Dolph Lundgren muscles his way to movie stardom

Before he hit it big last year as the Russian boxer in “Rocky IV,” Dolph Lundgren was best known as the boyfriend of singer/actress Grace Jones. Today, the Swedish actor doesn’t have a steady girlfriend. He’s too busy starring in “Masters of the Universe” for Cannon Films.

Alyssa Milano discards image of tomboy kid on TV’s `Boss’

Alyssa Milano has been acting for about half of her life. When you’re 13 years old, that’s not a long time. But the young actress already has starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Gielgud. Television viewers may know her as the tomboy daughter on ABC’s popular “Who’s the Boss?” series. The sitcom, starring Tony Danza, airs at 7 p.m. Tuesdays on WLS-Channel 7.

Courteney Cox gets big break by dancing with `The Boss’

People who recognize Courteney Cox remember her as the girl who danced with Bruce Springsteen in the “Dancing in the Dark” video. Although Cox did little more than look enthused and dance with “The Boss,” her 20 seconds of video exposure opened the door for her in Hollywood.

TV toons score a big hit for new record company

Steven Gottlieb could very well have become a successful Wall Street lawyer. Instead, Gottlieb, educated at Yale and Harvard Law School, founded a record company. But lest you think a new Madonna might be discovered on his label, let’s get the facts straight: The first and only album released on TeeVee Toons is last winter’s successful “Television’s Greatest Hits,” a two-record compilation of 65 themes from American television.  More than 300,000 copies were sold in the United States, it went gold in Australia and it hit No. 18 on the charts in Japan.

“The Women”

“The Women” is a hysterical, satirical look at women living in a man’s world during the 1940s. Everything about the play is quick and breezy. The all-female cast from By Any Other Name Theater Company tackles the fast-paced and clever script with the same ease they manage the countless costume changes during the two-hour-plus show at Paladium Productions.

Acting is strained in `Self-Portrait’

“Self-Portrait” has the makings of a good play: an interesting premise, dramatic lighting and softly lilting music. The problem lies with the actors. With the exception of Patricia Gallagher, the Zebra Theater actors seem to be concentrating too much on delivery and not enough on little details that would give their characters some depth. For instance, audience members sitting by the side of the stage could see that one character who was supposed to be playing the piano barely went through the motions.

`Eden Court’ is both realistic and satisfying

Some people are born losers. And some marry them. “Eden Court” offers an example of each. Schroeder Duncan is a working-class man who lives in a small trailer with his Elvis-crazed wife, Bonnie. He throws alarm clocks out the door when they ring in the morning; she fixes him breakfasts of untoasted bread with frozen butter. He works at a job he hates; she tries to make their miserable home as livable as possible.