We remember film director John Frankenheimer. His films include The Manchurian Candidate, French Connection 2 and The Birdman of Alcatraz. He died this past Saturday, at the age of 72.
DJ and hip hop forefather Grandmaster Flash. At the dawn of hip hop, he recorded with the Furious Five. Their hits included "The Message" and "White Lines (Don't Do it)". Nearly 3 decades ago, Flash created the 'Quick Mix Theory,' the process of blending one music break with another. His chose the songs for the new CD, Essential Mix: Classic Edition. It includes a collection of 70s and 80s dance songs.
We remember the great singer Rosemary Clooney, who died Saturday. We'll hear a concert and interview taped before a live audience in San Francisco on January 18th, 1997, as part of the City Arts & Lectures series. Clooney sings some of her best-known songs, accompanied by a quintet directed by John Oddo. She also talks with Terry about her life.
Record producers Charles Granata and Didier Deutsch have collaborated on the new CD box set, Frank Sinatra In Hollywood (1940-1964) (Reprise records/Turner Classic movies) which collects Sinatra's film recordings - many of them rare. In fact only ten percent of the 160 tracks included on the collection have been released before. Granata is a Sinatra historian and author of Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra And the Art of Recording (A Capella Books, 1999). He was Project Director for the box set: Frank Sinatra: The Best of the Columbia Years 1943-1952.
Writer Gary Shteyngart. His debut novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, is receiving critical acclaim. The main character of the book, like Shteyngart, is a Russian-American Jew who emigrated to the United States as a child. In a New York Times Magazine cover article, Daniel Zalewski wrote, "Gary Shteyngart has rewritten the classic immigrant narrative — starring a sarcastic slacker instead of a grateful striver. And after all his parents have done for him!"
Retired Navy Capt. Peter Huchthausen wrote the book K19: The Widowmaker: The Secret Story of the Soviet Nuclear Submarine. This true story of a barely averted catastrophe aboard a nuclear-powered submarine has been adapted into a film of the same name starring Harrison Ford. Huchthausen served as technical director on the film. On July 4, 1961, the sub was taking part in a military exercise in the North Atlantic. A pipeline in a reactor's cooling system ruptured. In a race against time, the crew worked to improvise a repair. Until now, the story has been kept secret.
Journalist Matthew Brzezinski wrote about the global narcotics industry in the June 23, 2002 issue of the The New York Times Magazine. His cover story is, "Heroin: The Sleek New Business Model for the Ultimate Global Product."
We remember Timothy White, the editor in chief of Billboard Magazine. He died Thursday at the age of 50. He was in his office at the time. This interview first aired January 12, 1995.
Columnist Robert Wolke writes Food 101 for The Washington Post, a syndicated column that won the James Beard Foundation Award for best newspaper column. He's the author of the new book What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained. Wolke is also professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.
Musician and actor Steve Van Zandt is a guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He's also recorded solo and has produced a number of records and written songs for other musicians. He plays hitman Silvio Dante in the hit HBO series The Sopranos. He's also now a radio DJ. His syndicated show, Hard Rock Cafe Presents Little Steven's Underground Garage plays Sunday nights on a number of classic rock stations across the United States.
Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna. His new book is Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror. Gunaratna spent five years conducting interviews with al Qaeda members, doing field research and monitoring the group's infiltration in communities in North America and Europe. He is the author of six books on armed conflict and a research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He's lectured worldwide on terrorism and served as consultant to many governments.
Writer James Gavin has produced Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker. It's a biography of the jazz trumpeter and vocalist. Baker came from Oklahoma in the 1950s to become the "prince of cool jazz" on the West Coast. His death in Amsterdam in 1988 seems to have been drug-related. Gavin provides some answers to the riddle of his death. Gavin is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and other publications.
Cherry Jones is currently appearing in Lysistrata at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. Jones is a founding member of the American Repertory Theatre and has appeared in 23 A.R.T. productions. Shes won Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League awards. Jones has starred or appeared in many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Her film appearances include The Perfect Storm, Cradle Will Rock and the upcoming Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
Boxer Laila Ali. Shes the only one of heavyweight champ Mohammed Alis nine children to choose a life in the ring. Her recent bout with Jacqui Frazier was the most highly publicized female boxing event ever. Shes written an autobiography called REACH! Finding Strength, Spirit and Personal Power.
She died on June 14 2002, at age 65, from breast cancer. She was one of the most widely published African-American writers. In her poems and political essays, she addressed issues of racism, oppression and dispossession. She was born in Harlem and grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. She taught English at the University of California at Berkeley.
