People
United Press International
November 21, 1995, Tuesday, BC cycle
SECTION: Domestic News
LENGTH: 889 words
Compiled by VALERIE KUKLENSKI UPI Entertainment Editor
DRUMMING UP BUSINESS: The drum set played by Ringo Starr on the Beatles’ last U.S. concert tour is enshrined in a museum, as Beatles buffs would expect it to be. But it isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleve-land, or even the Smithsonian in Washington, as one might presume. The Ludwig drum kit is set up in Huntsville, Ala., at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. The drum set, last played by Starr on Aug. 29, 1966, at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, had been in storage until representatives of the space center asked the owner for permission to show it in an exhibit of cultural happenings of the late ’60s, when the Apollo moon program was in full swing. ‘’It’s sort of a bonus,'’ curator James Hagler said. ‘’Our visitors expect to see space shuttles, rockets and missiles, but they really stop dead in their tracks when they spot those drums. It’s icing on the cake for a generation that grew up with the Beatles and the space program.'’ With the ‘’Beatles Anthology'’ craze in full swing, the space center no doubt is hoping to see a few more visitors.
COOP DIDN’T DO IT: Actor Gary Cooper’s family thought the movie legend’s prized framed letter from President George Washington was a cherished gift, but it turns out it was hot property. It seems the letter, written in 1777, had been stolen from the Massachusetts archives nearly 50 years ago. The letter, valued at about $24,000, was about to be sold by Christie’s auction house when its rightful origin became known. When Christie’s advised Cooper’s daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, that the document was one of 17 stolen Washington letters, she told state officials she would return it. Massachusetts Secretary of State Wil-liam Galvin says Cooper apparently received the letter in the mid- 1940s as a gift and had no role in its disappearance. Janis does not know who gave Cooper the letter, which hung in the family library for years.
CHILE AWAITS ELTON JOHN: Chilean newspapers are predicting a conservative performance in the capital’s National Stadium when British pop star Elton John and his band of six musicians swing into town. They’re scheduled to play a 2 -hour show before an estimated 40,000 fans, but the Santiago newspaper La Epoca said no ‘’great novelties'’ are planned. John will only spend a few hours in Chile — flying in from Brazil just before the concert and flying back to Brazil the next morning. Tuesday, 30,000 of the 45,000 tickets had been sold, and po-lice planned tight security involving 1,200 Carabineros, despite expectations of a quiet night. The stadium will have 300 of its own security personnel on hand, and a barrier between the fans and the stage will be set up, despite reported objections from the singer. Stageside seats are going for $150, and the cheapest tickets are $20.
EVERT BABY: Tennis great Chris Evert and husband Andy Mill are expecting their third child in June, according to an announcement from her Boca Raton, Fla., office. They have two sons, Alexander, 4, and Nicholas, 1 . ‘’Andy and I could not be happier,'’ Evert said. ‘’We think it will be great to have another brother or sister for Alex and Nicky.'’ Evert, 40, won at least one Grand Slam title each year for 13 years.
JAZZ MECCA: More than 1,000 of the music industry’s most influential jazz professionals from around the world convened at New York’s Loewe’s hotel over the weekend for the 11th annual JazzTimes convention, which boasted record at-tendance. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, a leader in the neoclassic approach to the acoustic jazz that predated fusion, was the keynote speaker. Other young players showcased included pianist Brad Mehldau, saxophonist David Sanchez and guitarist Mark Whitfield. The public was allowed to sit in on one showcase: the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation’s 1995 Mid-Atlantic AllStars, featuring Roy Haynes, Geri Allen, Rufus Reid, Joe Lovano and Terence Blanchard. The Finnish big band UMO Jazz Orchestra celebrated its 20th anniversary with a series of performances at Birdland, Tattou and Michael’s Pub, where they were joined by guest pianist Gil Goldstein. The experimental 12-tone Swedish jazz band Mwendo Sawa, led by keyboardist Susanna Lindeborg and tenor saxophonist Ove Johansson, made a rare American appearance at La Place On the Park.
THE SEARCH CONTINUES: O.J. Simpson vowed on Oct. 3 after his acquittal of murder charges to find ‘’the killers who slaughtered Nicole (Brown Simpson) and Mr. (Ronald) Goldman.'’ Since then, Jay Leno, David Letterman, comedians every-where — even ‘’Doonesbury'’ cartoonist G.B. Trudeau — have been having a field day with quips alluding to Simpson’s intense search of prestigious country club golf courses, cruise ships and other unlikely venues. But Time magazine reports Simpson does have an investigator on the job. He is Bill Pavelic, a former Los Angeles police detective turned private eye who worked for Simpson’s defense team. ‘’I'm basically coordinating the efforts,'’ he told the magazine. As for his strategy, he said, ‘’Nothing is in, nothing is out. I won’t get into specif-ics, but I know exactly the direction I want to go in.'’ It was Bill Pavelic who found housekeeper Rosa Lopez, whose testimony never was seen by the jury.
LOAD-DATE: November 22, 1995
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1995 U.P.I.
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