Dear Ken: With a new “Dark Shadows” film out, what can you tell us about Tennessee native Lara Parker, who starred in the original TV series?

Parker, 74, who played bewitching Angelique Collins in the 1960s gothic soap opera, was born Mary Lamar Rickey, in Knoxville and grew up in Memphis where she earned a degree in philosophy from Southwestern (now Rhodes College). After acting at the Millbrook Playhouse in Loch Haven, Pa., where she played five leads in six weeks, she tried New York and within two weeks was cast as Angelique on “Dark Shadows” in 1966. She has been a guest on such TV series as “Kung Fu,” “Six Million Dollar Man,” “Police Woman,” “The Rockford Files,” “Kolchak: The Night Stalker,” “Emergency,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Baretta” and “Highway to Heaven.” Holding a master’s degree in creative writing, she has written several “Dark Shadows” novels and has a cameo appearance in the new movie. The mother of three lives with her husband in the Santa Monica Mountains of California. One bit of trivia: Parker first went to Vassar College, where her roommate was Jane Fonda. She played the wife of Peter Fonda, Jane’s brother, in the 1975 film “Race With the Devil.”

Dear Ken: What date will the final episode of “The Closer” air and how many episodes will there have been in  the series?

The last six episodes begin July 9 with the finale airing Aug. 13 on TNT. Those shows will serve as a transition into a spin-off series, “Major Crimes,” as Mary McDonnell leads the cast as Capt. Sharon Raydor. That will make for a grand total of 109 episodes of “The Closer” before the doors close.

Dear Ken: What were the biggest hits of Felix Cavaliere and The Rascals?

The band, also known as The Young Rascals, which entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, operated from 1965 until 1972. Among their best tunes were “Good Lovin’,” “Groovin’,” “People Got To Be Free,“ “How Can I Be Sure?” and “A Beautiful Morning.”  Native New Yorker Cavaliere, 69, has lived in Nashville for years.

Dear Ken: Who did the voices of Daphne and Velma in the Scooby-Doo cartoons?

Rikes! Indira Stefanianna Christopherson Danks was the original voice of Daphne Blake. Others who followed in her microphone were Heather Lindsay North Kenney, Kellie Martin, Mary Kay Berman and Grey DeLisle. The first actress to speak for Velma Dinkley was Nicole Jaffe. The many others include Pat Stevens, Marla Frumkin, Christina Lange, B.J. Ward, Jane Silvia, Mindy Cohn, Linda Cardellini, Meredith Slanger, Grey DeLisle and Julie Nathanson.

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