The first time I ever met singer/actor Pat Boone was at a celebrity golf outing in 1992 in Bella Vista, Ark.
Boone, who just turned 75 this month, has always retained a boyish charm and gracious nature over the years, including every time we've crossed paths, from his headlining role on stage in "The Will Rogers Follies" in Branson to his special appearance in August 2006 in Indianapolis at the Indiana State Fair, where he helped celebrate the historic Hoosier event's 150th birthday.
Boone, whose 50-year career includes dozens of hits, played on the Indiana State Fair Grandstand Stage in 1956 and 1960 and starred in the 1962 movie release of Oscar Hammerstein's film "State Fair."
Boone, a prostrate cancer survivor, will be in Chicago July 22 for Loretto Hospital's 9th Annual Charity Golf Outing at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club, just off Route 59 in West Chicago. Boone will be presenting the hospital's "Distinguished Citizen Award" to Ralph Hughes, regional vice president for Macy's. FYI: (773) 854-4200.
The singer has been married to wife Shirley for 55 years and they have four daughters, Linda, Cherry, Debby and Laura.
He also is as much associated with his Christian devotion as he is with his white buck shoes.
The couple also have some famous neighbors near their long-time home in Los Angeles, which, from time to time, brings them an added dose of publicity, whether they want it or not. Former next-door-neighbors include Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
According to late actor Rock Hudson's 1986 published autobiography "His Story," co-authored with Sara Davidson, both Pat and Shirley repeatedly walked over to Hudson's home when he was bedridden and near death in 1985, to pray over him.
Another passing
There's no denying Ed McMahon was the world's favorite and most famous sidekick.
After all, he was at Johnny Carson's side on "The Tonight Show" for three decades.
Now, this famous duo is together again.
McMahon, 86, died early Tuesday morning, as shared, along with more details of his life and career, in the wire obit on today's Feature Focus page.
A pal of our region's own talk show claim-to-fame, Michael Essany, McMahon's health woes began as far back as March 2005, when he had to cancel participating in Essany's live stage show "Celebrities for Charity Talk Show" at the Radisson Hotel in Merrillville after suffering a fall in his home.
McMahon's last visit to our area was in April 2007 when he came to Chicago to do two special live audience shows at the NBC Tower in famed Studio A called "Memories of 'The Tonight Show' Starring Ed McMahon," featuring great stories and rare video footage of McMahon's many years spent as Carson's favorite second banana.
Prior to that, he was in the Chicago area in December 2005 when he came to town to promote "Here's Johnny: My Memories of Johnny Carson" (Rutledge Hill Press, $24.95), a revised edition of his last autobiography, "Heeeeere's Johnny," released in the late 1980s. The edition was written to include updates and commentary about Carson's death in 2005.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at philip.potempa@nwi.com or 219.852.4327.
Today's Celebrity Birthdays
Actor Al Molinaro ("Happy Days") is 90. Comedian Jack Carter is 86. Actress Michele Lee is 67. Actor-director Georg Stanford Brown is 66. Singer Arthur Brown and guitarist Jeff Beck are 65. Singer Colin Blunstone of The Zombies is 64. Drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac and actor Peter Weller are 62. Bassist John Illsley of Dire Straits is 60. Reggae singer Derrick Simpson of Black Uhuru and actress Nancy Allen are 59. Actor Joe Penny ("Jake and the Fatman") is 53. Singer Astro of UB40 is 52. Singer-keyboardist Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark is 50. Bassist Curt Smith of Tears for Fears and Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed are 48. Actress Danielle Spencer ("What's Happening") is 44. Actress Sherry Stringfield ("ER") is 42. Singer Glenn Medeiros is 39. Actress Mindy Kaling ("The Office") is 30. Singer
Solange Knowles is 23.
