Birds of a Feather

Today marks my 90th post! Had I not taken two months off, I would have had over 150. Oh, well. . . .

We have another celebrity puzzle today (see my previous post "Bad Hair Day"). This is by David W. Cromer and it's called "Audobon Society." You guessed it; the celebrities all have types of birds in their names:

Raven Symone, age 3

16A: Daughter on The Cosby Show (RAVEN SYMONE). Raven Symone was only 3 or 4 when she made her debut on The Cosby Show as Denise's stepdaughter, Olivia. They needed someone to replace cute little Rudy's place since she was about to hit puberty. Wasn't Raven cute? She also was on "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and appeared in two of the Dr. Dolittle movies. Also a singer, she eventually had her own show in The Disney Channel called "That's So Raven." OK, she gained a few pounds over the years, but there's nothing wrong with having curves. She showed off a much slimmer look last summer (see before-and-after picture on the left). 

61A: Cheers star (RHEA PERLMAN). Carla Tortelli, the wise-cracking waitress at Cheers, was such a great character. She had disdain for many people, especially her fellow waitress Diane Chambers (played by Shelley Long) and Cliff Claven, the hapless mailman (played by John Ratzenberger). Carla had a reputation for being promiscuous. When the series started, Carla had four children but had eight by the time it ended. Carla knew Sam during his baseball days, and invited Carla to work for him when he opened the bar. Her first husband, Nick Tortelli  (played by Dan Hedaya), re-married a blonde bimbo named Loretta. Nick had an unsuccessful spin-off series of his own. Carla's second husband was the hockey star Eddie LeBec (played by Jay Thomas). Unfortunately, Eddie was released from the Bruins' contract and had to take a job as a mascot for a traveling ice show. He met his demise with a Zamboni machine.

10D: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous co-host (ROBIN LEACH). Champagne wishes and caviar dreams! This show focused on celebrities and all the material possessions they owned so they could rub it in our faces. The show was often parodied (badly) on other TV series, such as Sesame Street and Saved by the Bell. Leach was a former journalist who hosted this show from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. Pictured on the right is Leach interviewing the divine Miss Piggy. 

28D: Norma Rae director (MARTIN RITT). A successful TV director, Martin Ritt (1914-1990) was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities committee for directing Communist-party members of a local NYC union in their annual show. He was associated with other theater groups who had Communist leanings. He then returned to the theater until the Red Scare decreased its intensity, and he went on to direct movies. Some of his most successful films included The Long, Hot Summer, Sounder, The Great White Hope, Hud, and Murphy's Romance. Sally Field, of course, won an Oscar for Norma Rae. 

Today's Crytoquote is by Henry David Thoreau:

"There are few men who do not love better to give advice than to give assistance."

This is sort of a continuation of yesterday's quote. 

Till tomorrow. . . . 

Signing off,

The Puzzlechick