Debra Messing in “The Starter Wife.” Debra Messing Starting Over Again by Jay S. Jacobs Debra Messing has a problem that most actresses would kill for.  When you are known indelibly for a role which hits the pop-culture jackpot, sometimes it’s not easy to get the public to see you as anyone else. Messing spent eight years playing Grace Adler on Will and Grace – a kooky, slightly neurotic but funny interior decorator with a gay best friend – who was one of the best-known sitco

Leslie Jordan Leslie Jordan Pink Carpet Story by Ronald Sklar Emmy-award-winning actor Leslie Jordan is perhaps best known as Karen’s arch nemesis, Beverley Leslie, on Will and Grace. However, his association with that groundbreaking series only fortified his own true Hollywood story. He had been “in” as an out actor since he got off the bus in Hollywood from the Tennessee hills in 1982. These days, it’s difficult to imagine how brave a career move that was, but Jordan always

Joshua Malina in “The West Wing.” Joshua Malina Hail to the Chief by Jay S. Jacobs There are lots of ways that people go about trying to get their first big break in acting.  Some people kill themselves working a minimum wage job while floating from audition to audition.  Some try other arts, like music or modeling, as an entrance. Some people sit on a stool in a Hollywood soda fountain and wait to get discovered.  Some eat something gross on national television. Joshua Malin

Peter Krause in “Sports Night” Peter Krause Helping to Make TV Safe for Smart People by Jay S. Jacobs The fall of 1998 was a tough time for television comedy. The networks tried to come up with a plan for post-Seinfeld TV, but the best they seemed to be able to come up with were tired retreads like Jesse, Two of a Kind and Maggie Winters. But shining like a diamond in the empty mine of a new comedy schedule was one true pedigree. Sports Night was a smart and funny look behind