OFFBEAT: Chesterton actress ready for return of 'Glass Menagerie' in Chicago

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

OFFBEAT: Homewood Barrett Family competing for prizes on 'Family Feud' Monday

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

A personal message from your Omni family

We hope you know that Marci and Courtney Crozier appreciate the opportunities that have been given to REPRESENT Franciscan Alliance and Northwest Indiana.

Steve Allen with Singers Patti Page (left) and Dinah Shore in 1983

This Oct. 28, 1983 file photo from NBC-TV features entertainer Steve Allen, joined by singers Patti Page (left) and Dinah Shore, promoting a television special saluting favorite variety shows to air for the holidays.

Celebrity Judge Jaye P. Morgan of NBC's "The Gong Show"

Singer Jaye P. Morgan wielded both wit and the infamous mallet to strike the gong that ended many performers' hopeful, yet hapless, entertainment career dreams on NBC's "The Gong Show."

OFFBEAT: Valpo Mayor and 'Talent' Producer share 'Gong Show' tie

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

OFFBEAT: Michigan City our final community access TV station in NWI

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

Fitness video games offer grown-up workouts, family fun

With many new game system consoles and video games making their way into homes in the region over the holidays, you may have the makings of a good workout sitting right in your entertainment cabinet.

SHELF LIFE: The Minimalists explore simplicity as lifestyle

There’s an old joke about how a millionaire on vacation in Mexico tries to convince a fisherman that he should start a business selling his fish, work 60 to 70 hours a week running it, make tons of money and then he can do anything in the world he wants.

OFFBEAT: Essany halts his latest late night TV gig amid dispute

Valparaiso TV talk show host Michael Essany told me Thursday he has ended his Northwest Indiana-based Chicagoland late night television show "Seven on Ridge" because of staff and contractual disputes.

NFL INSIDER: Bears in do-or-die territory

It's the time of year when the men are separated from the boys in the NFL.

Balloon tidbits before Thanksgiving parade tune-in

For many families, the parade characters are like the cousins that float around grandma's house: They're familiar, but not everyone at the table knows the backstory.

JOHN DOHERTY: No love story in NFL concussion quandry

With apologies to Andy Williams, where do I begin?

OFFBEAT: Illness prompted Essany's TV talk show hiatus

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

OFFBEAT: Northlight's 'Odd Couple' funny, but not full force

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

OFFBEAT: Show goes on, despite actor Wendt's departure from 'Odd Couple'

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

Donald Trump Rubber Halloween Mask

Since his NBC reality show "The Apprentice" first debuted in 2004, businessman Donald Trump, thanks to his catchphrase "You're Fired!," has become a pop culture figure, including inspiring a line of rubber Halloween masks in his likeness.

Actors Conrad Bain and Todd Bridges, with the late Gary Coleman (center) from NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes"

Actor Conrad Bain (left) playing wealthy adoptive father Phillip Drummond to child stars Todd Bridges (right) and Gary Coleman (center) playing orphaned brothers Arnold and Willis Jackson on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes."