I went to Los Angeles. I looked for locations where some of my favorite L.A. movies were made. Especially the films of David Lynch, but others, too. Here’s what I saw and learned… BEVERLY HILLS AND VICINITY See an INDEX for this series of blog posts. In this part: Greystone Mansion / Beverly Center /… Continue reading Looking for Hollywood history and David Lynch’s Los Angeles: Part 1
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Looking for Hollywood history and David Lynch’s Los Angeles: Index
I went to Los Angeles. I looked for locations where some of my favorite L.A. movies were made. Especially the films of David Lynch, but others, too. Here’s what I saw and learned… Part 1: BEVERLY HILLS AND VICINITY:Greystone Mansion / Beverly Center / Franklin Canyon Park Part 2: MULHOLLAND DRIVE: Mulholland Drive / Fred… Continue reading Looking for Hollywood history and David Lynch’s Los Angeles: Index
Where Chicago’s 1919 race riot began
The landscape along Lake Michigan on Chicago’s South Side has utterly changed over the past century. If you’re looking for the beaches where Chicago’s race riot erupted on July 27, 1919, you won’t find them. As I was researching a history of the riot for Chicago magazine, I searched for maps, documents, and details that… Continue reading Where Chicago’s 1919 race riot began
1993 interview with Gene Wolfe
Tor Books announced the news today that author Gene Wolfe has died at the age of 87. I interviewed Wolfe in 1993 when I was a reporter for Pioneer Press Newspapers in Chicago’s suburbs, visiting him at his home in Barrington. Here is my article, which was originally published in the Barrington Courier-Review on March… Continue reading 1993 interview with Gene Wolfe
‘The dirty little secret in health care is that everybody’s flying blind’
Crain’s Chicago Business, October 5, 2017 — As Dan Michelson sees it, few hospital executives know how much medical procedures actually cost. “The dirty little secret in health care is that everybody’s flying blind,” says Michelson, CEO of Strata Decision Technology. He has a tool that is giving more and more of them clearer vision—a… Continue reading ‘The dirty little secret in health care is that everybody’s flying blind’
Why Newsies’ Regional Premiere Is Unlike Any Other Staging of the Tony-Winning Musical
Playbill, October 2017 — People love to root for the underdog. And who’s more of an underdog than a ragtag kid shouting “Extra!, Extra!” as he sells newspapers on the crowded streets of a big, dirty city? That’s a big part of the appeal of Newsies. “It is an immigrant story,” says Aaron Thielen, artistic… Continue reading Why Newsies’ Regional Premiere Is Unlike Any Other Staging of the Tony-Winning Musical
Documentary in the works on Jay Bennett
Pioneer Press/Arlington Heights Post, September 21, 2017 — Two filmmakers are working on a documentary about Jay Bennett, the multitalented musician from Arlington Heights who died in 2009, eight years after leaving the Chicago band Wilco. … Read my story for Pioneer Press. Photo: Michael Walker/Chicago Tribune
September-October 2017 Theater Preview
What to Expect from Paramount Theatre’s Million Dollar Quartet
Playbill, September 2017 — On December 4, 1956, Sam Phillips—the record producer famed as the father of rock ’n’ roll—telephoned the Memphis Press-Scimitar with a hot tip. Acting quickly, the newspaper rushed a reporter and photographer over to Phillips’ little storefront recording studio, Sun Records. The photo caption in the next day’s paper set the scene:… Continue reading What to Expect from Paramount Theatre’s Million Dollar Quartet
