CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Joe Arce
Exclusive Portraits: Helen Mirren & Taylor Hackford Honored at Cinema/Chicago Gala
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 31, 2017 - 9:48amCHICAGO – There ain’t nothing like Dame Helen Mirren, international star and Oscar winner for “The Queen.” She, along with her husband Taylor Hackford (director of “Ray” and “An Officer and a Gentleman”), were honored at the Cinema/Chicago Spring Gala on May 24, 2017.
Exclusive Portraits: Remembering Gregg Allman, Who Dies at 69
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 28, 2017 - 9:14amSAVANNAH, GA – He survived a life of excess, musical triumph and celebrity coupling. Rocker Gregg Allman, one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band, died at his home in Georgia on May 27th, 2016. The influential innovator of the Southern rock sound and for a brief period, the husband of Cher, was 69 years old.
Exclusive Portraits, Audio: Ed Asner, TV Icon & Character Actor
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 25, 2017 - 11:02amCHICAGO – When Mary Tyler Moore passed away in January, it was another reminder of her groundbreaking 1970s TV series “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” One of her co-stars – who portrayed bossman Lou Grant, and made his own mark in TV and movies thereafter – was Ed Asner. The actor appeared at “The Hollywood Show.”
Red-Carpet Exclusive Portrait, Audio: Jeremy Piven for Gene Siskel Center Renaissance Award
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 15, 2017 - 2:28pmCHICAGO – Actor Jeremy Piven came home to Chicago on May 13th, 2017, to moderate the Gene Siskel Center Renaissance Award tribute to actor Kevin Spacey. Piven, who grew up in nearby Evanston, Ill., has forged a diverse career in Hollywood, and is most well-known for portraying super-agent Ari Gold in the HBO series “Entourage.”
Exclusive Portrait, Audio: Kevin Spacey, Recipient of Gene Siskel Center Renaissance Award
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 15, 2017 - 2:14pmCHICAGO – There is no better “renaissance man” as an actor and performer than Oscar Winner Kevin Spacey. He was the recipient the Gene Siskel Center “Renaissance Award” on May 13th, 2017.
Exclusive Portrait: Ian Harding for His New Book ‘Odd Birds’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 9, 2017 - 4:52pmCHICAGO – He has won seven Teen Choice Awards in a row for his portrayal of Ezra Fitz on the ABC Family series “Pretty Little Liars,” and he is now the author of a new book. Ian Harding has written “Odd Birds,” a collection of essays on bird watching and show business. In an event sponsored by Anderson’s Book Shop, he appeared at North Central College in Naperville, Ill.
Exclusive Portrait: Caitlyn Jenner at Union League Club of Chicago
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 1, 2017 - 8:18amCHICAGO – She was one of the most notorious “outings” in gender history. Caitlyn Marie Jenner, who began her life as Bruce Jenner, announced to the world in 2015 that she would identify herself as a woman. She appeared in Chicago at the Union League Club to talk about her new memoir, “The Secrets of My Life.”
Exclusive Portrait: Happy Birthday to Actress Jessica Alba
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 28, 2017 - 11:16amCHICAGO – April 28th marks the birthday of actress Jessica Alba, and what better way to celebrate than publishing, for the first time, an Exclusive Portrait by photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com, taken in 2013 at Anderson’s Book Shop in Naperville, Ill. Alba was representing her book, “The Honest Life” when Arce snapped this photograph of the actress and entrepreneur.
Exclusive Portrait: Lesley Stahl of ’60 Minutes’ in Chicagoland
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 26, 2017 - 3:16pmCHICAGO – You know her as a hard-charging reporter on CBS-TV, and their fabled magazine show ’60 Minutes.’ But Lesley Stahl also is a grandmother, and has just written a new book called ‘Becoming Grandma: The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting.” She recently appeared on behalf of the book at Anderson’s Book Shop in Naperville, Ill.
Slideshow: Maddie Ziegler’s New Book ‘The Maddie Diaries’ in Chicagoland
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 17, 2017 - 12:25pmCHICAGO – Maddie Ziegler is a shooting star right now, included in Time Magazine’s “30 Most Influential Teens” in both 2015 and 2016. The dancer, model and actress first gained attention as a child on “Dance Moms” in 2011, and has ascended since then to social media and online fame, including her featured roles in five music videos by the pop artist Sia. She was in Naperville (Ill.) – in an appearance sponsored by Anderson’s Book Shop – to promote her book “The Maddie Diaries: A Memoir,’ which has become a New York Times Bestseller. And if that wasn’t enough, she will make her film debut this summer opposite Naomi Watts in “The Book of Henry.”