Mavis Staples to receive Sandburg Award Oct. 22
Grammy Award-winning singer and civil-rights activist Mavis Staples will receive the inaugural Carl Sandburg Award in the Arts from the Chicago Public Library and Chicago Public Library Foundation at the upcoming 14th annual Carl Sandburg Literary Awards Dinner on Wed., Oct. 22, at The Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd.
Two Carl Sandburg Literary Awards for career achievement in literature will be presented to Doris Kearns Goodwin (author of best-selling biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and the Kennedy family) and Larry McMurtry (Terms of Endearment, Lonesome Dove, Brokeback Mountain screenplay). The 21st Century Award, encouraging new talent, will be given to Chicago author Veronica Roth (Divergent series).
Guests will have the opportunity to share a table with a featured writer or artist who has contributed to enriching the Chicago community, including Sara Paretsky, Scott Turow, Julia Sweeney and others.
Reservations are strictly limited. For information or to purchase tickets, tables or sponsorships, visit cplfoundation.org, or contact Louis Schermerhorn at 312-201-9830, ext. 25, or email lschermer@cplfoundation.org .
'By Women for Women' Oct. 25 at Joffrey Tower
With the Women's Action Committee of Center on Halsted hosting, "By Women For Women: Art-Performance-Engagement" will present the Community Leader Awards to Kat Fitzgerald, and Vera Washington & Patricia S. McCombs.
The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 25, at Joffrey Tower, 10 E. Randolph St., at 6:30 p.m.
Washington and McCombs, both of whom have been inducted into the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame, are known for their history of bringing women together for social events in a safe and affirming space. Fitzgerald is known and recognized for her presence at Chicago events and offering her photography services to many LGBTQ organizations and businesses, including Windy City Times.
Passes are $70-$105 each; the ticket includes admission, raffle ticket, cocktails, and hors d'oeuvres. Visit https://community.centeronhalsted.org/bywomenforwomen?erid=1290833&trid=c999e462-baf1-40e3-9b71-deac5808068c.
Gay music legend Crewe dies at 82
Gay music legend Bob Crewe died Sept. 11, according to Frontiers L.A. He was 82.
Crewe was perhaps best known for producing and co-writing hit songs, including a long list of Top 10 singles for Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons such as "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man" and "My Eyes Adored You."
He also co-wrote "Lady Marmalade" with Kenny Nolan for Patti LaBelle. And, in an amusing twist for a gay man, his The Bob Crewe Generation wrote "Music to Watch Girls By" and the soundtrack for the 1968 Jane Fonda cult film Barbarella.
In 2005, Crewe played a supporting character in the multiple-Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys, based on the story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. Also, he is represented in the Clint Eastwood-directed film Jersey Boys.
O'Donnell among celebs in baby-boomer documentary
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' new documentary American Masters: The Boomer List will premiere nationwide Tuesday, Sept. 23, on PBS in honor of the last baby boomers turning 50 this year, according to a press release.
The film explores the story of the influential baby boomer generation ( 1946-1964 ) through the lives of 19 iconic boomersone born each year of the baby boom. Subjects such as Rosie O'Donnell, Tommy Hilfiger, Erin Brockovich, Billy Joel, David LaChapelle, Samuel L. Jackson, Kim Cattrall, Maria Shriver and gay-rights activist Peter Staley illuminate the important movements and changes that shaped the world during these years.