Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 25

1 a Isi GERE mm Hollywood star and bluesman jam at JJ One in an occasional series about the filming of 'The Mothman Prophecies" in Southwestern Pennsylvania. By Scott Mervis Weekend Editor, Post-Gazette 'A I 7 Ji I 14 1 A 1 TP" 1 1 31 4wf'" pri Pi Pi WMmm ISSptsi I I i I '-fe'V ft i 1 ter a few weeks of apparently sticking to the business of the "Mothman," Richard Gere not only stepped out Thursday night, but also put on a show. Gere's people had called the managers of (formerly Metropol) earlier in the day to reserve a good spot for the actor to see blues singer Buddy Guy. Gere, in town to work on "The Mothman Prophecies," had a table on the mezzanine, overlooking the stage, where the 64-year-old Guy was putting on his usual guitar clinic. At one point in the set, the blues master, known for roaming the crowd with his wireless, ran up the stairs and took a seat next to Gere.

Word is that Guy played a birthday party for Gere a few years back, and the actor occasionally drops by the guitarist's club, Buddy Guy's Legends, in Chicago. He's also been known to jam with the likes of Van Morrison. Guy got a big cheer from the crowd of 800 Thursday night when he announced that Gere was in the house. Then, for the final encore, Gere, wearing a black leather jacket and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame cap, ran down the stairs and onto the stage, where he grabbed Guy's black Eolka dot Strat and did himself proud, anging back but still trading some leads with the classic blues player on a free-form blues jam. "He had some licks, I was pretty impressed," said Pat Lucas of Ticketmas-ter, who sees his share of concerts.

"He wasn't some schlub actor up there trying to figure out some chords, that's for sure." Gere actually started his career as a musician, playing guitar, piano and trumpet, and, according to his Internet Movie Database bio, he dropped out of the University of Massachusetts to join a rock 'n' roll commune in Vermont in 1970. After the guitar duel at Gere shook hands with Guy's band members and the two friends made a quick exit. According to Renee Sroka, director of marketing at RosebudM, throughout the night, "the crowd was really respectful and no one was hounding him for autographs. And he told owner Robin Fernandez that he'd be back." HAPPY? ANNIVERSARY Briefly wed couple Darva Conger and Rick Rockwell reunited this week for a televised discussion of their ill-fated game-show wedding. Conger, 35, and Rockwell, 43 who tied the knot on Fox's "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?" met on CNN's "Larry King Live," on what would have been the day after their first anniversary.

At the top of King's show Conger apologized to Rockwell and for the whole affair, which she called a "dumb mistake." Rockwell, who shrugged in acceptance of Conger's apology, said he had hoped he could make a marriage work. Then things got ugly. "I wanted very much to have a friendship after this. I don't vilify you; I don't hate you. I did find it impossible because our personalities conflict so much," Conger said.

To which Rockwell replied: "I offered an olive branch. I sent numerous messages. You did not respond." Rockwell said he did peek at the Playboy spread Conger did after their marriage was annulled: "It's great, it's important to see Eminem's Grammy appearance prompted the rich and famous to rise to his defense. Still nobody spoke as loudly as Elton John, who proved that Princess Diana's funeral wasn't the only sad situation he coula turn into a photo opportunity. EMINEM: The controversial rapper, whose songs describe brutal attacks on women and gays, reflects on his Grammy awards: "The main thing I started this whole career based on was acceptance and respect.

So I guess if trophies mean respect or whatever, it's cool." He may be mean, but he wouldn't dream of killing a woman or gay man who won a Grammy. DAN HASELTINE: Singer with Jars of Clay, a Christian group, on Eminem: "Today's kids are apathetic, so if you're able to stir kids about something, it's worth it." We've found the replacement for Mister Rogers. TOM MORELLO: Rage Against the Machine guitarist on Eminem: "His only responsibility as an artist is to be true to himself." His real name is Marshall Mathers, he goes by Eminem and his alter ego is Slim Shady. How can he be true to himself when he doesn't even know who he is? MELANIE The Spice Girl also wants to perform with Eminem: "I'd love to work with Eminem. I think Eminem's great.

Of course some of his lyrics are very questionable but I admire him as an artist." After seeing the shot in the arm it gave Elton John, what no-longer-relevant performer wouldn't want to take the stage with Eminem? Compiled Brian Hysbp, Associate Editor Arts Entertainment Steve Karlinsky ABOVE: Blues singer Buddy Guy ran upstairs at Thursday night and took a seat next to Richard Gere. LEFT: After grabbing one of Buddy Guy's guitars, Richard Gere got in some good licks at M. act to follow, she added. The performance will be at 8 tonight and 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Tickets are $10, $12 and $15 today and $12 tomorrow; 724-836-8000. Melissa Schofield, Free-lancer for the Post-Gazette RECOGNITION "The Bread, My Sweet," which was filmed in Pittsburgh last summer, was named best dramatic feature at the Santa Monica International Film Festival, which ended Monday. The movie, directed and written by local playwright Melissa Martin, stars Scott Baio. Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson is this year's winner of the Harold Washington Literary Prize. He'll receive the $5,000 award May 31 during the Printers Row Book Fair in Chicago.

Wilson is the first playwright to win the award since it was established in 1989. Guess who got the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's first Fred Rogers Award in Washington last night? Who else but Fred Rogers. page. Only when they copy pro football and the NBA and adopt a salary cap and revenue sharing will we be spared the annual October Tomahawk Chop. But let's face it, the owners agree with each other less than your average rock band.

Baseball pants have also led to a generation of fractious, belly-aching parents who won't let even grade school coaches coach or teachers teach. Yet another local coach quit because he'd had it with crybaby mommies and daddies who are convinced if their babies don't play, they won't get basketball scholarships to Duke or million-dollar signing bonuses. Taking a cue from baseball, the NFL refs are erratic in calling holding penalties, and NBA centers travel so much they should get frequent-flier miles. The last time an NBA ref called traveling, Richard Nixon was bombing Cambodia. At least the NFL prohibits free-lancing with the uniforms, even flagging players for decorating wristbands.

And the NBA can be forgiven for sanctioning the baggy pants, which we prefer to large men bounding around in short-shorts. And it can't calla technical on the explosion of tattoos that make players look like convicts but are often far more interesting than the games. Max The Fax Dog Sez: Can the diatribe. Play ball! Jaycen Cochran the PPG Wintergarden on April 21. To receive an invitation, call 412-361-0873, Ext.

309. Caroline Abels Post-Gazette Cultural Arts Writer PLANNING A 'MONTY' Ed Hutchinson is used to stripping from street clothes to his firefighter uniform. Good thing. The Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department chief and a dozen fellow firefighters will make another quick change this weekend when they do their version of "The Full Monty" as part of the Greensburg Area Cultural Council's "A Night at the Oscars" at The Palace Theatre. The firefighters have been practicing a couple of hours a week for the past month for the 11th annual event that ends Winterlude, held in celebration of the arts every February in Greensburg.

"These guys are talented. They are hilarious," said Marianne Anzovino, general manager at the Aerobic Center in Greensburg and the firefighters' choreographer. Their three-minute performance is a hard The Jogging Suit Look. If the players wore them properly, the umpires would call the strike zone properly. Because they can't see the players' knees, and feeling their rebellious oats, the umps have shrunk the strike zone to the size of a sheet of typing paper from just below the belt.

Forget the juiced ball the minuscule-strike zone is the reason shortstops will soon hit 80 home runs a summer. Baseball can stop all this by issuing knee-length pants, but the small-market owners can't even muster enough gumption to face down George Steinbrenner and Ted Turner and ride out the next work stop- 1 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2001 Page B-12 When your only alliance is with the chickens, and they're about to lose their heads (literally), your chances of surviving on the CBS show are slim. Or none. That was the case this week when Kimmi, the 28-year-old who was criticized for her incessant talking, her tearful defense of her vegetarianism, even her infrequent bathing, was booted. In Kimmi's defense, the water near her Kucha camp isn't the clear, inviting turquoise of the Kimmi LOOK Kappenberg who-talr.

ING: Teammate Mike criticized Kimmi for her grand gestures. "It's too theatrical, it's too much," he said of Kimmi's decision to flee before a chicken was slaughtered. Isn't this the guy whose luxury item was war paint? LORD OF THE FLIES: Jeff declared he didn't mean to sound evil, but it was all about kicking somebody's butt and chopping off their heads and poking their eyeballs out. Imagine if he had meant to sound evil. OUR VOTE FOR OUSTER: Kimmi might have been annoying, but Alicia's mean.

AMBER'S AGONY AND EC-TASY: Amber Brkich, the 22-year-old Beaver County woman on the show, finally is emerging as her own person. Editing on past episodes portrayed her as one of Jerri's minions. This week, Amber was seen crying after Ogakor lost yet another reward challenge; this one would have brought players toothpaste, shampoo, spices and soup mix. But it was Amber who delivered a pep talk to her teammates, encouraging them to let their minds and hearts get them through the immunity challenge. It worked.

CONSOLATION PRIZE? It's not a $1 million prize, but Rodger Bingham will have an overpass named in his honor. "Kentucky Joe" was honored Tuesday by Gov. Paul Patton and the state Legislature for his participation in the game. "I don't know much about the show," Patton told Bingham, "but I know you can't tell me if you survived." We somehow doubt it. BLIND DATES: Look for Dirk from the first "Survivor" and Jerri from the second on a special edition of "Blind Date" on WNPA at 5 a.m.

Thursday. Poor Dirk, who has moved from Wisconsin to L.A., spends the entire date talking about "Survivor" with a grad student. She doesn't care a whit about "Survivor" or Dirk. Jerri hooks up with a bartender. Instead of arriving with flowers, he brings broccoli.

Jerri, who confesses to not having any close friends, takes a liking to Kirk. By Barbara Vancheri, Post-Gazette Staff Writer Ill your wife naked at some point." MODEL MOTHER Cindy Crawford is pregnant with her second child, due in September. Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, have a son named Presley Walker Gerber, who's 20 months old. ARTS AWARDS This year's winners of the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts' annual cultural awards range from a high-tech business leader to a documentary filmmaker. The following people will be the honorees at the PCAs 14th annual Cultural Awards Celebration: arts patron Nadine Bognar, honored for philanthropic leadership; Glen Meakem, chief executive officer of FreeMar-kets and his wife, Diane, for community leadership; Rick Sebak, WQED documentary filmmaker, for artistic leadership; and Gideon Toeplitz, managing director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, for artistic leadership.

The awards celebration will take place at Baseball season is nigh, with the Pirates actually getting in shape for the opening of PNC Park (not, as Edna Patman of Mabels Eddy calls it, Pee 'n' See Park), which, with luck, will see more than one sellout crowd this season. But baseball is beginning under a cloud, not a thunderhead, but the drizzle of anarchy, of big-vs-small markets and whacked-out salanes and the ubiquitous Atlanta Braves, and it began with the pants. Greedy owners are only one symptom in the slide from National Pastime, which dates from the 1970s' sartorial ash pit, when players, notably Joggin' George Hendricks, started wearing the bottoms of their uniform pants down to their ankles, looking like guys in sweats down at the Y. Players who once wore white uniforms at home, gray on the road, and pants ending just below the knees and above distinctive stirrup socks, now wear jog- topped shoes. The Buccos have deep-sixed their banana outfits, which were matched by the Astros' old rainbow and Tampa Bay's current beer-league uniforms.

The Pirates have returned to the '60s sleeveless jerseys but are still committing the ultimate (and rarely discussed) baseball sin:.