Cochrane wants to do films

Question. I was blown away by the season premiere of "CSI: Miami" in which Rory Cochrane's character, Tim Speedle, was killed. I was wondering if you could tell me why he decided to leave the show. Is he moving on to bigger and better things?

Answer. No, he was just tired of playing a guy named Speedle. Actually, Cochrane asked to be let go so that he could pursue movie roles. His film credits include "Dazed and Confused" and "Hart's War," and he's currently filming "A Scanner Darkly" with Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Robert Downey Jr.

Question. While reading the opening credits of "Nip/Tuck," I noticed that the co-producer's name was Jennifer Salt. Is this the same Jennifer Salt who starred on "Soap"? I always wondered what happened to her — she was so pretty and talented and funny.

Answer. That's the same Jennifer Salt. She played Eunice on "Soap" and also wrote for the A&E series "Nero Wolfe." Her most recent acting credit was the short-lived 1990 ABC series "The Marshall Chronicles."

Question. Will "Alias" with Jennifer Garner be back this season?

Answer. Yes, but not immediately. "Alias" is supposed to return to its Sunday night slot in January, after "Desperate Housewives" finishes its run.

Question. There was a very funny character on several episodes of "Cheers" who played a Frenchman after Woody's girl. I never saw his name in the credits. Recently on an episode of "NCIS" there was a bad guy played by a guy with a very similar voice. Much of the show took place in the dark, and I couldn't really tell if it was the same guy. Was it? Who is he, and what else has he done?

Answer. The actor is Anthony Cistaro, and he played a character named Henri on several "Cheers" episodes between 1990 and 1992. He has done a smattering of other TV guest shots, including episodes of "Seinfeld," "Friends" and "Angel," but he hasn't done any episode of "NCIS." He was also a regular on the syndicated "Witchboard" TV series, which ran in 2001-02.

Question. I recently found a photo I took in the 1960s from our TV screen. It was a Walt Disney show starring an actor named Roger Mobley, who was about 15. He starred in several Disney movies, most notably "Emil and the Detectives." I was wondering what happened to him.