Q: What has happened to the actor who played "Castle"? He did a great job and I miss seeing him, and the show.
A: Nathan Fillion, who played Richard Castle for eight seasons on the ABC series, will be back on the network this fall as the star of "The Rookie." The hourlong drama finds Fillion playing "small-town guy John Nolan, who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer." And, of course, he's the oldest rookie in the department. The series premieres Oct. 16. Since "Castle" ended in 2016 you could have also seen Fillion in the streaming series "The Santa Clarita Diet" and "A Series of Unfortunate Events," and the ABC shows "Modern Family" and, perhaps most memorably, "American Housewife," where he played a hilarious version of himself.
Jack Lord, Renaissance man
Q: I would be delighted if you could give me some information on Jack Lord from the original "Hawaii Five-0."
A: Lord was most famous as the original Steve McGarrett on "Five-0" from 1968 to 1980. But he had other noteworthy roles: He was the first to play CIA agent Felix Leiter in James Bond movies, appearing in 1962's "Dr. No."
He was born John Ryan in New York in 1920. He worked at sea, played football and studied art at New York University, sold cars and, perhaps most important, painted, with his works later held by dozens of museums around the world. With training at the legendary Actors Studio, he worked in theater, movies and television. Before "Hawaii Five-0," he starred in "Stoney Burke" as a rodeo rider; it aired in 1962-63.
After "Five-0" ended, he retired from acting and concentrated on art. He remained in Hawaii until his death, at 77, in 1998.
No Emmy love for Andy
Q: Why were the "Andy Griffith Show" and Andy Griffith overlooked for Emmys? I know that Don Knotts received several and Frances Bavier received one.
A: During its 1960-68 run, "The Andy Griffith Show" received nine Emmy nominations, five for Don Knotts as best supporting actor (which he won all five times), once for Frances Bavier (who also won) and three times for comedy series, losing to "The Jack Benny Show" in 1961, the original "Bob Newhart Show" in 1962 and "The Monkees" in 1967. Griffith was not nominated for the show, or for "Matlock," but was nominated for his supporting role in the miniseries "Murder in Texas." He did not win then. But he was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1992.
