Patrick Dempsey
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For a guy whose first car was a Mercedes 240 diesel, who likes alternative bands like the Arctic Monkeys in his CD changer and grew up a ski racer in his native Maine, it's fitting to see where Patrick Dempsey sits today.

He's enjoying a career renaissance as Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy and is the new co-owner of Vision Racing in the open-wheel Indy Racing League (IRL). It all happened because three Indianapolis 500 races ago, IRL founder Tony George asked Dempsey if he wanted to come on board.

"I feel like a kid in the candy store," Dempsey said in an IRL conference call before the beginning of the 2006 season.

Dempsey enjoys strong name (and face, and hair) recognition in Hollywood, but he'd like to become just as well-known in Indianapolis, Ind., and not just for TV work. Born in Lewiston, Maine, Dempsey grew up an alpine ski racer and won the Maine state championship in slalom. He always enjoyed a passion for cars, sparked by his father taking him to the Indy 500 as a child and introducing him to NASCAR and Formula One.

He was always a kid with many interests and who loved attention. He wanted to attend Clown College (really) as a kid, and placed third at the National Jugglers Convention as a teenager. After graduating from high school in Buckland, Maine, Dempsey headed for California, quickly getting a part in the 1985 film Heaven Help Us.
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Forget the young studs. George Clooney and Grey's Anatomy's Patrick Dempsey mopped the floor with their younger competition in a recent poll among Lifetime Television viewers nationwide, in which respondents chose celebrities they'd most like to date.

According to the poll, if a woman were to special-order herself a celebritydate, George Clooney cleaned up with 39 percent of the vote, dominating the likes of Nick Lachey (14 percent), Colin Farrell (10), Orlando Bloom (9), Derek Jeter (8) and Jake Gyllenhaal (6).

When it comes to TV doctors who get their heartbeats racing, there was no answer for Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd, played by heart throb Dempsey. With 40 percent of the vote, the 40-year old handily trumped Noah Wylie (21 percent), Julian McMahon (12) and Matthew Fox (12).

One of the top-rated basic cable networks, Lifetime caters primarily to the female set. The Lifetime Television Pulse Poll, a long-running, multi-platform research project, explores a wide range of areas of women's lives.

The poll also asked Lifetime viewers some more realistic things, such as what traits they value in a prospective mate - one they might actually meet. Finding someone who treats them well (98 percent), who has a good sense of humor (84 percent) and is intelligent (72 percent) seemed to be the goal of most viewers.

While it's hard to see how someone wouldn't vote for Dempsey, the 2 percent of voters who don't think it's important to be treated well is more perplexing still. In any case, it would be interesting to see how Clooney would fare against Dempsey, were the former still on ER. Who do you think is better looking?

New York & Company, Inc., a specialty clothing chain, announced that it will be spearheading its Fall 2006 marketing campaign with a couple of familiar faces: Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey.

The stars, who have captivated millions with their portrayals of Drs. Meredith Grey and Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy, will be featured in a campaign that showcases their undeniable chemistry (as well as the company's striking fall line of apparel).

"The big difference between shooting a couple that knows one another versus hired models is they already have a working relationship," a New York & Company executive said. "Patrick is very charming and funny. He's a one-stop source of one-liners. Ellen was trying to concentrate so hard on getting the right shot, and he kept cracking her up. There was such great energy the whole day."

No, Pompeo did not don any blue scrubs for the shoot. Rather, she posed in 16 different outfits, including the company's signature perfect fit pants, which are individually custom-tailored to a woman's body and proportions. In Ellen's case, that would be rather thin! But in a good way, of course.

Pompeo was also photographed in an array of tailored tops, as well as '80s-influenced, long-waist sweaters... one of which (wait for it) happened to be in a light grey.

New York & Company approached the pair about the shoot, which took place recently in East Hampton, N.Y., before the outcome of season two had been revealed. It was a gamble that paid off.

"Our customer is very invested in TV, what's going on, who's hot. Nothing's hotter than Grey's Anatomy, and that's why Ellen and Patrick were such a perfect fit. All of America is waiting for them to get together and we guessed that the season would end the way it did," the exec said.

Despite a couple of turns at fame, Patrick Dempsey remains true to his roots. Recently, the actor took ABC News on a tour of his home town of Harpswell, Maine, a quaint fishing village on the state's beautiful mid-coast.

Dempsey was born in Turner, Maine, and raised in nearby Buckfield, where he attended high school. In his talk with ABC, he talked about young people view the isolation of Maine, the only one of the lower 48 states to border just one other (New Hampshire).

Yet the more time passes, the more Dempsey appreciates the natural beauty of the Pine Tree State, as well as the timelessness of small towns. Maine is where he truly considers home. With a young daughter of their own, Patrick and his wife, Jillian, want to pass on that tradition and live there full time in the future.

The ABC feature, which you can see by following the link above, includes an interview with Dempsey's mother, Amanda, who lives on the farm adjacent to Patrick's home in Harpswell. Local lobstermen, whose presence on the Maine coast has been ubiquitous for generations are also interviewed by ABC's Good Morning America crew.

The video offers terrific insight into a unique and wonderful part of America, and is a must-see for any fan of the small town lifestyle, Grey's Anatomy, and Dempsey's undeniable charm.

Ladies, you may want to make sure you're sitting down for this one. Patrick Dempsey and other members of the Grey's Anatomy cast showered together as ABC introduced its upcoming fall lineup at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

According to People Magazine, when the cast took the stage at the event, a video rolled of Dempsey, James Pickens Jr. (Dr. Webber) and Isaiah Washington (Dr. Burke) in the shower, soaping each other up and trading suggestive glances.

The video - a spoof on the opening scene of the post-Super Bowl episode - goes on to show Chandra Wilson (Dr. Bailey) in a towel as the shower door opens.

At the sight of Wilson, Dempsey proclaims, "I've always loved you." Wilson promptly tosses her towel and steps into the shower. In the next scene, she wakes up in bed, realizing it was all a dream. Her response (which many fans would undoubtedly share): "Oh, hell no!"

Classic. In other McDreamy news, Entertainment Tonight reports that Dempsey is using his time off from the show to appear in the Walt Disney Pictures film Enchanted. Dempsey, who was spoken frequently about his career slump before Grey's Anatomy became a hit, jumped at the movie role.

"I wanted something that was non-violent and fun and something that I can bring my daughter to. This is the perfect movie for that," he said.

The timing was perfect as the movie role began just as Dempsey finished filming the season finale. Enchanted is an animated fairytale -- for which Disney is famous -- and a modern romantic comedy melded together. It stars Amy Adams as a beautiful princess, banished from her magical kingdom to real-life Manhattan by an evil queen, played by Susan Sarandon.

Dempsey plays a divorce lawyer and single dad -- or, as he puts it, "the normal guy trying to piece together what is really happening."

What makes Grey's Anatomy such a critically-acclaimed, viewer-obsessed sensation? There's great writing and intriguing story lines for sure - but the diverse, entertaining, talented cast is truly what stands out about our favorite program.

To see how these actors mesh away from Seattle Grace Hospital, USA Today recently ran a story on the cast's appearance at the Museum of Television & Radio's 23rd annual William S. Paley Television Festival on Tuesday.

Ten of the show's actors, plus five writers and producers, along with the creator, Shonda Rhimes, filed onstage at the Director's Guild of America to answer questions from a moderator and audience members.

"For us, not having a time slot last year, and now all of you watching ... has been great," Rhimes told the screaming audience, mostly women, at the sold-out event.

Patrick Dempsey, who plays neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd ("McDreamy," to anyone in the know) sat between his two love interests: Kate Walsh, who plays his wife, Dr. Addison Shepherd, and Ellen Pompeo, who portrays intern Meredith Grey. It turned out that Dempsey's real-life heartthrob status made an impression on Rhimes herself.

Dempsey said he had been "completely terrified" of Rhimes during his original audition because she stared at him, "no expression, no warmth," but Rhimes thought otherwise.

"The entire time he was in the room, I thought, 'He's so dreamy,'" she said.

When asked how the cast resembled its characters, Pompeo grinned and pointed at Dempsey.

"I haven't publicly said this before, but I do have a crush on him," Pompeo said.

"Well, I have a crush on you, too," Dempsey, who is married to Jillian Fink, shot back, to sighs and whoops from the audience.

"I've got a crush on both of you. Maybe we can party," Walsh said, laughing.

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Everyone wants a piece of Patrick Dempsey, and not just interns at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC), owner of Grey's Anatomy and beneficiary of its soaring popularity, continues its promotional efforts tonight by airing Sweet Home Alabama, co-starring Dempsey, one night after he was featured on the network's Barbara Walters Special.

The 2002 film starring Reese Witherspoon as an Alabama girl who runs away from home and reinvents her self as a New York socialite (where she is wooed by Dempsey's character) drew mixed critical reviews but was a box office hit, grossing more than $127 million domestically. So I guess it's not entirely unfounded that ABC would air it tonight. Just conveniently timed, don't you think?

Dempsey plays the dreamy Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy and was practically as charming -- albeit humble and even a little insecure -- during Walters' interview last night. He candidly discussed his lifelong battle with dyslexia, his struggle for quality acting work for a prolonged period of time, and his failed first marriage to his former manager (a woman 27 years older than he).

Walters also interviewed Matthew McConaughey, Mariah Carey and Oscar contender George Clooney in her 25th TV special. Speaking of the Academy Awards (which ABC also owns the rights to), they will be on TV Sunday night. Sadly, that means no new escapades for Meredith, George, and McDreamy et al., until March 12. Boo!

The neurosurgeon dubbed "Dr. McDreamy" by the female interns of Grey's Anatomy has long battled a common brain disorder in real life. Patrick Dempsey still fights dyslexia -- which impairs the mind's ability to process and use language -- ever since being diagnosed with it at age 12. In his interview with Barbara Walters, which airs on ABC's Barbara Walters Special tonight, the Maine native discusses how dyslexia and other obstacles have shaped who he is today.

"I think it's made me who I am. It's given me a perspective of â€" you have to keep working. I have never given up," he said.

The 40-year old actor says that he struggles when reading scripts and memorizing his lines as Dr. Derek Shepherd on the hit ABC series.

"I think that's when I get the most insecure ... it's very hard for me to read it off the page. I need to memorize it, in order to go on," he said.

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