The five Sullivan Brothers from Waterloo died when their ship was torpedoed in World War II. They are (from left) Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison and George./AP photo

Waterloo family lost 5 sons in WWII

On Memorial Day, Iowans remember the sacrifice of the Sullivan family of Waterloo.

During World War II, five brothers – Albert, Francis, George, Joseph and Madison Sullivan – died when the ship on which they were serving was torpedoed.

The five brothers, two of whom previously served in the Navy, enlisted in the Navy together on Jan. 3, 1942, less than a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. They insisted that they serve together on the same ship. It was Navy policy to separate family members, but  the Sullivans persisted in their request and the Navy relented.

They served aboard the USS Juneau, a light cruiser.

On Nov. 13, 1942, during the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Juneau was struck by a Japanese torpedo and sank. Four brothers died.  George, the eldest, made it to a raft and survived for five days.

They were awarded Purple Hearts.

The Sullivan brothers became national heroes, and their deaths served as a rallying cry for a nation at war.

Listen to a musical tribute from Caroline’s Spine. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi8wMWInVFs]

Albert’s granddaughter reflects on the Sullivan brothers here. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU7xuCPG5P0]

Legacy and tributes

• In response to their deaths, the U.S. War Department developed the Sole Survivor Policy
• The Navy named two destroyers in honor of the Sullivans.
• In 1944, the Sullivan brothers’ story was made into a movie called “The Sullivans.” It later was renamed “The Fighting Sullivans” and still is shown on some local TV stations around Memorial Day.
• The legacy of the Sullivan brothers continues to inspire popular entertainment, including the story line of “Saving Private Ryan.”
• Waterloo created Sullivan Park at the site of their childhood home and renamed the downtown civic center the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.
• The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum opened in Waterloo in November 2008.
• A U.S. Department of Defense Dependents School in Japan is named in their honor.
• In 1952, trees were planted at the U.S. Capitol in honor of the Sullivan brothers. Hear about them in a Webcast from Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPgwJLJt-p0]

Match Iowans with their TV shows

You know that Shawn Johnson won “Dancing With the Stars,” that

Donna Reed

“Tonight Show” legend Johnny Carson was born in Corning and that Cloris Leachman of Des Moines was on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

But just how extensive is your knowledge of Iowans on television?

Take this quiz and find out. Match the actor or actress with the series in which that person was a member of the regular cast.

Keen eyes will notice that there are 15 people listed but only 13 TV shows. That’s because one pair of Iowans was on one show, and another pair on another show.

The names are followed by the places of birth, with the exception of Annabeth Gish, who was born in New Mexico but was raised in Cedar Falls.

1.       Ron Livingston   (Marion)                                            A.  “The Bob Newhart Show”

2.       Michelle Monaghan  (Winthrop)                               B.   “CSI: New York”

3.       Annabeth Gish (Cedar Falls)                                       C.    “I Love Lucy”

4.       Donna Reed (Denison)                                                 D.   “Leave It to Beaver”

5.        Lara Flynn Boyle (Davenport                                     E.    “Dallas”

6.       Christian Clemenson (Humboldt)                               F.    “Boston Legal”

7.       Stephen Collins (Des Moines)                                     G.   “Seventh Heaven”

8.       Hill Harper (Iowa City)                                                 H.   “Lassie”

9.       William Frawley (Burlington)                                      I.    “Love Boat”

10.   Marcia Wallace (Creston)                                            J.    “The Practice”

11.   Fred Grandy (Sioux City)                                               K.    “Boston Public”

12.   Jerry Mathers (Sioux City)                                             L.      “Lost”

13.   Cloris Leachman (Des Moines)                                    M.    “Brotherhood”

14.   Michael Emerson (Cedar Rapids)

15.   Bill Daily (Des Moines)

Answers:  1 – J;  2 – K;  3 – M;  4 – E;  5 – J;  6 – F;  7 – G;  8 – B;  9 – C;  10 – A; 11 – I;  12 – D;  13 – H;  14 – L;  15 – A

 The CW network has tapped the talents of two Eastern Iowa natives for its fall lineup.

Ashton Kutcher

 As expected, the CW picked up the pilot for “Melrose Place,”  in which Iowa City native Laura Leighton, 41, will reprise her role of Sydney Andrew from the original Fox series.

Laura Leighton

  “The Beautiful Life,” created and produced by Ashton Kutcher, also was part of the lineup unveiled by the network Thursday.

The drama focuses on beautiful young people as they struggle to make it in modeling. Which is something  that Kutcher, who  was born in Cedar Rapids, knows about.  After winning the Fresh Faces of Iowa  modeling contest 12 years ago, he headed for New York City to pursue a modeling career .

The parallels did not escape the notice of Zap2it news, which described Kutcher’s new show this way:

“Executive producer Ashton Kutcher presents “The Ashton Kutcher Story” — sort of. One of the show’s central characters (Benjamin Hollingsworth) is an Iowa farm boy — like Kutcher once was — who gets discovered by a modeling agent in New York.”

In addition to wracking up more than 1 million followers on Twitter, the 31-year-old actor has produced a string of TV series, including “Punk’d,” “Beauty and the Geek,” “The Real Wedding Crashers,” “Opportunity Knocks” and “True Beauty.” 

As for Leighton, it’s a mystery as to how Sydney is alive, as the character was thought to have died after being hit by a car two years before the original “Melrose Place” went off the air.

Reportedly, something else about her role is shrouded in mystery. If you DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED,  do not read this report from EW.com

Can Shawn dance away with crown?

Shawn Johnson/AP

Shawn Johnson of  West Des Moines is an Olympic gymnastics champion, but does she have the right moves to be a dance champion?

 The world will find out Tuesday, May 19, when a new champion is crowned on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

 Johnson, 17, will be competing against actor Gilles Marini and former “Bachelor” contestant Melissa Rycroft on Monday, May 18.

Johnson and her partner placed second out of four couples in the semifinals May 11.

For their Argentine tango, she and partner Mark Ballas scored a perfect 10 for the first time this season.  See that performance here.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJskjOgselg&feature=related]

For their other dance, a jive, they scored 26 out of 30 points. Watch that here. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plRwmlgIUTo&feature=related]

Read what the judges had to say about Shawn’s performance at International Gymnast Magazine Online.

Rodeo star Ty Murray was eliminated the next night in the results show, leaving only three celebrities in the final showdown.

Johnson won one gold and one silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She is the youngest contestant ever to perform on “Dancing With the Stars.”

Mulgrew commands attention

Kate Mulgrew as Capt. Kathryn Janeway in "Star Trek: Voyager"

Actress Kate Mulgrew, a Dubuque native, has a way of commanding the screen.

That was noticed 30 years ago, when a guest stint on “Dallas” led to her casting, age 23, as the lead in the TV series “Mrs. Columbo.” (Don’t remember it? It didn’t last long.)

Mulgrew, 54, is perhaps best known to mass audiences today as Capt. Kathyrn Janeway in the TV series “Star Trek: Voyager,” which ran from  1995 to 2001.

Katherine Kiernan Mulgrew was born April 29, 1955, in Dubuque, the second-oldest of eight children. She attended Wahlert High School in Dubuque and headed to New York City to study acting at age 17.

Her first big break came in 1975, when she was cast as Mary Ryan,  the heroine, on the daytime drama “Ryan’s Hope.”

In her younger years, she bore a striking resemblance to a youthful Katharine Hepburn. Sounded a bit like her, too.

“Kate Mulgrew, twenty-three, is a native of Dubuque, Iowa, but you wouldn’t know it by listening to her,” wrote Rex McGee in an article in American Film in 1979. “Her speech is clipped, and her voice cool and sophisticated.”

In recent years, Mulgrew has worked primarily on the stage, mostly notably playing Katharine Hepburn in the one-woman play “Tea at Five” in New York City and on tour. Check out video from the play here. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X3rmiIzzLc&feature=PlayList&p=22279B537C1E20B5&index=7&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL]

“She does a marvelous impersonation of Ms. Hepburn,” wrote Bruce Weber in a New York Times review published March 18, 2003.  “Those who revere Katharine Hepburn will find much to be entertained and reassured by in Ms. Mulgrew’s portrayal.”

But she may be heading back to TV. She was in the pilot of “Mercy,” a medical drama that NBC has picked up for next season. Her status in the cast is unknown.

For now, content yourself with this video montage of her TV appearances. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nupa9CvIwl0&feature=PlayList&p=8C495A8320F412F8&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=4]

The pull of politics

• In 1999, she married her second husband, Tim Hagan, who ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for governor in Ohio in 2002. He serves on the Cuyahoga County commission in Ohio.
• On April 28, she returned to her hometown to be keynote speaker at the Dubuque County Democrats’ Hall of Fame Banquet. Her father, Thomas James Mulgrew, was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame.

The facts on Iowa-born Dax

Terry Farrell as Lt. Dax in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"

Riverside, the future birthplace of Capt. James T. Kirk, gets a nod in the new  “Star Trek” movie. But the city is not the only Iowa claim to fame in the “Star Trek” universe.

Cedar Rapids native Terry Farrell  had the highest-profile role in her career when she played Lt. Jadzia Dax on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” the TV spinoff that debuted in 1993.

Theresa Lee Farrell, who was born on Nov. 19, 1963, dropped out of high school at 17 to pursue modeling in New York.  As a model with the Elite agency, she had an exclusive contract with Mademoiselle magazine.

She continued to model on the side as she studied acting. Her first major role wasn’t much of a stretch:  She played a model in the short-lived TV series “Paper Dolls.”  She also snagged a supporting role in the movie “Back to School,” starring Rodney Dangerfield.

In 1993, she landed the role of Dax, a Trill and Starfleet science officer, on “Deep Space Nine.”  The following year, she was the star attraction at a Star Trek convention in her hometown.

Check out a video and musical tribute to Dax here. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gz85RaRDWo]

When her “Deep Space Nine” contract came up for renewal at the end of six years, she opted instead for a new role, playing a diner owner in “Becker,” a sitcom starring Ted Danson.  After four years on the show, she was replaced by Nancy Travis.

Check out her comedy chops in this clip from “Becker.” [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckpMj6Jw0wc]

Farrell married actor Brian Baker, a Pennsylvania native, in 2002. They have moved to the Hershey, Pa., to raise their son.

Fun facts

• You may not recognize Farrell’s husband by name, but you’ve seen him countless times. He was the deadpan, trench coat-clad Sprint spokesman on TV commercials a few years back.
• Asteroid 26734 Terryfarrell, discovered in 2001, is named in her honor by the International Astronomical Union.
• And what about 26733? Discovered in 2000, it is named 26733 Nanavisitor in honor of actress Nana Visitor, who also starred in “Deep Space Nine.”

Another Iowa connection

Another  Iowa  actress commanded the small screen in a “Star Trek” role. Can you identify her? More on that actress in the next Claim to fame.

Chrysler’s road started in Iowa

The road that led to Chrysler Corp., the once-mighty automaker that filed for bankruptcy April 30, started in Oelwein.

Walter Chrysler, a mechanic and foreman from Kansas, developed a passion for automobiles in 1908 while working for the Chicago Great Western railroad in Oelwein.  His infatuation eventually led him to Detroit and to the founding of the company that bears his name.

Chrysler, who was superintendent of locomotive power for the CGW’s shops in Oelwein, saw his first Locomobile in Chicago while on a business trip in 1908. It was love at first sight. He borrowed $4,300 and threw in his live savings of $700 to buy the beauty.

Back in Oelwein, he spent his free time in the barn by his house, taking the car apart, examining how things worked and then putting it back together, according to Cedar Rapids Gazette archives.

Once he’d finished three reassemblies, he finally took it for a spin.  Unfortunately, he did not know how to drive it. The car ended up in a garden and had to be pulled out by horses.

Although steering proved to be a problem, the auto was a turning point in Chrysler’s life.

After a run-in with his boss over a late train, Chrysler erupted in anger and walked out. By 1912, he was in Detroit as plant manager for Buick, a General Motors division, and quickly rose to the rank of division president.  Meddling by his boss prompted him in 1920 to quit yet another job in anger.

But he did not leave with empty pockets. He reportedly had $10 million in stock by the time he left the company.

He invested that money in auto engineering and research, and in 1925 formed Chrysler Corp., serving as president.

Chrysler ran the company until 1935 and died in 1940.

In 1998, Oelwein renamed a park in honor of Chrysler and put up two plaques telling of the “barnyard beginnings” of the Chrysler automobile.

Another Chrysler in Oelwein

Walter Chrysler Jr.  was born in Oelwein in 1909. The younger Chrysler founded a Chrysler division that developed the first air-conditioning system on wheels. He also was president of the Chrysler Building. He died in 1988.

Happy birthday, Cloris Leachman!

Oscar- and Emmy Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman/AP photo

Cloris Leachman, the Energizer Bunny of  Hollywood octogenarians, celebrates her 83rd birthday Thursday, April 30.

Leachman, whose autobiography, “Cloris”, was released March 31, is a native of  Des Moines.

In her book, Leachman mentions encounters with two other stars who passed through Des Moines on their way to fame:

• When she was in her teens, Leachman worked at the same radio station as sportscaster Ronald “Dutch” Reagan. At the time, she thought he was a square. Years later, when they worked together in New York, she found him to be quite gallant.
• She’s known singer Andy Williams, an Iowa native, since they were 8. In fact, his aunt was her piano teacher.

Leachman coming to Des Moines

Leachman will present her stage show, “Cloris!”, at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 10, at the Greater Civic Center of Des Moines, 221 Walnut St. Tickets are $47.50 and $62.50 through Civic Center Ticket Office, (515) 246-2300, or www.civiccenter.org

Fun fact

Leachman’s mother-in-law was actress Mabel Albertson, who played Darrin’s mother on “Bewitched.”

Iowa connection found on ‘Lost’

Jeremy Davies plays Daniel Faraday on "Lost." (AP photo, ABC)

“Lost,”  which airs its 100^th episode on Wednesday, April 29, has two well-documented Iowa connections:  Kate (played by Evangeline Lilly) is from the Hawkeye State (cue the twangy country music that ALWAYS plays in her flashbacks), and Michael Emerson, who plays Ben, was born in Cedar Rapids and grew up in Toledo.

But there is a third, not-so-well-known connection:  Jeremy Davies, who portrays physicist Daniel Faraday, the only person on the island who apparently has a clue about time travel, lived briefly in Iowa in the 1980s, during his late teens.

Davies, 39, is the son of children’s author and educator Mel Boring.  (Davies is the actor’s mother’s maiden name.) Jeremy’s parents divorced when he was young, and he lived with his mother in Kansas. After she died in the 1970s, he went to live with his father in California. In 1986, the Borings moved to Rockford, Iowa, which is about 10 miles southeast of Mason City.

According to biographies, he graduated from high school while living in Iowa and was manager of the school’s 1988 basketball team.

Once out of high school, he moved to California, attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, and worked his way up through TV commercials and bit parts on TV.

See the TV commercial for Subaru that put him on the road to success here.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLhfxI8T2cU]

Until “Lost,” he was perhaps best known for his role as Cpl. Timothy Upham, the interpreter, in “Saving Private Ryan.” And if you think that scruffy beard and haunting eyes make him look like Charles Manson, you aren’t the only one:  He was cast as Manson in a TV production of “Helter Skelter” in 2004. 

Oh, by the way, he’s hot. That’s the consensus of a video and musical tribute you can see here.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5YHskaZnsk]  

More about his dad

• Davies’ father had a public presence in Iowa that extended beyond his non-fiction children’s books and author visits to schools, where he was known to dress up as the Cat in the Hat.
• In 1992, Boring ran as an independent in an unsuccessful attempt to unseat U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican.
• In 2004, according to the Mason City Globe Gazette, Boring bought his first television set so he could watch his son in “Helter Skelter.”
• Boring and his second wife lived in Rockford for 20 years and then moved to Washington state. He died in September 2008.

Laura Leighton vamps in ‘Melrose’ revamp

Laura Leighton revives villainous Sydney in the "Melrose Place" pilot.

Iowa City native Laura Leighton, who played the conniving vamp on “Melrose Place” on the Fox network, is reprising the role in a pilot for a new TV pilot for “Melrose Place” for the CW network.

That comes as a shock to many, who presumed Sydney died in the season five finale of the original “Melrose Place” when she was hit by a car.

In the TV pilot, Leighton’s Sydney is the landlord of the apartment complex, a role that Heather Locklear (Amanda) had in the original but reportedly passed on for the remake.

If the pilot is picked up by a network, Leighton would have a recurring role in the series, TV Guide reports.

Leighton, whose real name is Laura Miller, was born on July 24, 1968, in Iowa City. (Leighton is her grandfather’s surname.) She graduated from West High School in 1986.

She was slated to play Sydney on the original “Melrose Place” for only two episodes in 1992 but stayed for 100 more, until Sydney’s untimely presumed death in 1997.

The series went on two more seasons without Sydney.

Leighton is married to Doug Savant, who plays Tom Scavo, husband of Lynnette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), on “Desperate Housewives. Leighton and Savant met on “Melrose Place,” where he played Matt Fielding.

Married since 1998, Leighton and Savant have a son, born in 2000, and a daughter, born in 2005.

See video of Sydney’s “death” on “Melrose Place” here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=b81T-Z-grWo

Fun facts:

• Leighton’s high school is a Melrose place. It is located on Melrose Avenue in Iowa City.
• Leighton was a member of The Young Americans song and dance troupe for a year.