Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Now is the summer of our discontent. That’s the only possible conclusion you can draw if you’ve been anywhere near a radio lately. Summer used to be the season of catchy, bouncy, bubblegum music. Not this year. The airwaves of summer ’95 – suddenly, inexplicably – are clogged with hummable odes to depression, confusion, weird characters and questionable behavior.
South Korean artist Sung Hee Cho got her first taste of art when she was 6. Her father bought her water-based paints and taught her to draw Asian characters on delicate rice paper. By junior high school, Cho decided her preference leaned more toward Western art and set her sights on America. Cho didn’t immigrate into the United States right away. She earned a master’s degree in fine arts from the prestigious Ewha Women’s University before relocating to America 16 years ago.
When Anchee Min wanted to attend the School of the Art Institute in 1984, a friend who knew English filled out her application forms, marking off “excellent” under the category for “English language skills.” When Min arrived in Chicago to begin classes, it quickly became apparent to the school’s administrators that she spoke virtually no English. She was told to come back when she had learned enough to understand classes. Six months later, Min was a student there.
If you live in the suburbs, you know how difficult it can be to find good ethnic food without driving to Chicago. That was a complaint Bonnie Ma heard many times from friends and customers. So when the restaurateur decided to open another Midori – which specializes in Japanese cuisine – she selected northwest suburban Mount Prospect as her site.
“Fluke” gives new meaning to the phrase “men are dogs.” In this new adventure film, Fluke is the canine reincarnation of a man who died in a freak auto accident. Thomas Johnson (Matthew Modine) and Jeff Newman (Eric Stoltz) are best friends and business partners. After a fight, Johnson gets into a fatal car crash.
So Robert De Niro and Marisa Tomei gained weight for their movie roles. Big deal. Comet – no last name, please – easily can one-up them. The 9-year-old had his luxurious blond mane snipped and dyed murky brown, perfected a limp and convinced the casting director that he could play a 1-year-old in the new comedy “Fluke.” Oh, did we mention that Comet is a dog?
If you like actors mingling in the audience and cajoling you to dance with them, then “Song of Singapore” is just the play for you. But if you prefer that actors remain on stage and don’t touch the ticket holders, you’ll want to skip the latest interactive play to hit Chicago. “Song of Singapore” – which opened Monday night at the Pipers Alley Entertainment Complex – isn’t nearly as obnoxious as the preternaturally successful “Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding,” which still is running at Pipers Alley in a theater next door.
At the beginning of “Picture Bride,” a 16-year-old girl living in Tokyo is shown a picture of a handsome Japanese man who has immigrated to Hawaii. Along with the photograph, he has sent a beautiful, poetic letter that doesn’t win her heart so much as it promises her a better life than what she has now. She sends back her picture, and the two agree to marry.
Illinois filmmaker Robert Hicks has a resume that reads like a movie script. The 24-year-old writer and director of “The Glass Chain” (now playing at the Elgin Fox Theatres in Elgin) got his show business start as a soprano in a Chicago Symphony Orchestra chorus when he was 10. By the time his voice changed in 1984, he had sung solos on three Grammy-winning albums.
“After I graduated (from Columbia University with a degree in economics), I got a job as a budget analyst,” said Mario Van Peebles. “I wanted to get into films, so I quit my job and modeled. I was at this Calvin Klein go-see where all these beautiful models were in the waiting room – Iman, (Dutch-Japanese model) Arianne, my sister. . . And (the bookers) saw everyone but me. I was like, `Ah, saving the best for last.’ And then, click, the lights went out, literally, and the lady said they would never use a black model. And what she really meant was they’d never use a black male model. Until then, I had never really seen color.”
This is the first time I’ve ever prefaced a film review with this tip: Trim your nails before going to see “Ride For Your Life.” The interactive film is boring to watch but fun to participate in.
Before the Goo Goo Dolls formed in 1986, Rzeznik worked as an assistant plumber. Oh, and about that band name: They got the idea from a doll ad they found in the back of a detective magazine.
By Jae-Ha Kim Chicago Sun-Times April 30, 1995 Crobar, Excalibur, Big Nasty . . . These Chicago clubs are as different as can be from one another. Similarly, the clubs that our favorite TV characters […]
As with many of Steve Dahl’s greatest stunts, his infamous Disco Demolition Night started as a joke. When WDAI-FM (94.7) – now known as WLS-FM – changed format from rock to disco, DJ Dahl was out of a job. “That’s where it really started,” said Dahl, 40. “While I was still on (WDAI), I would be talking about how ridiculous it was to have a 24-hour disco station. Like who’s going to dance to a 20-minute Donna Summer song in the car? Back then, disco was more of a cultural thing than it is today. It seemed like (disco) was trying to take the place of rock ‘n’ roll, which is why I found it kind of irritating.”
Three moles separate Tia Mowry from her identical twin, Tamera. “I have three little moles between my eyes that I say stand for `T-I-A,’ ” said Tia Mowry, who stars with Tamera in the ABC sitcom “Sister, Sister.” “It helps people tell us apart.”
The only thing super about “Super 8 1/2” is in its title. A low-budget flick that the filmmakers describe as a “faux documentary of sorts,” the movie is supposed to be to pornography what “Spinal Tap” was to heavy metal music – a witty sendup.
Russell Wong has been recognized. Best known for his role as the cruel, playboy husband in “The Joy Luck Club,” the 6-foot actor seems oblivious to the gawking female guests at the Four Seasons Hotel. He’s more interested in finishing his fruit salad and peppermint tea. Wong, who stars as Jian-Wa Chang in the syndicated series “Vanishing Son,” took a breather to chat with us during his first trip to Chicago.
“Stedman is very ambitious and driven,” Oprah Winfrey said. “One of the things I admire and love about him is that once he gets something or figures it out, he always wants to give back and share. And he feels very strongly about the sports world and particularly athletes being able to work beyond athletics.”
The fans came early to the Near West Side with some of the most difficult-to-score tickets in town. Most had called in their orders weeks ago, never imagining they’d be watching history take place. After quitting prematurely, a Chicago legend was coming back to form.
A tiny storefront diner that serves only breakfast and lunch, seven days a week, the Cozy Cafe lives up to its intimate name.