Gladys Knight has been adding another generation of admirers to her following via her just-concluded stint on "Dancing With the Stars" — she knows from her grandchildren.

She recounts that there was big excitement at her grandson Jordan's school when she started the show. In fact, he was called into the dean's office, and when he asked what he'd done wrong, the administrators answered, "Nothing — you just didn't tell us your grandmother was doing 'Dancing With the Stars.'"

Now that the beloved, newly-thin (she lost 60 pounds doing the show) singing great is off "DWTS," she can focus her attention on husband William McDowell, her children and those grandkids — all 17 of them — and four great-grands, plus one on the way. Gladys notes that "my William has been so supportive," and "so wonderful" when she's gotten home dead tired after a day's training.

Not that she's leaving the spotlight. There's her new album, "Another Journey" — plus performance dates ahead.

FRAKES, THE NEXT GENERATION: In her May 12 Hallmark Channel Original Movie, "Notes from the Heart Healer," Genie Francis plays an advice writer who, as a young woman, gave up her baby for adoption — and now, as a newlywed, finds herself facing the entirely unexpected prospect of later-in-life parenthood when a baby is left on her doorstep.

Of course, Genie's own real-life parenting story couldn't be much more different, and happy. The actress and husband Jonathan Frakes have a son and daughter, ages 17 and 14. Will Jameson or Elizabeth be following in mom's and dad's show business footsteps?

"Both of my kids are very talented in many ways," Genie proudly says. She tells us that, just recently, her daughter went off on a service trip to Costa Rica — and climbed a volcano while she was there.

"She's a very good writer as well as an actress, and she's very service-minded. I'm impressed, because it's not my idea. I don't tell her to do these things. She finds them and does them herself," Genie says. "I'm trying to keep her open-minded and learning and growing by exposing her to as much education and as many experiences as possible. It would be selling her short to say that acting is all she does well. She does a lot of things well."

The "Young and the Restless" star says she would love to act with Elizabeth. "We have not done it yet. The most important thing for her would be to get out there and do it on her own. The obvious comparisons to me will not serve her best interests. She needs to come out as herself, not as Genie's daughter."

Then there is Jameson, who might just have a behind-the-cameras career ahead some day. "My son is quite a good director as well as a musician, and he's now looking into colleges," she reports. "My family's very busy." No kidding.

THE IOWAY: Talk about a labor of love! Indefatigable actress-director Tanna Frederick reports that a June 25 production start date has been set for "The Farm," a story about a single mother who returns to her childhood home when her grandfather becomes ill and must deal with her past. Parts of the story are inspired by the true-life saga of Tanna's own grandparents' struggle to stay on their family farm. The film will be made...on the Frederick family farm.

"The Farm" is one of three films being shot in the actress' home state in coming months thanks to Tanna's efforts. Her Project Cornlight is an initiative to revitalize the industry there, and she says, "Everybody is so excited. It's beautiful! It makes me want to cry. In this world I grew up in, there's not a lot of city life, but there's a lot of imagination. Like watching fireflies in a field, it's absolutely beautiful."

No wonder Tanna was honored this past weekend at the inaugural Julien Dubuque International Film Festival with the CineCause Award.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.