Dear Ken: What has Dolly Parton been up to lately?

The country music superstar from Sevierville, Tenn., has a new album out, “Better Day,” and a music video of one of the singles from the album, “The Sacrifice,” is now running on TV. Parton says of her new single, “‘The Sacrifice’ is another song that is just so, totally, me. I think it’s so totally everybody that has a dream and desire to be successful, and in order to be successful we have to give up things that we’d rather not. But if we’re not willing to make that sacrifice, usually we don’t see those dreams come true.” The mastermind behind Dollywood is also in a new movie, “Joyful Noise,“ with Queen Latifah and Kris Kristofferson, that opens Jan. 13. The plot centers on an unlikely partnership between two strong-minded women who are forced to work together to save a small-town gospel choir after budget cuts threaten to shut them down. It features music, naturally, by Parton.

Dear Ken: I thoroughly enjoyed Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in the movie “Moneyball.” What’s his next movie?

Pitt, who also produced “Moneyball,” is the voice of Will the Krill in “Happy Feet Two.” He should star in two films next year: “Coogan’s Trade” and “World War Z,” and a couple of more flicks are in pre-production. But he recently said he plans to retire from acting in three years and move on to other things. “I am really enjoying the producing side and development of stories and putting those pieces together,” stated Pitt, who turns 48 Dec. 18. The dad of six children also said he is being more careful about the roles he picks because of his kids. “If I’m choosing a film now, I want it to be maybe less immature than things I have done in the past. I’m very conscious, when they’re adults I want it to mean something to them. I want them to think, ‘Dad’s alright.’” Pitt has hinted there could be more children coming into the life of he and partner Angelina Jolie.

Dear Ken: Tell us about Jason Segel, who plays Marshall Eriksen on “How I Met Your Mother.”

Segel, 31, was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish father and Christian mother. At 6-feet-4 he was the backup center on his high school’s 1996 state champion basketball team. The actor, puppeteer and musician previously starred in the TV series “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared” and in the movies “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “I Love You, Man,” “Gulliver’s Travels,“ “Bad Teacher” and “Despicable Me.” Plus, he co-wrote the screenplay and stars in the current film “The Muppets.” “The Muppets were my first comic influence. Kermit was the first version of Tom Hanks that I got to know. He’s Jimmy Stewart the idea of the Everyman, which is what I try to do,” said Segel.

Dear Ken: How old is Margaret O’Brien, the child actor who played the little sister of Judy Garland in “Meet Me in St. Louis”?

The major child star of the 1940s, who played Tootie in “Meet Me in St. Louis,” is 74. Among her credits are “Jane Eyre,” “Little Women,” “The Canterville Ghost,” “Our Vines Have Tender Grapes” and “The Secret Garden.” Nominated for four Oscars, “Meet Me in St. Louis” debuted on Blu-ray by Warner Home Video last week.

If you have a trivia question about actors, singers, movies, TV shows or pop culture, e-mail your query to Ken Beck at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it