Broadway To Vegas
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Copyright: February 10, 2002
By: Laura Deni
(
COMMENT SECTION )
EIGHT BEANS A
NIGHT
Chocolate or cocoa beans have been such a valuable commodity for acquiring love that by 600
A.D. the Mayans used it as currency. If amour du jour was the object - the favors of certain girls
could be obtained at the price of eight cocoa beans per night.
Sharing a frothy chocolate drink was part of a ritual in Mesoamerican marriages in the 1100s.
The people believed the beans from the cacao Thebroma - which is the Greek word meaning food
of the Gods -
came from Paradise. According to the legend, the god Quetzalcoatl came to Earth on a
beam of the Morning Star with a cacao tree and taught the people how to make the beans into a
drink thought to bring wisdom and knowledge to those who consumed it.
Montezuma II, drank chocolate before visiting his
harem
 |
Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez was given the drink while visiting the court of Aztec king
Montezuma, in what is now Mexico, around the year 1519. We don't know the size of
the cups or the location of the nearest bathroom, but Montezuma is said to have
consumed fifty cups of chocolate prior to entertaining his harem - not because he wanted to
boost his intellect, but because of the power he believed it had over his libido.
Because of this women weren't allowed to drink it - merely service the men who did.
The brew was a combination of maize meal, water, cocoa, vanilla, and chili, combined to make a
thick drink that was chug-a-lugged with great ceremony and protocol.
Cortez kept chocolate a secret in Spain for almost a century, hiding it away in monasteries where
the cocoa beans were processed.
Jean Harlow
 |
Anything rumored to improve one's sex life can't be kept a secret for long.
By the early 1600s,
it had spread throughout Europe, although limited to the rich and noble elite. And with the
addition of chocolate to rolls and cakes it was, for the first time,
made into food instead of just drink.
Chocolate first appeared on film when Jean Harlow ate some candy in the 1933 comedy
Dinner at Eight.
Candy bars became the rage and to have one's name attached to the chocolate delight deemed a
serious honor.
The Baby Ruth candy bar was named after President Grover Cleveland's baby daughter,
Ruth.
The only candy bar named after a sports figure was the Reggie Bar for
"Mr.
October," Reggie Jackson.
The Sarris Candy Company, which began as a three-employee company
and developed into a $16 million per year business, produces a chocolate bar with almonds that
salutes three
famous groups from their corporate headquarters hometown of Canonsburg, PA.
The late great Perry Como is featured along with Bobby Vinton and the Four Coins.
Maria Theresa of Austria had a thing for chocolate
 |
In 1615 Anne of Austria, a member of the Spanish royal family, married Louis XIII of France and
introduced the drinking of chocolate to the French court.
When Maria Theresa of Austria married Louis XIV of Spain in 1660, her passion for chocolate
caused
its consumption to spread beyond the court to the French public.
"Chocolate is provocative to lust!" declared by Henry Stubbs, who was at that time England's
royal physician.
In 1776 British parliament began motions to lower the tax on chocolate. Eventually
successful, the lower prices they brought about made chocolate more accessible to the general
public.
Chocolate induced sin ran rampant.
Kisses, first made in 1907, are produced today at the rate of approximately 20-25
million per day. Each kiss is wrapped in five square inches of foil wrap, and contains 25
calories.
Today chocolate hearts can be purchased with messages in Braille and a chocolate hand with I
Love You printed in sign language.
The chocolate industry sells five billion dollars worth of chocolate each year in the U.S.
alone. That sounds like a lot, but the U.S. is only the eighth largest consumer of chocolate.
Switzerland, whose citizens eat more than 21 pounds per person each year, leads the world in
chocolate consumption
The average person in the U.S. eats only 11 pounds of chocolate each year.
GYPSY AWARDS HONOR JUNE
HAVER AND GREGORY HINES
June Haver
 |
June Haver and Gregory Hines will receive the 2002 Gypsy Awards from the
Professional
Dancers Society tonight at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Donald O'Connor, Joni Berry and Robert Sidney
host the event where Lee Hale presents a dance tribute to Busby Berkeley.
The multi talented Haver was a child piano protegee who, at the age of seven, played with
Eugene
Gossens and
the Cincinnati Symphony. She made her first screen appearance in two 1941 Universal Musical
Shorts. The
first with Ted Fio Rito was entitled Skyline Serenade and the second with Tommy
Dorsey called
Trumpet Serenade.
June Haver in Irish Eyes Are Smiling
 |
Her first starring role was Irish Eyes Are Smiling, playing the
love interest of
Tin Pan Alley composer Ernest R. Ball.
Her rise to stardom was meteoric. She starred in 15 motion pictures - one right after the other.
It was while June was appearing in the Broadway musical Roberta that she met a
fellow cast member, Fred MacMurray, and bemoaned to her mother that the shy, sexy and
attractive man was married.
MacMurray had fallen head over heels in love with the
raven haired chorus girl, Lillian LaMont. On the night of June 20, 1936 the sensible MacMurray
and LaMont eloped to Las Vegas, the town where Haver would one day also wed.
The MacMurray/LaMont union was blessed with love and devotion, torn apart only by LaMont's
death on their 17th wedding anniversary.
For Haver, joy was a long way off. While her professional success was a shining star,
her personal life was a flame out.
In March of 1947, while on a four-day break from the
filming of Scudd-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! June eloped to Las Vegas and married Jimmy Zito, a
musician she had
met while singing for the Ted Fio Rito band.
In a desperate attempt to save the
doomed union
June converted to Catholic faith, but in less than three months the marriage ended in
separation and then divorce. June called the impulsive marriage - "The biggest mistake of my
life."
June thought she had found love when she became engaged to Dr. John Duzik, billed as the
dentist to the
stars. But a lingering illness took his life before they could wed.
June Haver and Fred MacMurray on their
wedding day
 |
A devastated June retreated
from Hollywood into a St. Louis convent. Within a few months illness forced her from the
nunnery. She returned home to Hollywood, but stayed cloistered behind family walls.
Then John
Wayne insisted she come to a costume party he was throwing -a party also attended by widower
MacMurray.
Finally the happiness that had eluded June for years subsided and cupid's arrow found its proper
mark. The minute their eyes met, they were one.
Their 37-year blissful marriage even
included trips to Las Vegas for a chili contest sponsored by Circus Circus Resort - since
MacMurray, who passed away in 1991, was both a chili fanatic and a gourmet cook.
Gregory Hines
 |
A triple threat, Gregory Hines sings, acts and dances. He's earned three
Tony nominations and won a Tony for best actor in a musical for Jelly's
Last Jam. On film, he's been seen in The Cotton Club and White
Nights with Mikhail Baryishnikov.
He's been credited with reinventing tap
dance.
Gregory was a homemade Valentine gift to his
parents, born on Valentine's Day in New York City. We're
not sure if he's going to be eating cake, but his daughter Daria has been known to fix him grilled
salmon and
beef on satay skewers, two of his favorite dishes.
Hines began dancing, with big brother Maurice, at the precocious age of not quite three, under
the tutelage of tap master Henry LeTang. As soon as Gregory turned five, the brothers went
professional as the Hines Kids, making nightclub appearances around the country, and virtually
growing up backstage at the Apollo Theater, picking up pointers from tap dance legends like
Honi Coles, Sandman Sims, the Nicholas Brothers and Teddy Hale who was Gregory's personal
source of inspiration.
Gregory and Maurice then grew into the Hines Brothers and, when Gregory was eighteen they
were joined by Maurice, Sr. on drums to become Hines, Hines and Dad. The act was a Las Vegas
mainstay, and the family moved to Sin City.
Gregory eventually left the trio and settled briefly in Venice, California where he formed a
jazz-rock band.
When he returned to live in New York, he won a role in The Last Minstrel Show, which
led to his
Broadway success in Eubie, Sophisticated Ladies, and Jelly's Last Jam.
In 1992 he won the Tony as best actor for his portrayal of jazz man Jelly "Roll" Morton in the
production of
Jelly's Last Jam. He had previously received three Tony nominations for his work in
Eubie, Comin'
Uptown, and Sophisticated Ladies.
If you favor television, you may have caught him in the Emmy winning PBS production
Gregory Hines:
Tap Dance in America, or his Emmy nominated performance in Motown Returns to the
Apollo.
Gregory even had a number one song on the Black Single's chart: There's Nothing Better Than
Love,
a duet with Luther Vandross.
Hines directed and co-stars in The Red Sneakers which premieres on Showtime
tonight.
The Gypsy Awards are named in honor of the unheralded dancers who formed the
backbone of musical theater, film and television and are the true exponents of this musical
genre.
They raise funds to provide housing, financial and other care for dancers when
necessary. Some of the former honorees include Ann Margaret, Debbie Reynolds, Ann
Miller and Mitzi Gaynor.
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THE ACTOR'S FUND OF AMERICA celebrates the 100th birthday of Lee Strasberg Monday at the Minskoff
with attendees including Al Pacino, Ellen Burstyn, Harvey Keitel, Sophia Loren, John Lithgow,
Brian Stokes Mitchell. An award in Strasberg's name will be initiated, and "Lee Strasberg Way,"
located at 15th Street and Union Square East, will be unveiled on Tuesday.
Among other events the Actor's Fund has Special Performances a 75-year-old tradition, in which
once a year, every Broadway show, in
New York
and on the road, adds a performance to their regular schedule as a benefit for The Actors' Fund.
WILLIAM IVEY LONG the
Tony
Award-winning
costumer has branched out into dressing the elegant masses. He'll premier his own collection
during
Fashion Week
on Feb. 13.
LOVE - OR A HEAD COLD - IS IN THE
AIR
Johnny Whitaker on Family Affair
 |
Airborne Formula, the natural cold remedy, is giving away a Valentine's Day
``dream date'' with former child star Johnny Whitaker, who played Jody on the television series
Family Affair.
We hope Whitaker has a sense of humor.
The winner has their
choice. Either the dream date with Whitaker or 2 tubes of Airborne.
The winner must also promise "not to stalk, hound, harass, or submit Mr. Whitaker to crank
phone
calls."
Anne Douglas and her "awful" husband, Kirk on
their wedding day
 |
Kirk and Anne Douglas, who were married in Las Vegas, plan to renew their vows when
they celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 2004.
Only this time they want a
clergyman who
speaks distinctly.
It seems during the Las Vegas event Anne couldn't understand what
the guy
was saying and thought she was taking Kirk for her "awful husband" rather than "lawful
husband.
The Greater Miami Visitors Bureau has teamed up with KOOL radio in Las Vegas for a mass
renewal
of wedding vows on Valentine's Day at the Silverton Hotel.
An Elvis impersonator will
perform the
ceremonies.
Serving as everybody's best man will be Chubby Checker.
A wedding cake reception follows complete with a drawing. One lucky couple
will win a honeymoon to Florida.
THE MUSIC GOES ROUND AND
ROUND
Nancy Wilson who at age 65 has recorded over 50 albums and, as part of the Capitol Records
stable, outsold all others on that label - that would be Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys and Nat
King Cole. The only Capitol artist she failed to surpass in sales was - The Beatles.
On
Tuesday, to commemorate her 50th year in music, Wilson, who starting singing in front of
audiences at the age of eight, and had her own television show by the time she
was 15, will be saluted by Capitol Records with the release of a four-disc, 80-song boxed set
called The Essence of Nancy Wilson.
JABBER, JABBER, JABBER
ROBERT WILSON AND FRED NEWMAN
are two theatre artists who have spent their careers pushing the envelope of
theatrical convention. On February 11 Wilson and
Newman will meet onstage to talk about their work.
Fred Newman
 |
Fred Newman is a Stanford-trained philosopher as well as a playwright, director, lyricist, and
composer. He has won acclaim in the past 15 years for his politically provocative,
philosophically
charged, structurally unconventional plays and musicals. The theatre he has built, the
Castillo Theatre, is part of a broad social experiment in human development.
Newman has developed a therapeutic approach which is now recognized and practiced around
the
world.
Robert Wilson is considered America's foremost theatrical avant-gardist. His training in
painting,
therapy and architecture have flowered in his work as a director, choreographer, playwright,
and
designer. His numerous awards have included the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for lifetime
achievement and the Golden Lion for Sculpture of the Venice Biennale; and in 1986 he was the
sole nominee for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
A common interest of these two very different risk-takers is the work of the late
avant-garde German playwright Heiner Muller, with whom both have had a long
collaborative history.
The dialogue between Wilson and Newman takes place at John Jay
College
Theatre, February 11.
AN ALMOST HOLY PICTURE
by Heather McDonald, starring Kevin Bacon has opened to rave reviews for Bacon's portrayal of
Samuel
Gentle, a grounds keeper for The Church of the Holy Comforter who has heard God's call, but
can't comprehend His mysteries.
His sometime poignant, sometimes comic journey of faith is the
subject of this new play by American playwright Heather McDonald, directed by Michael
Mayer.
This well crafted drama was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award and won the prestigious
Kesselring Prize, an award whose previous winners include Tony Kushner, Nicky Silver and
Naomi Wallace.
Sets by Mark Wendland. Costumes by Michael Krass. Lighting by Kevin Adams. Directed by
Michael
Mayer.
At the American Airlines Theater in New York City.
GOLDEN LADDER
a semi-autobiographical play by Donna Spector in which Amy Redford - Robert's youngest child
- plays a woman whose
mother is
Christian and whose father is Jewish. The religious conflict launches her on a three-decade
spiritual
odyssey, testing various religions and beliefs with often hilarious results.
Amy may have more understanding that some actors. She received a BA in Theater Arts from San
Francisco State University with an undergraduate degree in
religious studies and humanities.
The comedy/drama opens Tuesday at the Players Theater, New York City.
THE ROYAL FAMILY starring
Judi Dench opens in London's West End on February 15.
RED NOSES by Peter Barnes.
This award-winning energetic political satire, set in plague-ridden Europe of the 14th
century, follows the true story of Father Flote, a monk who led a traveling band of clergy -
turned comedic theatre troupe throughout the countryside, in hopes of alleviating human
suffering through laughter. It is a story of vision, love, hope and survival of the human spirit -
even in the worst of times. February 15-16 Boca Raton Campus University Theatre,
Florida.
POST TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME
a controversial and critically acclaimed play written by Kamal Sinclair Steele, directed by Obie
Award-winner Robbie McCauley and developed through the Fractured Atlas Residency Program
has opened at the Baha'i Center Theater in New York City.
Research sociologist Dr. Joy DeGruy-Leary developed a theory of Post Traumatic Slave
Syndrome to explore the roots
of mistrust and miscommunication between black and white Americans.
Dr. Leary's theory
postulates that the
African American community has suffered from the causes and exhibits all of
the traditional symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Her work
explores the idea that North American chattel slavery itself was the
inevitable consequence of a collision of fundamentally incompatible value
systems: one derived as a means of survival in prehistoric Africa, the other
as a means of survival in prehistoric Northern Europe.
Universal Arts developed Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome as a performance work to
explore her
ideas in an emotionally-charged, visceral way utilizing theatre, dance, music, and performance art
to create a
multifaceted, theatrically and
emotionally charged work - in contrast to Dr. Leary's strictly academic
approach.
The second act focuses on the parallel
psychological injuries suffered by White Americans.
The stage action is complemented by original sound compositions
by Leo-Coltrane Marcelin, lights by Jim Milkey, and costumes by Julie
Winger.
Dr. Leary currently resides in Portland, Oregon, where her educational model
for working with children of color is being implemented in Portland Public
Schools.
The production continues through February 24.
THE LAST FIVE YEARS a
musical love story by
Jason Robert Brown involves an emerging novelist, a struggling actress and their divergent
dreams;
Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott star. Previews begin Tuesday with the official opening
set for
March 3. At the Minetta Lane Theatre, NYC.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
(ABRIDGED) getting raves from Rosie O'Donnell's side kick and
musical
director John McDaniel. The production is a delightful, don't miss race through all 37 of the
Bard's plays;
Peter Ackerman, Jeremy Shamos and David Turner star, and Jeremy Dobrish directs, Adobe
Theatre
Company in New York City.
THE DAZZLE
starring Peter Frechette and Reg Rogers
with Francie Swift. The Dazzle revolves around two brothers, with very different views
on the
possibilities of life. One longs to make his life a story. The other lives a life of serial intensities. A
young woman comes to be fascinated with both brothers, providing their lives with a plot. The
Dazzle is about how people spend their time. It's about the joys of collecting. It's about a
house that gets incredibly messy.
David Warren directs this New York Premiere work by one of the most lauded contemporary
playwrights around, Richard Greenberg.
This production is part of the New Play Initiative, funded through the support of the Harold and
Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Philip Morris Companies, Inc. and the Barbara Bell Cumming
Foundation.
Performances begin Tuesday. A Roundabout Theatre Company Production
at the Gramercy Theatre,
New York City.
THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
by Eve Ensler features Barbara Barrie, Stefanie Powers and Lillias White through March 3. At the Westside
Theatre. NYC.
LOVE & SEX written by Marc
Meyers directed by Beth Manspeizer, presented by Silver Moon Productions. It is
a collection of eight monologues, delivered by eight different actors, all dealing with Love, Sex
and the repercussions of each, as the various characters recall their searches for
romantic fulfillment in the streets and townships of New York City.
The monologues include Coney Island Dog, details the confessions of an upper-class
sex
addict; and Hotel Sheets, the story of a wild search for a dog named God during Mardi Gras.
The cast, featuring actors from The Barrow Group and The Ensemble Studio Theatre Institute Lab, includes Mauricio Alexander,
Chris Campbell, Eric Deskin, Jon Michael Johnson, Inna Krieger, Marco Lando, Katherine Neuman and Katie Reichart.
Presented at The Barrio New York City through March 3
FOOL FOR LOVE Sam Shepard's
play in
which a pair of former lovers reunite,officially opens Thursday. Performances through March 30,
at 29th
Street Rep, in NYC.
BABY
Rebecca Holden
 |
has a book by Sybille
Pearson, Music by David Shire and Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. This musical comedy tells the
story of three couples at various stages of life as they deal with the painful, rewarding and
agonizingly funny consequences of this universal experience. The production stars Rebecca
Holden. TV fans also will remember Holden from her
recurring roles as April Curtis on Knight Rider (1983-84) and Elena Cosgrove on General
Hospital in 1987.
The cast of Baby also includes Lewis Kempfer, Erin
Parker,
John Warren, Erica Rowlett and Daniel Vincent.
Patrons are encouraged to bring a baby food item to benefit
Feed America First when they attend Baby and in turn receive a coupon for $2 off their
next visit to the Boiler Room Theatre.
Through March 2. Nashville, Tennessee.
WHO'S WHERE
AUDRA McDONALD the
three-time
Tony Award-winner made her Utah Symphony debut last night in a program featuring six
Duke
Ellington songs in new
orchestrations by Larry Hoffman. McDonald who is currently working on her latest CD set
for an
April
release, will spent most of this year on tour. McDonald travels with family and that includes
her
11-month-old daughter, who has already been in three countries and 27 states.
McDonald's concert was part of the Olympic Arts Festival which included Keith Lockhart and
the Utah Symphony playing George Chadwick's Jubilee from Symphonic
Sketches,
Copland's suite
from Appalachian Spring, Bernstein's On the Town: Three Dance Episodes
and
Gershwin's
An American in Paris.
ROBIN WILLIAMS hits the road
doing his first tour in 15 years. The Chicago engagement is sold out. He plays the Chicago
Theater Feb 26-27. His next stop is Milwaukee.
ELAINE PAIGE sings two concerts of
musical theatre tunes with the Utah Symphony at Salt Lake City's Abravanel Hall Feb 15-16 with the
Utah Symphony under the direction of Keith Lockhart. Then on Feb 20-21 Paige makes her Los
Angeles concert debut at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, also backed by the Utah Symphony.
KENNY CHESNEY thinks he's a
little too popular. He's had to put up a fence and gate at his home. It seems there have been
several times when the singer has actually found girls hiding in his garage. They lay in wait for their
idol wanting him to autograph their 'She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy' T-shirts. The performer spends
Valentine's Day singing in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Erie Civic Center. On Friday he is on stage
in Salem, Virginia at the Salem Civic Center and Kenny closes out the week on Saturday in Lexington,
Kentucky at the Rupp Arena.
RODEO HOUSTON on February
12th features the Dixie Chicks. On the 13th it's none other than Neil Diamond. Valentine's
Day
finds Alan Jackson on stage, and February 15th it's Clay Walker.
MARY J. BLIGE in new duds by
Dolce & Gabbana, opens a two nighter this evening at Radio City Music Hall in New York. On Wednesday she performs at the
Fox Theatre in Detroit. Thursday she is center stage at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee
Wisconsin and on Friday the show is at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.
BETTY BUCKLEY in concert
Feb. 14 and 16 at the Bottom Line in New York, NY.
MAUREEN McGOVERN in the
spotlight Feb. 16 and 17 at the Hilbert Circle Theater in Indianapolis, IN.
ALICIA KEYS performs February
11 in Richmond, Virginia at the Landmark Theatre. On Tuesday she is in Charlotte, NC at the
Ovens
Auditorium. Valentine's Day find her performing in Sunrise, Florida at the Sunrise Musical
Theatre.
Then on Friday she is in Orlando, Florida at Hard Rock Live. Alicia closes out the week
Saturday
center stage in Atlanta, Georgia at the Tabernacle. Her Songs In A Minor received four
nominations for the 16th annual Soul Train Music Awards.
PETE SEEGER who has recorded more than 50
albums and lived in the same house for 52 years with his wife of 58 years, Toshi, travels out of New York to
perform tomorrow (Monday) with the Children's Dance Theatre in the Capitol Theatre, as part of the
Cultural Olympiad. Salt Lake City, Utah.
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVISITED on stage Saturday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
DAVID CASSIDY will be singing
the love songs on Valentine's Day at The Grove of Anaheim in Anaheim, California.
TONY BENNETT entertains
Wednesday at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Mass. Then he has a three night
engagement at the Westbury Music Fair beginning February 15.
DONNA McKECHNIE sings Monday
night at Arci's Place in New York City.
MICHAEL TILTON THOMAS conducts the San Francisco Symphony in two programs featuring works
including Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with tenor Michael Schade and baritone
Thomas Hampson on February 12 and Ives Symphony No. 4 on February 14 at Carnegie Hall,
New York City.
VONDA SHEPERD performs
tonight at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. On Tuesday the entertainer is in Denver, CO at the
Paramount Theatre. Valentine's Day finds her in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Fitzgerald Theater. On
Friday the singer is on stage in Chicago, IL at the House Of Blues and she rounds out the week on Saturday
in Akron, OH at the Highland Theatre.
ANNE MURRAY performs
February 12 at the Ohio State Theater in Sandusky, Ohio. On Wednesday she can be enjoyed in
Clinton Township, MI at the Macomb Center. Valentine's Day finds her singing the love songs in
Danville, KY at the Norton Center and on Saturday she's center stage in Wilkes-Barre, PA at
the F.M. Kirby Center.
STYX cranks it up on February 13
in Sioux City, Iowa at the Sioux City Auditorium. On Friday the gang is in Bismarck, North
Dakota at the Bismarck Civic Center. They close out the week Saturday in Fargo, ND at the
Fargodome.
BILL COSBY tells the funny
stories on February 15 in San Francisco, CA at Davies Symphony Hall. On Saturday he can be
enjoyed in Seattle, WA Benaroya Hall.
COMPOSER ALAN BERGMAN BACKED BY MARVIN
HAMLISCH sing Marilyn and Alan Bergmans' tunes with the National Symphony
Orchestra at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday. Amanda McBroom sings the program's first half. The Kennedy
Center has also commissioned Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Cy Coleman to write "a song cycle from a jazz
perspective" to be performed on May 17.
PIFFLE AND PROFUNDITIES
SUSAN STAFFORD the original
letter turner on Wheel of Fortune, who left the program to become minister, is the clergyman who
conducted the funeral services for actor George Nader, who recently passed away at the age of 80. Nader was
the sole heir to the interest from the estate of Rock Hudson. Stafford is also the person who officiated
when Hudson's ashes were buried at sea.
BURNING THAT CHICKEN FAT
The University of Georgia is warming to the idea of Southern fried chicken. The
chicken fat is being used to heat the campus and no students have been reported to smell like
a
fast food restaurant.
Georgia scientists proclaim that chicken fat could become a good alternative to fuel oil.
In tests over the last few weeks, the University's Department of Biological and Agricultural
Engineering has used giant steam boilers - converted at an expense of $30,000, to burn
animal fats - to heat water and buildings on campus.
The project, funded by the Georgia-based
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the Fats and Protein Research Foundation in Illinois, also
will test the potential of animal fat in other applications, such as truck and auto engines. Tom Adams,
the department's outreach coordinator, said the fuel is safer for people and the environment than
burning coal and oil, and no one has complained about odor.
The United States poultry industry produces some 2 million pounds of chicken fat a week,
which could result in people pulling up to the pump and asking for a fill up of chicken fat.
Next Column: February 17, 2002
Copyright: February 10, 2002. All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary,
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