Entertainment News

CHICAGO – 2018 was a killer year. I lost both my father and my childhood guitar idol|/mentor Ed King (of Lynyrd Skynyrd) within four days of each other. Both men played instrumental roles in starting and supporting my chosen photographic journey.

CHICAGO – My year in capturing 2017 celebrity portraits is best summed up with a bit of poetry: My subjects skewed older and politically bolder/In a year that demanded change/My list is longer with work hopefully stronger/In capturing these faces not strange.

CHICAGO – It was basic black at the 75th Golden Globe Awards on January 7th, 2018, as attendees chose a fashion statement to define the year that Hollywood faced the realities of sexual harassment. Hosted by Seth Meyers of NBC-TV’s “Late Night,” the Globes celebrated the best of TV and film in 2017.

NEW YORK CITY – He was the helmsman of “The Silence of the Lambs,” which won him Best Director and took home Best Picture at the 1992 Academy Awards, and made numerous other late 20th Century movie classics. Director Jonathan Demme died in New York City on April 26, 2017, at the age of 73.

LOS ANGELES – With the flourish of trumpets in “The Bullfighter’s Song,” a pugnacious man would strut on stage and launch a volley of hilarious insults on some unsuspecting targets. That act was Don Rickles, whose show business nicknames included “The King of Zing,” “The Merchant of Venom” and the magnificently ironic “Mr. Warmth.” Rickles died in Los Angeles on April 6th, 2017. He was 90.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MO – One of rock and roll music’s last living pioneers, Chuck Berry, was found dead in his home in St. Charles County, Missouri, on Mar. 18, 2017. He was the “Father of Rock ‘n Roll” for his hit songs in the 1950s, but Berry was also known for his controversies and live concert style. He was 90 years old.

GREENWICH, CONN. – She was the ideal woman for two generations of TV viewers, first in the 1960s as wife Laura to comedy writer Rob Petrie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and then in the 1970s as feminist breakthrough Mary Richards on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Ms. Moore died on January 25, 2016, near her home in Greenwich, Conn. She was 80.

CHICAGO – Travel buffs and soulful adventurers will get a taste of the upcoming year in wanderlust at the Travel & Adventure Show, returning to Chicago on January 21st and 22nd, 2017, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. The show features leading destinations, local experts, celebrity travel speakers and vendors that highlight everything you need to get to those special destinations.

CHICAGO – The year 2016 was a dangerous one to be a famous person. In the past twelve months, one dozen of my former photo subjects passed away, celebrities who at one time or another famously posed for my lens. However, on a positive note, at least photos are forever. Or to quote the immortal words of Pee Wee Herman – “Why don’t you take a picture, it will last longer!”

CHICAGO – It was a musical-oriented, high octane night at the 74th Golden Globe Awards on January 8th, 2017. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon of NBC-TV’s “The Tonight Show,” the Globes celebrated the best in TV and film in 2016, and selected Best Pictures “La La Land” (Comedy/Musical) and “Moonlight” (Drama), and honored the Best TV Shows with “Atlanta” (Comedy, FX) and “The Crown” (Drama, Netflix).