Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
From the screeching that erupted when Barry Manilow stepped onstage Friday night at the Chicago Theatre, you would’ve thought he was one of the New Kids on the Block, and that the predominantly fortysomething audience was filled with love-crazed schoolgirls.
Sara Gilbert portrays Darlene Conner, the sarcastic middle child, in “Roseanne,” airing from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays on WLS-Channel 7.
Donny Osmond had hit records before he hit puberty, and his own network TV show before he was old enough to vote. Today, he has something he values more: “Donny Osmond,” a pop album he can respect.
“Nobody in our family ever thought of pursuing acting professionally until Alec started doing it,” Stephen Baldwin said. “He was the groundbreaker for us.”
Mitchell Anderson isn’t a doctor, but he plays one on TV. And the folks back home in Jamestown, N.Y., say it’s about time.
British singer Rick Astley says he has no illusions about being a musician or a pop star. “I count myself as a singer,” said Astley, 23. “I can get by on the guitar and keyboards to write my songs, and I’m a good drummer, but I’m not good enough to refer to myself as a totally well-rounded musician. Becoming a musician is something I’d like to become. It’s one of my long-term goals. But I’m still quite young and have time to grow into it.”
Many musicians say they learned how to rock ‘n’ roll in their garages. But Sidewinders guitarist Rich Hopkins may be the first to have honed his guitar skills during a three-year stint with the Peace Corps.
Ziggy Marley is a young man of few words. He prefers that people get his message through his music. “I have nothing to say that I think is more important than the music I make,” said Marley. “It seems useless to me that I talk so much about myself. In the long run, how important is that? A quote is a quote. Music is forever.”
“I’ve had people tell me I’ve got to be more focused with my career,” says Billy Wirth. “But that’s bull. I don’t want to be just one thing. I do what I want to do because I like it. And as long as I’ve got food on the table, my rent paid and a little spending money, that’s all I need right now.”
When German actor Hans Gudegast decided to become an actor in the U.S., he changed his name. “I realized that if acting was something I seriously wanted to pursue, it probably would be better to fit in,” he says. “So, I decided on using Eric Braeden, because Eric is a family name. And Braedenback was the name of a village back home.”