Actor Timothy Busfield. He plays Elliot Weston on the ABC series, "thirtysomething." (he's the one with the red hair). He also appeared last summer in the movie, "Field of Dreams." Those roles follow a career that included commercials, parts in "Revenge of the Nerds," "Reggie," and "Trapper John M.D." Next week, Busfield is hosting a Lifetime cable special called "Don't Divorce the Children," about the trauma of childhood separation and divorce.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new albums from The Residents and Kris Kristofferson. The Residents are a bizarre California-based art band, who make spooky, dreary, multi-layered music. Recently, the Residents have been releasing a series of albums paying homage to great American composers and performers. After having covered artists such as John Phillip Sousa and Hank Wiliams, the group has just issued "The King and I," their homage to Elvis Presley (it's on Enigma). Kristofferson's new album is called "Third World Warrior," (on Mercury).
Record producer and folklorist Chris Strachwitz (rhymes with "crock-witz"). In 1960, Strachwitz started Arhoolie records as a leading outlet for many types of music that were disappearing our outside the mainstream. Today, the label has hundreds of titles, featuring blues, cajun, country and bluegrass, Tex-Mex, and many other styles.
Roy Ahmaogak lives in Barrow, Alaska and during the whaling season hunts bow head whales for food. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were also whalers. Ahmaogak was the person who spotted the three gray whales trapped in the ice in Barrow that drew such media attention. A recent book by Tom Rose about the trapped whales has drawn criticism from residents of Barrow who feel they were misrepresented by Rose. We talk to Ahmaogak about whaling and native life in Barrow.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews some newly reissued recordings of Haydn symphonies by the English conductor Sir Thomas Beecham. He says Beecham is one of the few conductors who understands how Haydn should be played. (the recording's on EMI records).
Theatre critic, director, and educator Robert Brustein (pronounced "steen," not "stein"). Brustein is a venerable voice in the American theatre...he's the founder and Artistic Director of the American Repertory Company, director of the Harvard Drama Center (he held a similar position at Yale for 13 years), drama critic for the New Republic for more than 30 years and the author of seven books on the theatre.
Book critic John Leonard reviews presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan's book "What I Saw At the Revolution" about her experiences writing speeches for Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Some of their most memorable lines, like "Read my lips" and "A thousand points of light" were written by Noonan. (Published by Random House).
Rock historian Ed Ward traces the history of 2 Tone, a musical movement that started in industrial England in the late 70's. It was started by groups like The Specials, the Selecter, the Beat, and Madness, playing ska, a form of pre-reggae Jamaican music.
Film maker Peter Wang (it's spelled "wang," but it's pronounced "Wong"). Wang wrote, produced, directed, and acts in his new movie, "The Laser Man." It's a suspense-comedy about a Chinese-American physicist who discovers his laser research is being used for evil purposes. Much the same thing happened to Wang himself. He holds a PhD. in laser technology but left the field after deciding he could no longer use his skills to help create new weapons systems. After a stint teaching, Wang migrated into acting and film.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new album from tenor and soprano saxophonist Bill Pierce. It's called "Equilateral," and it's on Sunnyside Records.
Television critic David Bianculli previews a new ABC docudrama based on the Challenger disaster. It stars Karen Allen, Peter Boyle, and Barry Bostwick. Bianculli says the movie is helped by the limits it keeps.
Television critic David Bianculli previews "The Kennedys of Massachusetts." It's a 6-hour miniseries based on historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's bestseller, "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys," about America's most prominent political family. The series premieres this Sunday on ABC.
Filmmaker Michael Roemer. In 1969, Roemer wrote, directed, and co-produced (with Robert Young) a movie called "The Plot Against Harry," about a small-time New York gangster trying to go straight. Now, 20 years later, the film is finally being released, and to huge critical acclaim. Roemer and Young also worked together on a number of documentaries and "Nothing But A Man," a 1964 film about blacks in the South. Since the 60s, Roemer has taught at Yale University and worked on several projects for public television.
A double interview today....first, Terry talks by telephone with South African musician Abdullah Ibrahim. Long an exile in this country, we find out how Ibrahim thinks this weekend's release of Nelson Mandela will change the artistic climate in South Africa.
Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews a new book, "Uncommon Genius: How Great Ideas Are Born." It examines creativity and how to nurture it by talking to some MacArthur Prize winners. The MacArthur Prize is an award of approximately $50,000 over 5 years to people who have demonstrated genius in their work.
Journalist Bryan Burrough. He co-wrote "Barbarians at the Gate," which chronicles the RJR Nabisco takeover, the largest leveraged buyout in Wall Street history. The deal was financed by Drexel Burnham Lambert, which filed this week for bankruptcy. Burrough and his co-author John Helyar covered the takeover from the beginning as reporters for the Wall Street Journal.
Cinematographer Ernest Dickerson. He's been director of photography for all of Spike Lee's films, starting when they were students together in New York University's graduate film program. Dickerson has also been cinematographer for John Sayles' "Brother From Another Planet" and "Raw: Eddy Murphy Live."
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "11," the latest album by the Smithereens. Although the album's been out for a few months, Ken says it's getting little notice, and it deserves a listen.
Soviet commentator Vladimir Pozner (poez-ner, not pahs-ner). Pozner is a fixture on American talk shows...an intelligent, affable, understandable interpreter of Soviet events and policies. Pozner was born in France, grew up in Brooklyn, and moved to the Soviet Union at age 19. In his new book, "Parting With Illusions," Pozner looks back on his life, talks about the Soviet Union under leaders from Stalin to Gorbechev, and discusses the recent "ending" of the cold war. (The book's published by the Atlantic Monthly Press).
