Dear Ken: Does Christel Khalil, who plays Lily Winters on “Young and the Restless,” have cancer in real life?

No, she does not, and the bald look is not the result of her shaving her head but the product of a bald cap and a good makeup department. The actress, 22, has a Pakistani father and mother of African-American heritage and has been married to Stephen Hensley for 15 months. 

Dear Ken: What are your favorite Christmas-related films or TV specials?

Well, my list changes from time to time, but here are 10 that make for great Yuletide viewing with all the family. Most of them are available on DVD.

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
2. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
3. A Christmas Carol (1951)
4. A Christmas Story (1983)
5. Holiday Inn (1942)
6. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
7. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
8. The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971), pilot for The Waltons TV series
9. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)
10. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)

Dear Ken: Whatever happened to movie star Richard Egan, who was in "A Summer Place" as the father of Sandra Dee?

The handsome Egan, who appeared in such films as “Pollyanna,” “Love Me Tender” and “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue,” died of prostate cancer in 1987 nine days shy of his 66th birthday. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII, and he and his actress wife Patricia Hardy produced four daughters and a son. His last work was on the early 1980s TV series “Capitol” as Sam Clegg.

Dear Ken: Is The Professor on “Gilligan's Island” still alive?

Yes, actor Russell Johnson is 85 and last I heard lived on an island in the state of Washington. During WWII he flew 44 combat missions as a bombardier on a B-25 aircraft in Europe.

If you have a trivia question about actors, singers, movies, TV shows or pop culture, e-mail your query to Ken Beck via www.sherlocksbooks.com where you can also find classic films and TV shows on DVD or visit Sherlock’s Book Emporium in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Ask Ken Beck

Journalist Ken Beck, a longtime resident of Wilson  County, has recently become a contributing writer for Main Street Media and its local newspaper, "The Wilson Post."

Earlier this year Beck concluded a 31-year career with "The Tennessean" where he edited the Nashville paper’s “Sunday Showcase” entertainment magazine for 25 years. Besides interviewing stars of film and television, Beck wrote Tennessee travel and feature stories and a popular Q&A entertainment column.