Bob Geldof, the star of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats and organizer of the Band Aid and Live Aid benefit concerts to aid starvation victims in Africa. His autobiography is titled Is That It?
Edward James Olmos. He plays Lt. Castillo in the popular television series "Miami Vice" and is now starring in a soon-to-be released film "Stand and Deliver." Olmos also starred in the films "Zoot Suit" and "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" and "Blade Runner."
Ken Tucker reviews "TV's Best Adventures of Superman," the home video cassette of the popular "Adventures of Superman" series that starred George Reeves. The release coincides with the 50th anniversary of Superman's creation as a comic-strip character by two Ohio teenagers.
Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest who for the past 20 years has been at the forefront of the peace movement. He has been arrested and spent time in prison many times for his acts of civil disobedience. Berrigan was one the Catonsville 9, who protested the Vietnam war in 1968 by destroying draft records, and a member of the Plowshares 8, who damaged nuclear warheads in 1980. He now works at an AIDS hospice in New York City. Daniel Berrigan recently completed his autobiography; it's titled To Dwell in Peace.
Mary Gordon. Her novels include The Company of Women and Final Payments, an acclaimed exploration of a Catholic upbringing. Her recent collection of short stories is titled Temporary Shelter.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new CD that captures the legendary maestro Arturo Toscanini leading the NBC Symphony Orchestra in rehearsals of the second and third acts of Verdi's "La Traviata."
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Rock of Life," by Rick Springfield and "Til My Heart Stops," by Lisa Hartman, two TV stars trying to make the rock charts. Springfield plays a doctor on the daytime soap "General Hospital;" Hartman is a cast member of the evening soap "Knot's Landing."
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Hairspray," the latest film by director and writer John Waters. "Hairspray," a satire of the teen dance shows of the early 60s, follows a long line of wildly eccentric films like "Polyester," "Pink Flamingos," and "Female Trouble." The cast includes Divine, Debbie Harry, Pia Zadora and Sonny Bono.
George Cadwalader. A former Marine captain who was wounded in Vietnam, Cadwalader founded and ran the Penikese Island School for hard-core delinquent boys on a remote island off the coast of Massachusetts. It was run in a strict manner and used the techniques of survival schools like Outward-Bound, hoping to re-build character. But Cadwalader found that almost all of the boys ended up back in prison when they left the school.
Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. When she moved to New York City in the early 80s, she decided to put her singing career behind her and concentrate on her family. She is now the best-known of several emerging female jazz singers. Her new album is titled "Days Aweigh."
Ken Tucker reviews "Penn and Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends," an interactive home video cassette that features some of the magic duo's favorite scams.
Actress Annie Potts. She's becoming familiar to audiences for her role in TV's "Designing Women." But before that, she was cast often as quirky, off-the-wall characters in films like "Ghostbusters" and "Pretty in Pink."
Arthel "Doc" Watson, one of America's premier acoustic folk guitarists. His flat-pick style of playing traditional folk and bluegrass has made his sound one of the most distinctive of any folk artist. His 24 albums have earned him four Grammys. In the folk music community, Watson is best known for his part in preserving the traditional ballads and melodies of southern Appalachia.
Fred de Cordova, executive producer of "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." His autobiography, "Johnny Came Lately," is a behind-the-scenes tell-all about the workings of one of television's longest-running and highest rated shows. de Cordova credits include directing Ronald Reagan in "Bedtime for Bonzo," directing "The Jack Benny Show," "The Burns and Allen Show," and "My Three Sons."
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the cast recording of "Into the Woods," the latest Stephen Sondheim musical. Sondheim is the composer of "Sweeney Todd," "Pacific Overtures" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Beetle Juice," the supernatural comedy about a couple that moves into a Victorian home hoping to remodel it only to find it's inhabited by ghosts who abhor their chic urban tastes. It stars Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara and Alec Baldwin.
Rock historian Ed Ward profiles the work of TK Productions, the Miami recording company that in the mid-70s brought out acts like K.C. and the Sunshine Band ("That's the Way I Like it" and "Get Down Tonight"), George McRae ("Rock Your Baby") and Betty Wright ("Where is the Love"), musicians who combined classic southern rhythm and blues with the up-tempo beat of disco.
Ken Tucker pokes fun at the notion that the video cassette revolution would spawn legions of avid movie collectors. Increasingly, he argues, the movies available for home rental are either teen comedies or movies you can see on late-night TV.