor.  I did my best work in  community  theater.  I’ve had a SAG-AFTRA membership card since 1997.  I did a few  forgettable TV spots and  films before a serious hearing loss problem sidelined me.   I have great hearing aids now but my age is not helping me to get motivated again.   46 year-old Phillip Seymour Hoffman made to the RED Oscar Carpet winning as Best Actor for his role in Capote.  His career was on fire!   Hoffman was also successful producer and director.  He was currently filming for the Hunger Games franchise.  Hoffman confessed addiction problems and did a stint in rehab.  His premature death seems to indicate this was a...

Chicago, IL —Before 1969 divorce was no simple process in most jurisdictions.  The laws were designed to make divorce difficult with the idea that couples could solve their differences and continue to responsibly raise their children. There had to be specific grounds and the most popular was “extreme cruelty”.  There was abandonment and adultery, however they were much more difficult to prove.  The petitioner had to prove that the marriage had not only failed but was dangerous! Without what we’d today call terroristic threats, a divorce would not be granted. The lawyers would all tell their clients, “Don’t worry it’s only a formality, just sign here or no divorce.” If you go to the court clerk’s office and pull random case files they’re all carbon copies of each other. “The Respondent has repeatedly pulled a handgun on Petitioner threatening to kill her”  was written right at the top of nearly every petition! The respondent in most cases also...