The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, February 17, 2012 2 coverstory Sulu and Queen of Mean among new 'Apprentice' celebs They're hired By Dee Wright TV Media A s the nation waits with bated breath to see who the Republican presidential nominee will be, many will also be watching one of the could-have-beens. Real-estate mogul Donald Trump opted out of the presi- dential race last spring so he could focus on the series, and though the last season finale had lower ratings than the previous years, Trump is sure to have an ace up his sleeve. "This will be our 12th sea- son, and I have to say, I love 'Celebrity Apprentice,'" Trump said in an interview with NBC. "We've raised tens of millions of dollars for charity. We've never raised so much as we have in the last season." The lineup this season, which premieres Sunday, Feb. 19 on NBC, consists of many big names from the entertain- ment world. TV stars include Tia Carrere, Lou Ferrigno, George Takei, Paul Teutul Sr., Cheryl Tiegs, Penn Jillette, Adam Carolla and Lisa Lampanelli. From the music world, Clay Aiken, Deb- bie Gibson, Dee Snider and Aubrey O'Day have also signed on. Michael Andretti, Teresa Giudice, Victoria Gotti, Patricia Velasquez and Arsen- io Hall round out the cast that will be in the boardroom this season. Dee Snider is in this season of "The Celebrity Apprentice" Carrere has starred in "Wayne's World" (1992), as well as a three-season run as the lead character in "Relic Hunter." She also appeared in Season 2 of "Dancing With the Stars." Ferrigno was best known in the '70s and '80s when he played David Banner's angry side, also known as the In- credible Hulk. He has reprised his green role in several films and TV series, and he will voice the newest resurrection of the Hulk in the 2012 film, "The Avengers." Takei starred as helmsman Sulu in the original "Star Trek" series and multiple movies. He currently voices a character on the Nickelodeon series "Supah Ninjah." Teutul founded Orange County Choppers, which is the bike shop featured on "American Chopper." Supermodels Tiegs and Ve- lasquez have both broken A/Auto Boutique B/The Green Giraffe 2 x 2 into television over their ca- reers. Tiegs voiced herself in an episode of "Family Guy," and Velasquez appeared in "Arrested Development " and "Rescue Me." Magician Jillette is the speaking half of Vegas illu- sionist act Penn and Teller. The pair had a series on Showtime called "Penn & Teller: Bull...," wherein the two took very blunt stances on many issues. Jillette was also the first celeb- rity eliminated from Season 6 of "Dancing With the Stars." Comedian Carolla also ap- peared on that season of "Dancing With the Stars," though he only made it for three weeks longer than Jil- lette. The two will meet again in the boardroom in "The Ce- lebrity Apprentice," with both men bringing their blunt and controversial comedy to the table. Lampanelli is known as the Queen of Mean because of her comments during many of Comedy Central's celebrity roasts, but her insults are all made in the fun that is ex- pected from the comics. Aiken was technically the runner-up for Season 2 of "American Idol," but he has since been more successful than the winner, Ruben Stud- dard. Gibson was a pop star in the 1980s, and she is the youngest woman to write, produce and perform a No. 1 single on the Billboard charts. Snider is best known for his work with heavy-metal band Twisted Sister, the band be- hind "We're Not Gonna Take It." He has also appeared in "Celebrity Wife Swap," "Kitchen Nightmares," and "Growing Up Twisted." O'Day was a member of the third group formed on the MTV series, "Making the Band." Her group, Danity Kane, was formed in 2004, and O'Day left the group in 2008 to pursue a solo career. She has since had several lead roles on Broadway. Race-car driver Andretti has never appeared on a real- ity series before, and he al- most didn't appear in "The Celebrity Apprentice," either. He stepped in when his son Marco stepped away from the series after the death of his close friend Dan Wheldon in October 2011. Giudice is famous for being a regular cast member of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." Aside from the series, she has also published two cookbooks so far, with another due out this spring. Gotti is the daughter of crime boss John Gotti, and she appeared in the reality se- ries "Growing Up Gotti." She also had a column in the New York Post for several years and has put out five books. Hall rounds out the crew. He revolutionized late-night TV in the early 1990s, urging his crowds to whoop instead of applaud during recordings, and the move quickly became a staple of pop culture for many years. Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Have Gabi and Miles on "Sesame Street" always been played by the same actors? A: No, actually -- a few different young actors have taken on those roles for the venerable TV institution. Fittingly, just as the characters themselves were part of longstanding "Sesame Street" families, the first actors to play them were family as well. Both roles were first played by the children of the actors playing their parents. The first person to appear as Miles Robinson was Miles Orman, the real-life son of Roscoe Or- man, who played his father, Gordon. And the first to play Gabi Rodriguez was Gabriela Manzano, daughter of Sonia Manzano, who played Gabi's mother, Maria. Miles Orman stuck with the role until he turned 7, while Gabriela left the show in 1993 to pursue a promising role in kindergarten. The only other actress to play Gabi has been Desiree Cas- ado, who's been in the role for nearly 20 years now. Miles has been played by two other actors since -- Imani Patterson stepped into the job in 1992 and held it for 10 years before being replaced by Olamide Faison, who has played Miles ever since. If Faison looks familiar to older viewers, it could be a fam- ily resemblance he shares with his older brother, Donald Fai- son, who starred as Dr. Christopher Turk on "Scrubs." A/Crazy Tom's B/Allstar Auto Wash 2 x 3 Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com.