Rick Kogan – Page 28 –

Shecky Greene during a 1966 appearance on "The Hollywood Palace," a television variety show broadcast Saturday nights on ABC.

In memoriam: A few final words and a Sinatra story about the Chicago-born comic Shecky Greene

January 9, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

In recent days in the places where older folks gather to remember and talk about what they remember, conversations were peppered with the name Shecky Greene. Only those of a...

Writer David Mamet in his Santa Monica office in 2018.

The sparks, opinions and anecdotes fly as David Mamet tackles his 40 years in Hollywood in ‘Everywhere an Oink Oink’

January 2, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

My first encounter with David Mamet was not a pleasant one. It began on the night of May 25, 1979, when I watched in increasing dismay, the world premiere of...

Ernest Perry, Jr. (as Hambone) and Nambi E. Kelley (Risa) in August Wilson's play "Two Trains Running," directed by Chuck Smith at the Goodman Theatre in spring 2015.

In memoriam: Amid the holidays and hopes for a new year, we remember who and what we lost in 2023

December 27, 2023 at 10:15 a.m.

Every year, amid the holiday hoopla, music and general merriment, we must concern ourselves with the shadow of mortality. The end of each year brings memories of the people who...

Jonathon Brandmeier at WLUP on Feb. 1, 1994.

Once upon a time there was the radio station WLUP, and what a wild place it was

December 12, 2023 at 10:01 a.m.

The radio, one of the niftiest inventions of the 20th century, has been informing, entertaining, outraging and boring millions of people for more than 100 years. It was called "magic...

Comedians Don Rickles and Bob Newhart arrive at a fundraiser for childhood diabetes on Oct. 28, 2000, at the Beverly Hills Hilton.

When Don and Barbara Rickles met Bob and Ginnie Newhart, they became friends for life — as told in Judd Apatow’s latest film

November 29, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Here, ladies and gentlemen, is Bob Newhart: "Somebody called me up and they said, 'Look, Don Rickles is looking for a best friend ... and none of us wanna do...

Cubs catcher Randy Hundley, right, celebrates his 27th birthday with teammate Ernie Banks on June 1, 1969, at Wrigley Field.

New book ‘Ironman’ shows how Randy Hundley’s career goes far beyond catching for the Cubs and suffering 1969

November 28, 2023 at 7:53 a.m.

His statistics do not jump out: 3,442 at bats in 1,061 games, 813 hits, 82 home runs, .236 batting average, 381 runs batted in. But baseball is more than cold...

A stairway in the Chicago Cultural Center in 2021. It was built as the main branch of the Chicago Public Library in 1897.

Some usual suspects but also real treasures as WTTW brings us some more ‘Beautiful Places’

December 5, 2023 at 2:54 p.m.

Near the end of a fine WTTW-Ch. 11 program called "The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago" that first aired in early March and remains available online, host Geoffrey Baer said,...

The city skyline glows a golden hue as the Alcala's Western Wear sign lights up, as the sun sets over Chicago Avenue near Ashland Avenue on Oct. 18, 2022.

Are there any secrets left in Chicago? Author Lauren Viera says there are 500 of them

November 21, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Knowing that the world's secrets are as close as your phone or computer keyboard — "Alexa, what's the meaning of life?" — do we really need to buy and read...

A selection of Mark Ballogg's photographs from his book, "Making Space," are on exhibition at Rare Nest Gallery.

Inside the messy and inspiring world of artists, via the camera of photographer Mark Ballogg

November 16, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Mark Ballogg, now moving into his seventh decade with a coltish energy and a spectacular new book under his arm, is a distinctive looking man, with a beard that any...

Star Richie Davis (left) and older brother and director Andy Davis on the set of their 1978 film "Stony Island."

‘Fugitive’ director Andy Davis returns to Chicago to screen his first movie ‘Stony Island’

November 14, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Andrew Davis lives in Santa Barbara, California, which is a very nice place to live, all sunshine and warm breezes. He and his wife Adrianne have lived there and elsewhere...

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