Media
THE METER
Serious Shrinkage
Jason Alexander:
Size Matters
AWESOME
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP CENTER: COURTESY OF JENNY CRAIG; WARNER BROS./EVERETT COLLECTION; JOE PUGLIESE/CORBIS OUTLINE; ILLUSTRATION BY STEPHEN SAVAGE
The actor best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld’s TV sidekick George Costanza had a major wake-up call on his 50th birthday in 2009. Alexander had gained 40 pounds since the late 1980s, and his son Noah, then 13, asked his dad if he would be around to help him celebrate the same milestone. “The only reason I wouldn’t was if I continued with all the garbage I was eating,” says Alexander. Noah’s question, and a doctor’s warning that Alexander was at risk of developing heart disease, left him concerned. “Fifty is not supposed to feel
the way I was feeling,” he says. “I felt much older, much wearier.” In early 2010 he joined the
ranks of celebrity spokespeople for Jenny Craig’s weight-loss program and dropped 30
pounds. “You get your vibrancy back,” says Alexander. “It’s profound.” Still, he plans to revert
to his old habits at least once. “Having cake on Noah’s 50th birthday would be the sweetest
slice of cake I could have as a parent,” he says. —Fannie Weinstein
Moviegoers!
Four of five recent
top-grossing romantic
comedies starred
women over 40, reports
Box Office Mojo: Sarah
Jessica Parker, both
Sex and the City mov-
ies; Meryl Streep, It’s
Complicated; Sandra
Bullock, The Proposal.
Remote Control
Nancy Grace:
Social Justice
She doesn’t wear a robe
or rely on a beefy bailiff to
restrain defendants. But
prosecutor turned television
host Nancy Grace is now
serving up a unique brand of
high-tech mediation from the
studio of Swift Justice with
Nancy Grace, a syndicated reality court show on which she
hears cases from around the
country live via Skype. Grace,
51, juggles the series and her
HLN legal-affairs show while
raising three-year-old twins.
Q: With so much on your
plate, why add Swift Justice ?
It’s the closest thing to being
back in the courtroom for me,
which I love. The show’s title
says it all. There’s no delay. I
hear the case and rule on it.
Jim Bob Duggar
The 45-year-old TLC
reality star and father
of 19 told People that
he and his wife
“only have 20 years of
productive life ahead.”
AGEIS T
Q: How does this show differ from other court shows?
We’re the new generation of
court show. We can bring in
remote witnesses and polygraph and DNA experts. We
can arrange for counseling for
litigants. We can actually help.
Q: Can you leave your work
behind when you go home?
The [cases] stay with me,
especially when they involve
youth. I see how others have
made mistakes and learn
from them so I can be a better
mother. —F. W.
AARP.ORG/MAGAZINE 17
