Chatter

FISH STORY

Biology may have been destiny for Jennifer Grant, 30, the actress daughter of Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon, but it took her a while to figure it out. Before going into the family business—she makes her feature film debut in the movie Evening Star, the Terms of Endearment sequel due out next month—Grant tried other careers, including working at Spago, Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant in West Hollywood. “I thought that perhaps I wanted to have a restaurant eventually,” says Grant. One of her Spago jobs was to head downtown in the morning to the fish wholesaler to pick out seafood for sushi: “They had to teach me how to do it. Like how to look at the fish’s eyes and feel the skin [for freshness]. Then I would have them cut open the tuna, and I would have to taste it—at 5 a.m. I remember the first day, I thought, ‘Why did I go to Stanford? I’m down here looking at fish eyeballs!’ ”

CREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN

He’s not a psychologist in real life, but comedian Jonathan Katz plays one on TV. He provides the voice for his namesake character on Comedy Central’s animated series Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist and is also the show’s producer, co-creator and co-writer. Katz, 49, recently spoke at the American Psychological Association’s convention and says he found his TV show has a devoted following among therapists. For good reason. “I get to say all the things that real therapists would like to say, but can’t because they’d be out of work,” Katz explains. “Dr. Katz can say to a patient, ‘I have my own problems’ or, ‘Please, let’s not open that can of worms.’ At one point, I just excused myself when [animated guest patient] Sandra Bernhard was ranting on and on. I said, ‘You keep talking, I gotta leave for about 3 minutes.’ ”

FLIGHT HAZARD

Jet-lagged Tim Daly spent nearly three months last winter commuting between the Los Angeles set of NBC’s Wings and New York City, where he was filming The Associate, the current comedy with Whoopi Goldberg in-which

he portrays a weaselly business executive. “If I were paid in frequent-flier miles, I’d be as rich as Donald Trump,” says Daly, 40, adding that he has a scene with the tycoon in the movie. Unfortunately for Daly, flying poses a special situation comedy-related problem. Having played airline owner and commercial pilot Joe Hackett on Wings for eight seasons, he says, “it’s uncomfortable for me when people think they know me. I certainly don’t know them. If I could just once get on a flight without someone saying, ‘Shouldn’t you be flying the plane?’ it would be a happy day for me.”

STUPID HOST TRICKS

David Letterman versus Jay Leno? Actor Aidan Quinn will take Leno, thanks. “I always have these fears going on any of these live talk shows. My mouth gets dry, and I’m afraid I’ll come off as a bit of an idiot,” says Quinn, 37, currently making the TV rounds, including Leno’s The Tonight Show, to promote his two latest movies, Michael Collins and Looking for Richard. “Letterman is a huge pressure because you know at any moment he can go for the jokes at your expense, which is fine. I don’t mind it. He’s done that a couple times with me, and it has worked out well, but there is always that edge where it could go over to becoming personal. With Leno, you get the feeling that he’s really there for you, and he wants you to enjoy yourself. Of those two shows, I prefer doing Leno. I just think he is a nicer man.”