Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Lawd knows Lori Petty’s a busy woman. She’s an actress, painter, director and writer. But that hasn’t stopped the quirky actress from adding designer to her list of credits. Best known for her work in “A League of Their Own” and “Point Break,” Petty has a year-old line of casual wear called Lawd Knows that reflects her inspirational side.
Doing Dong! Unless you haven’t watched TV in the last few years, you’re probably familiar with the foreboding two-note intro that starts every episode of “Law & Order” and its spin-offs. The latest in the “Law & Order” PC game franchise takes you into the world of an Anna Kournikova-ish tennis star who is found dead the day before she’s supposed to play at a big tournament.
While thousands of would-be actors toil away as waiters waiting for their big break, Wanda Sykes is sauteeing veggies in a Chinese restaurant, driving athletes around in a limo and snapping photos of a couple at their wedding. Of course, it’s all part of her reality Comedy Central series, “Wanda Does It,” in which the sassy comedic actress tackles non-showbiz jobs.
Oprah Winfrey couldn’t do it. Michael Jordan had to change his game plan. And even Wolfgang Puck hightailed it back to Los Angeles after his restaurant failed in Chicago. Could it be that the Second City actually is more persnickety about celebrity-owned eateries than its East and West Coast counterparts? Quite possibly, when it comes to restaurants owned by celebrities — whether they’re athletes or superstar chefs.
If you were sitting at a symposium and a well-spoken expert in a suit talked about the benefits of enslaving the poorest sectors of society, would you challenge the speaker’s theories, walk out enraged or clap politely?
Filmgoers are taken into the mournful world of a woman who never had a chance in “Woman, Thou Art Loosed.” Michelle Jordan’s God-fearing mother resented her for being around, while her “Uncle” Reggie enjoyed having her around all too much, making life at home even seedier than the strip club in which she would later work. As she later tells a childhood friend, “That ain’t my home. It’s just a place where part of me is buried.”