PattiSmith

Patti Smith, a.k.a., Godmother of Punk, has made her mark in the worlds of music, poetry and the visual arts, and now she's tackling acting.

According to TVGuide.com Smith will make her acting debut in Sunday night's episode of 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent.'

In true 'L&O' fashion the plot is ripped straight from the headlines: Detectives Goren and Eames investigate a Broadway musical, 'Icarus,' after an actor dies while performing a stunt.

The case is based on the many injuries stemming from Bono and the Edge's new Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.' Smith plays Columbia University mythology professor Cleo Alexander, an old friend of Goren's, who helps the detectives figure out the meaning behind 'Icarus.'

One of the things that never gets old about the press tour is that at any moment, you could be in the middle of a blow-your-mind, surreal pop culture moment. That's exactly what happened to me yesterday evening, as the PBS sessions were wrapping up.

Patti Smith had the last session, to promote her biographical movie on POV called Patti Smith: Dream of Life. It was fascinating, as she was pretty open with the reporters about why she let filmmaker Steven Sebring into her life for eleven years, what she likes to watch on YouTube (Maria Callas for one) and all sorts of fun stuff. But I had to leave to interview another legend, Norman Lear, who was there with producer Mark Johnson to promote the documentary Playing For Change: Peace Through Music.

When we were done with the interview, Lear, Johnson, the publicists and I were about to walk our separate ways when we heard music coming from the ballroom. When we open it, we see Patti Smith playing her guitar for the critics, in the middle of her second song. So imagine me and Norman Lear, standing there, listening to Patti Smith.