Alan Peppard

Can there be any doubt that Dallas-raised actor and Harvard grad Miles Fisher got his matinee idol looks from his mom, Nancy Fisher , a member of the national board of the American Film Institute? His dad is Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas CEO Richard Fisher, a member of the Federal Open Market Committee. The only person who thinks those wonks are hot is Andrea Mitchell.

This summer, Miles has been displaying his hotness on the new TV show The Cleaner, starring Benjamin Bratt.

Back when he appeared with Robert Duvall in the Civil War epic Gods and Generals, Miles was dubbed "the next Tom Cruise" by New York Post gossipist Liz Smith.

That prophecy came true last spring when a video of Miles imitating Mr. Cruise in Superhero Movie went around the world on the Internet.

A month ago, A&E launched The Cleaner with Mr. Bratt playing a former junkie with a calling to help others break their addictions.

In the pilot, Miles turned up as a green-as-grass cop named Kenneth Herman.

If the show gets picked up – always a big if – Miles will have a recurring role. And if that happens, expect his aunts, uncles and cousins in Dallas' Collins and Woodall families to be tuned in.

Former Dallas TV actor-turned-producer Andrew Stevens has a nifty formula for making money in films: Keep his budgets lean and get a few lucrative cable TV sales.

Former Hercules TV star Kevin Sorbo just left town after wrapping the Dallas filming of their latest film.

"This is the fourth film that Kevin and I have done together, in addition to Walking Tall: The Payback, Walking Tall: Lone Justice and Fire From Below, all shot in the Dallas area," Andrew says.

For the record, Andrew isn't trying to be Ingmar Bergman or Martin Scorsese. He's trying to turn a profit and employ local film talent.

"The working title of the film has been Mule Boy," Andrew says. "Obviously we'll come up with a better title. It's about a boy and a talking mule who enter an open ranch class competition at a stock show and triumph over older kids on horses. Kevin plays the comedic foil, a wealthy land developer trying to foreclose on the boy's farm."

Except for Kevin Sorbo and Siri Baruc, the actress playing the boy's mom, all cast and crew are from the Dallas area.

Crowd-pleasing musician Floyd Dakil and pal Larry Randall first performed together in 1959 when Floyd was a student at Highland Park High School and Larry was a UNT music student.

When the two reunited for two shows Tuesday at the Pocket Sandwich Theatre, they sold the place out.

Among the old friends who came by were my mentor, legendary former Dallas Morning News entertainment columnist Tony Zoppi, former SMU football star and member of the Levee Singers Ed Bernet and entertainment booker Angus Wynne.