Sit on it: Illinois delegates, who seem to be butting heads over everything but what state they`re from, were hissing and scratching Monday night over a new issue: their seating assignments in the Omni Convention Center. Ald. Tim Evans (4th) was unhappily stuck in the second to last row. Rev. Willie Barrow, another wanna-be-something- and-mayor-would-do, didn`t much care for her seat in the back of the pack. She wanted Sen. Alan Dixon`s seat next to Mayor Gene Sawyer, but settled for U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski`s vacant seat on the other side of the mayor. Why? To get her mug in all those television shots of Sawyer. Last place in the power-seating category: Cook County Board member John Stroger Jr., who was giving everyone an earful about his last row chair.
POWER (UN)-SEATING . . .
– Not all losers in the race to be the party`s presidential nominee were getting cottoned to like Jesse Jackson. Tennessee Sen. Al Gore and wife, Tipper, got a royal snub from Paul Kirk`s Democratic National Committee who nixed Gore`s request for podium time during Tuesday`s debate on the first-strike nuclear weapons issue.
– Speaking of rude behavior: Visible from the convention floor during Texas Treasurer Ann Richards` keynote address was Jesse Jackson, seated in Cable News Network`s convention hall skybox. Was he hanging on her every word? Not exactly. He chatted animatedly throughout Richards` speech with CNN`s Mary Alice Williams, although Richards did manage to distract the Jetster from himself, sort of, when-five minutes into her speech-she referred to him as a great leader and set his supporters cheering.
– And un-dressing: John Hume, the voice of Ulster Catholics, a member of British Parliament and one of the visiting foreign dignitaries, told INC. that after several days of wilting under the weight of his Irish tweeds in the Atlanta heat, ”I decided I have to come to terms with Atlanta.” So he went clothes shopping at Macy`s.
STAR TRACKS . . .
CBS newman Ed Bradley`s gold earring still turns heads, even though he`s been wearing it for years. . . . Justine Bateman, Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson, Morgan Fairchild and other showbiz political junkies attend daily ”classes” (as one student described them)-tutored by Tom Hayden. They get fill-ins on the day`s hot political topics, so that should they be asked a question, they can respond intelligently-not that they wouldn`t anyway, of course. Guest lecturer Jim Hightower, the Texas agriculture secretary, got off this line:
”The problem with George Bush is that he was born on third base, but he thinks he got there by hitting a triple.” . . . Robert Walden, formerly of
”Lou Grant” and now of Showtime`s ”Brothers,” is here pushing McCarthy. No, not Gene-California Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy, who`s running for U.S. Senate. THAT`S ENTERTAINMENT . . .
We just love it when television imitates life-like when Shelley Hack portrayed such a realistic newspaper reporter in ”Jack and Mike.” Then it was Candice Bergen, who looks pretty much like most of the reporters we know, playing ”Murphy Brown.” And now, a first-run syndicated TV series called
”Deadline” will feature Vanity as a female reporter. Vanity is best known as Prince`s backup singer and more recently as the heroin-shooting heroine of ”Action Jackson.” . . . A second sequel (a trequel, maybe?) to ”Alien”
may be in the works; a ”cyberpunk” named Bill Gibson reportedly is working on the script. . . . Some Japanese businessmen are tossing around some heavy duty yen to pull together a Pee-wee Herman theme park.
INC.LINGS . . .
The ink will still be wet on George Bush`s presidential nomination Aug. 22 when he comes to Chicago to speak at the American Legion`s 89th annual convention. Mike Dukakis hasn`t RSVP`d yet, but he`s been kind of busy. . . . Wednesday birthdays: Carlos Santana, 41; Diana Rigg, 50; WLUP`s Terry Gibson, 29; Nancy Jefferson, 66. . . . Saturday`s third race at Hawthorne will be named the ”Karate Kid” race in honor of Pat Morita, who`ll be visiting the track. . . . Former Chicagoan Cary Baker has been named Vice President/
Publicity for IRS Records in Los Angeles. . . . An official welcome to Wackyland to Valerie Williams, INC.`s new assistant.
