`WHERE ARE THEY NOW?' TO DEBUT IN ARTS & LEISURE

If you ever wondered what happened to Chip and Ernie from the old TV sitcom "My Three Sons" or Esther Rolle from "Good Times," tune in next week.

Marshall Jay Kaplan's "Where Are They Now?" column will debut in next week's Arts & Leisure section in the Southeast Missourian.

Kaplan's job is to track down celebrities from yesteryear and interview them. A Kaplan caricature of each celebrity accompanies each column.

Kaplan gets a lot of help in his research from the Screen Actors Guild. And he found members of "The Little Rascals" cast through an Internet fan club site. "I became a member," he said.

Kaplan lives in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, and is married to an occupational therapist. They have two sons. His self-syndicated column appears in 57 newspapers in the United States and Canada.

Some celebrities whose stars have faded don't want to be interviewed. He and Deanna Durbin have exchanged letters but she doesn't want to talk for publications. Yvonne DeCarlo hung up on him. Donna Douglas, who played Ellie Mae on "The Beverly Hillbillies," has been tough to pin down.

"Supposedly she sells real estate but dresses up as Ellie Mae," he said.

Usually, people are glad to hear from Kaplan. Russell Johnson, the professor from "Gilligan's Island," cried during their interview. He'd just lost a son to AIDS.

Anne B. Davis from "The Brady Bunch" was another sterling interview. Kaplan loved talking to Joe Bishop, too.

He also tracked down one of the members of the Lollipop Guild from "The Wizard of Oz." "All these people had their place in history," he said.

Kaplan conducts the interviews over the phone and repays the favor by sending them the cartoon afterward. "They love that," Kaplan said. "they think it's a hoot. Even though they're out of the spotlight, they love talking about the highlight of their career."