Media Notebook--9-20-24

MEDIA NOTEBOOK

A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago.

RADIO/PODCASTS

 

*New Blackhawks Studio Host

=Now that Joe Brand is gone to Pittsburgh, WGN needed a new studio host. Meet Charlie Roumeliotis…

 

 *Why was Laurence Holmes Missing from his Score Show this week?

=It’s not a conspiracy. It’s not related to the Bernstein/Barstool blowup last week. He has been dealing with a dental issue. Details are here.

 

 

*Podcast Corner

=An Ode to Kathy & Judy

=The latest TV show to go audio is 60 Minutes. They now do a podcast.

=From the “everybody has a podcast these days” files, add another name to the list: Nikki Haley.

=John Heilemann interviews the 2^nd Gentleman, Doug Emhoff. It’s a 90-minute interview.

=How about a podcast about the media? Tom Jones from Poynter is now hosting one.

=Slate’s podcast is also about the media. It’s called “Slow Burn: The Rise of Fox News”

 

*Music News

An unusually busy week for music news…

=Jane’s Addiction cancels tour after on-stage fight.

=Dave Grohl’s love child.

=Diddy in the clinky

=Billie Eilish and Finneas endorse Kamala Harris too.

=The end of the road (literally) for REO Speedwagon…

REO SPEEDWAGON announces permanent cessation of touring:

“To our fans: Bruce has intended to be Back On the Road Again by now. If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour… but it's not up to just him. The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be… pic.twitter.com/8MD9OTOoZZ

— Mitch Lafon (@mitchlafon) September 16, 2024

 

*Rest in Peace

=JD Souther

Singer/Songwriter wrote the song “Heartache Tonight” for the Eagles. He was 78.

=Tito Jackson

The most memorably named of the Jacksons. He was 70.

 

 

MEDIA BIRTHDAYS/MILESTONES

 

*September 17—Bobby Skafish birthday

 =Bobby was my very first interview for Illinois Entertainer back in 2013. He later authored a book for my publishing company Eckhartz Press called We Have Company.

 

*September 17—Matt Spiegel birthday

=Spiegel got the Chicago Radio Spotlight treatment back in 2010.

 

*September 17—Randy Merkin birthday

=The former ESPN producer published Behind The Glass for Eckhartz Press in 2021. A little birdie told me he might be working on another one.

 

*September 17/Peter Bowen birthday

=Long-time Chicago radio executive (CBS, Cumulus, Entercom, iHeart)

 

*September 17/Chuck Quinzio birthday

=Retired WFLD photographer, and author of the Eckhartz Press book Life Behind the Camera

 

*September 19—Ryan Arnold birthday

=Until very recently Ryan was part of the WXRT air-staff. He remains in town, running his own PR firm. My 2017 interview with him is here.

 

*September 19--Mike Tomano birthday

=Mike has bounced around the suburban radio scene for decades now. He’s currently the morning host and program director at Milner Broadcasting. Way back in 2008, I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight.

*September 19--Jimmy Fallon birthday

=The boyish Tonight Show host turned 50 this week.

*September 20—Ed Curran birthday

=Back in the day, Ed was part of the radio duo of Al & Ed on WGN Radio. He became a meteorologist and is now delivering weather reports for Channel 2.

 

*September 20--Jill Egan birthday

=During her radio career Jill was an air personality and producer at the Drive and the Loop.

 

*September 21—Janet Dahl birthday

=The most famous spouse in radio history. Janet Dahl has probably been on the air more than 90% of the full-time personalities on the air today.

 

*September 21--Bill Kurtis birthday

=The pairing of Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson at Channel 2 might just be the most popular news team in Chicago television history. Bill still is the voice of WWDTM on NPR and has an ultra-successful production company. I interviewed him for my podcast a few years ago.

 

TV/STREAMING

 

*Bulls & Blackhawks TV Crews for 2024-2025 season

=New network (Chicago Sports Network), but familiar faces…

=As for the Bulls, Jason Goff, Kendall Gill, and K.C. Johnson will be handling the pre and post-game show. Will Perdue will not be back.

 

*Midwest Emmy Award Nominations

=Tis the season. Full list of those nominated is here.

=The local NBC family garnered 34 nominations this year.

 

*Coming this October: Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-Nanza

=Svengoolie and the Sven-Squad will host the month-long celebration of Halloween on Me-TV again this year. There will be back-to-back scary movies every Saturday night, and full weekend lineups of Halloween episodes of  your favorite shows from the past, including a full day of Halloween westerns on October 6^th.

 

*Meet the new SNL Cast Members

=The New York Times has profiles of all three, Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakum, and Jane Wickline. The 50^th season begins this month.

=The first five shows look pretty darn good.

first five shows!!! #SNL50 pic.twitter.com/P3hYWANlLz

— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) September 18, 2024

 

*Dancing with the “Stars”

=The new season began this week. As usual the new crop of “stars” may need those quotation marks. How many have you heard of? I’ve only heard of four of them.

"Real Housewives" star Phaedra Parks

Former NFL player and two-time Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola

Former "Bachelor" star Joey Graziadei

Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher

Actress Chandler Kinney

Fake Heiress Anna Delvey

Actor Eric Roberts

Model Brooks Nader

"Family Matters" actor Reginald VelJohnson

"Beverly Hills, 90210" star Tori Spelling

Former "Bachelorette" star Jenn Tran

NBA star Dwight Howard

Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik

 

 

*Interviewing Candidates for WGN-TV General Manager

=Paul Konrad takes the helm…

 

*Whatever Happened to Steve from Blues Clues?

=To kids in the 1990s and early 2000s, Steve Burns was a superstar. Those same kids are adults now and they’ve re-discovered Steve. These days he’s hanging out on TikTok.

 

*Connie Chung

=The former CBS news anchor has a new memoir out. The New York Times has a preview.

 

*The Emmy Awards

=Full list of winners is here.

=The Washington Post declares the most shocking and surprising moments.

=I thought Jimmy Kimmel’s tribute to Bob Newhart was a nice moment too.

=Ratings were way up. 54% higher than last time.

 

*Fox News Drama

=People are confused what this behind-closed-doors Rupert Murdoch trial is about. It’s about Rupert’s irrevocable trust. I thought the Daily Skimm described this perfectly this week…

Rupert, who retired last year at 92, will make the case to amend his irrevocable trust so that when he dies, his eldest son (and chosen successor) Lachlan becomes his “number one boy.” The change would give Lachlan “exclusive” rights to 40% of the voting stakes in each company (read: major control of the firms). That might sound like a snooze until you get to this plot twist: Lachlan’s siblings, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence, are fighting so that they each get equal voting shares, as the trust originally states. Cue: the dramatic music.

=Now Mark Cuban wants to buy Fox News.

=Fox fired another producer for sexual harassment this week. Reported by Brian Stelter’s CNN Reliable Sources newsletter…

Robert Samuel, a nearly 20-year veteran of Fox News, was terminated last week after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced internally, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Samuel was an executive producer on Sean Hannity's prime time show, where he served as #2 under boss Tiffany Fazio.

=Last week I posted a link explaining what Sane-washing was. This piece is specifically about how Fox News does it.

 

*Wojnarowski Leaves ESPN

=NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski has left his reporting duties behind to become the general manager of the St. Bonaventure basketball team.

=He is walking away from $20 million.

 

 

DIGITAL/PRINT

 

*Scientific American Endorses Kamala Harris

=In the 179 years of this magazine, it’s only the second time they have endorsed apresidential candidate. The other one was Joe Biden.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

*Facebook Bans RT

=They did so via an announcement on Monday: "After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity." 

 

*Instagram Changes Settings for Teens

=They are implementing some pretty big changes for the under 18 crowd, including shutting off notifications between 10pm-7am, and making all under 18 accounts private. The New York Times has more information on this story.

 As always, if you have any media story you’d like to share or think that I might be interested in sharing, drop me a line at rick@eckhartzpress.com or amishrick@yahoo.com. If you're in Chicago media and wondering why I didn't mention your birthday, it's probably because I don't know it. Drop me a line and let me know and I'll put you on my calendar.

20 Years: Celebrity Stories

 

This year marks my 20th year as a professional writer. Over the course of 2024, I'll be sharing a few of those offerings you may have missed along the way.

For years I would just tell these stories from my radio days to my friends. One time when I was in the middle of a story, a buddy of mine said, "You need to write these down." In 2007, I did just that. I wrote a weekly column called Celebrity Snippets.

Here are three of them I wrote that year. All are appropriate to retell this week. Charmian Carr passed away this week in 2016 (September 17), Mike Royko was born this week in 1932 (September 19), and Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) is also celebrating a birthday this week. (September 17).

***

Charmian Carr played the part of "Liesl" in the Oscar winning film "The Sound of Music."






Last time in Celebrity Snippets, I wrote about my encounter Julie Andrews, but these are the essential ingredients of the story for you to understand the significance of my encounter with Charmian Carr.

When I was growing up, The Sound of Music was a very important film in our house. My father came from Austria and he forced us to watch it so many times that we knew the film by heart. After he died, The Sound of Music reminded us of Dad even more.

I made the mistake of telling John Landecker about this, and he thought it was hilarious that a 30-something straight male loved that movie. He brought me along to an interview with Julie Andrews to embarrass me. He thought I was in love with her--but I confessed after the interview that I was actually in love with the girl who played Liesl, Charmian Carr.

As it turns out, telling that to John was an even bigger mistake.

I figured the odds of running into her were minimal, but wouldn't you know it, she came to Chicago just a few years later to promote a sing-a-long version of The Sound of Music. When John heard she was coming, he insisted that I book her to appear on the show.

I did. But I knew I was in for it.

He wouldn't tell me what was going on in the days before the interview, but I heard a lot of whispering between John and the other members of the show. Whenever I walked into the room, they shut up. Or they laughed. I was bracing for the worst.

On the morning of the interview, I was unbelievably nervous. John had even been warning the audience about my childhood love of Liesl, and that something truly memorable was about to occur.

She arrived at the studio about fifteen minutes early, so I met her at the door and brought her to the green room. I must say, she was still quite beautiful. I know she's easily fifteen years older than me, and I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I couldn't even bring myself to shake her hand. I had sweaty palms.

I tried to warn her that something was going to happen. I told her that John had been teasing me about my love of the movie, and described our Julie Andrews experience to her. She seemed amused by it all, but I must admit...I had a difficult time maintaining eye contact.

Take a look at those eyes.

When I brought her into the studio, John was nearly bouncing off his seat with excitement. Within seconds, he was handing each of us a script, and explaining to the audience what was about to occur.

He had transcribed the love scene between Liesl and Rolf, and wanted to know if Charmian would recreate that scene live on the air, with me playing the part of Rolf. I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed in my life.

She was obviously a little taken aback by this, but after looking at me, shrugged her shoulders and said "Sure, what the heck."

John cued the music, and boom, we were acting out the scene. I was sitting five feet away from the real Liesl, and she was calling me "Rolf" with love in her voice. I stammered through my first line, which sent John into convulsions, and onto the floor, but it didn't stop Charmian. She was such a good sport about it.

We did the entire scene. For those two or three minutes, she was sixteen going on seventeen, and I was the blond-haired Austrian teenager she was in love with.

Can I confess it now?

It was probably one of my all-time favorite moments in my radio career because it was such a unique and personal experience.

Don't tell that to John, though. It would ruin the moment for him.






How many people have both of these autographs on their "Sound of Music" soundtrack?

***

Mike Royko was a legendary newspaper columnist in Chicago for the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Chicago Tribune. He passed away in 1997.





In the mid-90s the John Landecker show was co-hosted by Vicki Truax, who was married to legendary Chicago TV sportscaster Tim Weigel.

Through Vicki, Tim became a friend of mine. Tim was a gregarious guy, and it seemed like we were invited to parties at his huge Evanston mansion all the time. The guest lists at these parties read like a who's who of Chicago's media, including one of Tim's very best friends; Mike Royko.

I grew up reading him, and I considered him one of America's greatest living writers, but he was not exactly known as a warm and fuzzy guy. I was actually scared to death of him. Whenever I got into a conversation anywhere near the man, I just prayed I didn't say anything stupid. I respected his talent so much it would have killed me if he thought I was an idiot. (And he thought just about everyone was an idiot—he was famous for his ability to slice and dice with an effortlessly tossed barb.)

Therefore, whenever Royko was around, I was mute. I just liked standing near him and listening to his stories. I was pretty sure he had no idea who I was, and I liked it that way, but I was pretty sure it couldn't last forever.

I was right.

At one of these shindigs I was talking to Tim about something we had done on the radio show that week. It was a wacky parody song about John Wayne Bobbitt, the most famous man in America at that time. (Remember him? He was the guy who had his thingee cut off by his wife.) Tim really thought the song was funny, and asked me if I wrote it.

While I was in the middle of openly admitting that I wrote a wacky parody song about a guy who had his penis cut off, I didn't see America's most respected newspaper columnist walk up next to me. When I saw him, my heart sank. He was clearly listening in on the conversation.

At that moment I knew I would no longer be able blend into the walls and just listen to Royko.

"You wrote that Bobbitt song?" he asked me.

I gulped and braced myself for the slap-down king's inevitable slap-down.

"Yes he did," Tim answered for me. "Did you hear it?"

Royko nodded. "Yeah, my wife had it on in the car," he said. I could hear the disdain in his voice. I knew he wasn't a regular listener of the show.

Tim asked him the one question I never would have asked in a million years. "What did you think of it?"

Royko looked at me, and just for a second, a crooked little grin formed at the corner of his mouth. "I thought it was genius," he said.

I don't remember anything else that happened at the party that night. I don't even remember leaving the party, or getting home. I might have flown home, I'm not sure. But I'll always remember that one little moment when the wacky parody song writer was given the momentary seal of approval from one of his idols.

On the other hand, as my wife always points out when I tell this story, "He was hitting the gin pretty hard that night."

As if that matters.

***

In the 1980s actress Cassandra Peterson became nationally known as “Elvira; Mistress of the Dark.” She continues to play that role to this day.





The year was 1989.

It was right around Halloween, and I thought it would be fun to have Elvira on the Steve & Garry show to talk about the holiday.

Steve & Garry weren’t exactly huge fans, but I convinced them that it was thematically appropriate to have Elvira on the show during the last week of October. They agreed, but they did so grudgingly.

When she called from her home in Los Angeles the day of the interview, I answered the phone, and the conversation went something like this…

“Hello this is Cassandra calling the Steve & Garry show.”

“Elvira?” I asked.

“That’s a character I play,” she said. “Please call me Cassandra.”

“OK, Cassandra. You’ll be on the air with Steve & Garry in just a minute. Obviously we’ll be talking about Halloween. Please hold.”

I put her on hold for a second and stared at the phone. I had that queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I picked up the phone again.

“You will be going by ‘Elvira’ on the air, right?” I asked.

“That’s not my name,” she said. “My name is Cassandra. If they want to discuss the character of Elvira, and how I get into the character, I’d be happy to do that.”

“OK, thanks,” I said. “Please hold.”

That’s when I knew it was going to be a horrible train wreck. Steve & Garry had an incredibly low threshold for actors who took themselves too seriously. I walked into the studio during the commercial break, and prepared to take my punishment.

"Elvira's on hold," I said.

“Tell her we’ll get to her after the commercials,” Steve responded, barely looking up at me.

I cleared my throat.

“Actually…there’s something you should know before we put her on.”

Steve looked up. His radar was beeping.

“What?”

“Um…well, she wants you to call her... Cassandra.”

Steve gave me the classic “Bye Bye Now” flight attendant wave.

“Get rid of her?” I asked.

"No," Steve said. The sarcasm was dripping. "I'm sure our listeners would love to hear all about someone named Cassandra."

And that was that.

I thanked Cassandra for calling and apologized that we had run out of time.

Studio Walls--9-18-24

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

Here are a few from the archives...

September 15, 1949—The Lone Ranger debuts on TV

=We created our own tribute to that show. We call it the Lone Rogainger. Will we play the audio this week?

September 15—Oliver Stone birthday 

=We interviewed Billy Hayes, author of Midnight Express. He worked closely with Oliver Stone on the screenplay to his book, and told us all about it. 

 

September 16, 1857—"Jingle Bells" is published. 

=We have audio of two-year old Johnny Kaempfer singing it.

September 16, 1993—Frasier debuts on NBC

=Dan Butler, who played Bulldog on the show, talked to us about what it was like being on that show.  

September 16—Richard Marx birthday. 

=Believe it or not, Marx is good pals with Tubes lead singer Fee Waybill. Fee told us about it in this interview.  

 

September 17--Bobby Skafish birthday

=The great WXRT and WLUP jock phoned in to this episode.  

September 17--Anne Bancroft birthday

=I told my story about Anne in this episode. 

 

September 18--June Foray birthday

=My story about June, the voice of Rocky the Squirrel and many other cartoon characters, is in this episode. 

September 18, 1965—I Dream of Jeannie debuts. 

=We have Ron Santo audio talking about Jeannie

September 19—Adam West birthday

=Comedian Mike Toomey shared his excellent Adam West impersonation in this episode.  

September 19, 1985—Jim McMahon comes in and throw 3 TDs vs. Minnesota

=One of the greatest games in Bears history. We were thrilled to talk to Jim about it in this interview.  

September 19, 2010—Boardwalk Empire debuts. 

=Actor Paul Calderone was in that series, playing a killer. We talked to him about that, and his scene in Pulp Fiction in this episode.

September 20, 1976--AC/DC releases Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

=Nearly 50 years later we had jazz singer Kurt Elling on the show, and he unveiled his jazz version of that song. 

September 20, 1980--Erehwon founded

=Erehwon was our first client ever for AMISH Chicago Advertising. Would you like to hear the radio ad?

September 20, 2009--Rick interviewed on WGN 

=This was about the Waitle Nex Yeare ad I mentioned on the blog last week. We still have the audio.

September 20, 2022—Suspect by Scott Turow is released

=We talked to him about the book that week. 

September 20--Tim Clue birthday

=Tim's a great comedian and we were excited to have him on the show a few years ago. He later helped me out by being a last second fill-in as keynote speaker for the Chicago Writers Association. That's Tim in the middle with the CWA board.

September 21--Bill Murray birthday

=My Bill Murray story is in this episode.  

September 21--Chuck Jones birthday

=My Chuck Jones story is in this episode.  

September 21--Bill Kurtis birthday

=This entire episode is an interview with the legendary newsman.  

Publishing Portal: September 17, 2024

The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.

Rest in Peace

=Eckhartz Press author Alex Burkholder passed away this weekend at the age of 84. Alex wrote the incredibly well researched book Death of the Angels, which was about the famous Our Lady of the Angels fire in 1958. At our first meeting, Alex arrived with a box of cassettes filled with interviews of dozens of people who were there the day of the fire. It was really a life-long passion of his to get to the bottom of that tragedy. He finally did it with the publication of his book in 2018, on the 60th anniversary of the fire.

=Alex Burkholder was born and raised in Chicago. He received a Master Degree in Journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. During his younger years Alex rode on Chicago Fire Department apparatus and helped fight fires. Alex began his forty-six-year career in journalism with Chicago’s Lerner Newspapers in 1962. Next he moved to WGN Radio and Television News for twenty-one years. That experience was followed by twenty-four years at ABC7 Chicago mainly as an investigative producer and recipient of an Emmy Award. He was a founding member of the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago. He was also a heck of a guy. Alex will be missed.

Happy Birthday!

=Four Eckhartz Press authors are celebrating birthdays this week. Happy birthday to We Have Company author Bobby Skafish (September 17), Life Behind The Camera author Chuck Quinzio (September 17), Behind the Glass author Randy Merkin (September 17) and Patty & The Stump co-author Tim Clue (September 20).

 

 

=This week in 2014, Chuck was on with Rick Kogan talking about his book.

=This week in 2016, Bobby was on with Roe Conn & Anna Devlantas on WGN Radio

To Nudge the World

=The book launch party for our latest book (To Nudge the World by Jim Slusher) is coming soon. Mark it on your calendar. Jim will be there signing books, schmoozing with the fans, and doing a reading from the book. If you are a Daily Herald reader, you know Jim's name. If you are a Daily Herald fan, you just might run into a Who's Who from the newspaper. Plus, they have great food and drinks at Mrs. P & Me. Worth your while if you have the time...

Last Comiskey

=The Chicago Tribune had a nice mention of Ken Smoller's book this past weekend.

 The Loop Files

=Hard to believe that The Loop Files went on pre-sale this week last year. It's still selling quite well. On September 17, author Rick Kaempfer was on stage at the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The Loop was inducted as a radio station, and Rick was one of the Loopers on hand to accept the award presented by fellow former Looper Mitch Michaels. Also pictured Jimmy Mac McInerney, Wendy Snyder, Bridget Kaempfer.

 

=A few of the contributors to the book are celebrating birthdays this week as well. We've already mentioned Bobby Skafish (September 17). Bobby is also a key figure in WLUP history, and there are several photos of Bobby and stories provided by Bobby in The Loop Files, including this one...

=Mark McEwen also has a birthday this week (September 16). McEwen went on to become a nationally recognized television personality as a weatherman at CBS, but in the early 1980s, he was spinning tunes and jamming on the air at the Loop. That's him on the left in the studio with Sky Daniels. (Photo by Mike Bucek)

Cubsessions

=Co-author Randy Richardson keeping abreast of Cubbie World...

Back in the Game

=This week in 2014 (September 15), Rich King staged a launch party for his second book, Back in the Game. It was a star-studded party at Volare in Chicago. The book is no longer in print (because Rich has a newer one out now--Ike & Me), but it had a good run. Do you recognize any of the attendees below? (Mark Suppelsa, Jackie Bange, Jerry Reinsdorf, Johnny Morris are a few of them)

 

 

Records Truly Is My Middle Name

=This week in 2013, legendary WLS morning man Don Wade passed away. Don was a kind contributor to Records Truly Is My Middle Name. He told some stories about John Landecker, and Landecker in turn, told some stories about Don. Those are presented here as a free excerpt from the book. Below is a photo of Don (on the right) during his days at WIBG-Philadelphia.

 The Daly News

=When Joel Daly turned in the first draft of his book The Daly News, he had a single line in there about hanging out with the Beatles for a day. We said..."Joel, you have to tell us more about that story!" So happy he did. You can read it here as a free excerpt. It happened exactly 60 years ago this week (September 15, 1964). 

Behind the Glass

=Five different people who rate a full chapter in Randy Merkin's book Behind the Glass are celebrating birthdays this week. Former Bulls coach Phil Jackson (September 17), college baskeball coach Rick Pitino (September 18), movie star/television star Bill Murray (September 21), former Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville (September 15, photo below), and baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg (September 18, photo below). 

 

=Of course Ryno also appears in EveryCubEver, and even makes an appearance in Chuck Swirsky's Book Always A Pleasure

Nose Over Toes

=This week in 2019 (September 15), Eckhartz Press was out in force for the Brain Aneurysm 5K. It's a yearly event to support brain aneurysm research. Considering that a portion of the proceeds from Janet Sutherland's book went to the same cause, and that Janet was deeply involved in the organization, and that Janet's book was about her own recovery from a ruptured brain aneurysm, it seemed like a no-brainer.

Gruen Weiss Vor!

=Helmut Schoen was the coach of the West German men's national team that won the World Cup in 1974. The following year he visited a touring group of Green White Soccer Club players barnstorming through West Germany. The photo of that meeting is part of the great history of the club, and is obviously included in the book...and below. Helmut was born this week (September 15) in 1915.

Transatlantic Passage

=As long as we're talking about soccer, America's best soccer player Christian Pulisic is featured in Paul Banks' book Transatlantic Passage. Paul even got close enough to snap this picture of this week's birthday boy (September 18)

 Your Dime My Dance Floor

=Two of the people who contributed to Chet Coppock's book Your Dime My Dance Floor have birthdays this week as well. Former Bears linebacker Otis Wilson (September 15) contributed this testimonial...

I have known Chet for nearly forty years going back to my rookie season with the Bears in 1980. He is truly a great guy, whose sports knowledge is just amazing. You will love this book! Chet Coppock is a great friend and one heck of a great person.

• Otis Wilson, legendary Chicago Bears linebacker

 =Former Bears lineman and Hall of Famer Dan Hampton (September 19) contributed this photo...

=And this week in 2018, Chet appeared on Steve Dahl's show on WLS to celebrate the release of his book. Steve & Chet worked together at the Loop in the late 80s/early 90s. (Photo below, L-R: Steve Dahl, Chet Coppock, Rick Kaempfer, Dag Juhlin, and Brendan Greeley)

Ken Korber

=This is a photo of Eckhartz Press author Ken Korber (center) along with Eckhartz Press publishers Rick Kaempfer (left) and David Stern (right). Each are holding a cover of one of Ken's seasonal books. Notice the one they aren't holding. Kind of ironic considering the first day of Fall is this week (September 21)

Chili Dog MVP

=The book is primarily about White Sox great Dick Allen, but because the book chronicles the entire 1972 White Sox season, it also includes at least a passing mention of every single player who played for the Sox that year. Including these two...Lee "Bebe" Richard (born September 18) and Rich Morales (born September 20). Richard sadly passed away a few weeks ago (August 6, 2024).

 

Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind

 =Vicki Quade was pretty excited when Chicago Bon Vivant Don Rose decided to blurb her Eckhartz Press book. Here's what he had to say...

• “Call Vicki Quade the anti-quotidian. There is nothing ‘everyday’ about her experiences, her interactions and especially her keen, well reported observations. She is an oddity magnet. More odd things unfurl before her on almost every outing than happen to most of us in a season–funny things, sad things, sometimes even dangerous things, or just plain odd things. That’s in part because she is a hyper-curious buttinsky, often launching conversations with strangers our mothers warned us against, emerging with priceless stories and anecdotes. You will find yourself amazed, amused or just drop your jaw but it’s all true. I swear it is.”

  Don Rose, veteran political consultant, Chicago journalist, food writer, jazz aficionado.