Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Tonight’s wedding episode of “Party of Five” is a must-see for fans of this struggling Fox series. While TV nuptials generally are ploys to boost sagging ratings, this episode stands out for the way it handles the complex relationship between Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox) and Kirsten Bennett (Paula Devicq).
It’s not coincidental that actor Stephen Caffrey is sporting a George Clooney-ish look these days. The star of Paul Rudnick’s play “I Hate Hamlet” portrays a character who used to be an actor on a popular series set in a hospital. “I don’t want to make it sound like I’m basing it on him, but the character in the play is an actor who was on a television series called `L.A. Medical,’ ” Caffrey said. “And he leaves the series after five years and goes back to New York. So it was sort of like what would be the contemporary version of `L.A. Medical,’ and it was `ER,’ right? And George Clooney seemed like a good prototype?”
David Schwimmer – looking dapper in a charcoal gray suit and maroon turtleneck – smiled and waved throughout the storytelling at the Lincoln Park Zoo. And screams for the actor drowned out parts of the story. But the sea lions didn’t seem to mind. They kept on swimming and resting – apparently never having seen “Friends.”
Punk rock, the first time around, was anger and mayhem. The Sex Pistols scared parents everywhere in the 1970s as they spit out songs, shot up heroin and thumbed their noses at authority. Then there’s Green Day, heralded as Generation Y’s answer to punk rock. Green Day members lace their punk-pop songs with anger and tell cheering crowds to “- – – – off.” But they’re the type of boys who buy health insurance for their families.
You’re a novice Beatles fan. You could pick John Lennon and Paul McCartney out of a lineup. But you don’t know which one sang “Strawberry Fields Forever” (John). And you don’t have a clue on where to begin to get a handle on the world’s most famous musical group. What to do? Plenty. ABC’s “The Beatles Anthology” can help get you up to speed on the Fab Four’s career and chronology.
During lunch at Spiaggia, Steve Guttenberg tells a reporter of his fantasy: waking up at 11:30 a.m., getting a massage and then going for a swim. That sounds simple enough for a movie star, but it’s one Guttenberg can’t indulge in these days. With three films out this year – including “It Takes Two,” which is in its opening weekend at
local theaters – he has had to spend his time working the press. (“The Big Green” came out a few months ago, and “Home for the Holidays” is continuing in Chicago.)
Eric Stoltz has it made. He’s a movie star (“Pulp Fiction,” “Mask,” “Rob Roy”) who has no problems making TV guest appearances (“Mad About You,” “Partners”). He’s an actor with leading-man looks who hasn’t been hampered with pretty-boy roles (OK, he did do “Some Kind of Wonderful,” but he was really young then). And his girlfriend is Bridget Fonda.
A tiny voice with a thick Scottish brogue answers the phone at the London home of singer Edwyn Collins. William, 5, has temporarily taken over his father’s public relations duties and is screening the calls. Edwyn probably needs the help just about now.
Aesop Rhim’s love affair with Chicago began 30 years ago when he immigrated from Seoul, South Korea, to earn his master’s degree at IIT’s Institute of Design. Since then, he has had six one-man shows, all about Chicago. “I strive to express my love and vision of Chicago,” said Rhim, who cites Picasso as his biggest influence. “The uniqueness of my work is the interchange of my profession (commercial art) and my expressionist art.” Rhim’s abstract silk-screened work has won the 60-year-old artist some high-powered supporters. Former Gov. Jim Thompson is a fan, as is Mayor Daley, who proclaimed Sept. 20, 1995, “Aesop Rhim Day.”
Urge Overkill is at a precarious point in its career. The Chicago-based trio got a taste of stardom with the one-two punch of its last album, “Saturation,” and the inclusion of its cover of Neil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” on the “Pulp Fiction” soundtrack. Finally, the flamboyant band that dressed for success was dressed appropriately. They made TV appearances. They not only had fans, they had a celebrity fan (Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders).