Jason Lee Is Not Earl and Not Phil

Jason Lee, who goes by J. Evans Lee (because some TV actor on "My Name Is Earl" has already appropriated the name Jason Lee) is also not Phil. He is sometimes recognized from a cameo in "Sex and the City," where Charlotte approaches him in a bar and asks whether he is Phil. He is not.

Jason (from Newark, Ohio) credits his wife, Noelle Knight (from Terre Haute, Indiana), as his inspiration. Noelle, a painter, has a master's degree in fine arts and also teaches art at a public middle school. "I am supermotivated," Jason told me, "maybe because I don't want to work as a gas-station attendant in Ohio."

For five years, Jason toured Europe as a Chippendales dancer. Chippendales guys are hybrids -- part strippers and part professional dancers.

I made Jason show me some photos from his Chippendays, so he brought out a few calendars from his former life. (Yes, he looks the same.) The current calendar, pictured at right, is posted courtesy of Chippendales.

Here are Jason and Noelle, who are delightfully engaging as well as down-to-earth, in the living room of their new co-op in North Riverdale. Little Hudson is not quite 2 1/2.