After six years of conducting this poll, you`d think we`d have learned our lesson. But no.
Once again this year, we offered you a chance to vote in 36 categories for the best (plus 6 categories of the worst-see Page 5) in the world of entertainment for 1990. Then we sat back and waited for the ballots to arrive. And this year, more than 1,900 of them did.
If you think we have some computerized method to deal with all that laborious counting, you`re wrong. Unlike some polls which sample only part of the submissions (or, in one case a few years ago, simply weighs them), our counters check over each and every ballot. We do our best to decipher your handwriting and spelling; we try to figure out which song you mean by ”the one about God watching over us” ( ”From a Distance,” by Bette Midler-we think); and we even put up with your little jokes (”Best classical group or performer: Bon Jovi”).
We know it takes a long time to fill in those ballots, so we spend a long time counting them. (And, yes, every one of your ”additional comments” gets read by an editor.)
Heading up our counting team this year was Anneke Leurdijk, a Northwestern University student who has helped compile many a list in the past for the Friday section. Helping were three NU classmates-Paul Rusconi, Carla Underwood and Meg Valance-plus several members of the Friday staff.
As you`ll notice, some categories have relatively small totals. That`s because Friday readers have such wide interests that literally hundreds of different people or places receive votes in some categories.
The Friday Readers` Poll also is different from any other poll of this size because we not only tell you who or what won but also how many votes the top finishers received.
And we make no claims for this poll beyond the obvious-that these are the favorites of those readers of the Chicago Tribune`s Friday section who chose to respond.
The results of our seventh annual Friday Readers` Poll:
Special award
1.Trattoria Peppino (fast food) 331
2.”Bingo in the First Degree” (non-musical play) 51
3.”Tin Soldier” by Gus Giordano (dance) 15
This category wasn`t on your ballot. Instead it honors the place, person or thing that most successfully campaigned to…well, stuff the ballot box in three different categories. Our winner-Trattoria Peppino-has locations in two suburbs, but its Elmwood Park branch did most of the work. So shape up, Carpentersville!
Movie
1.”Dances With Wolves” 297
2.”Ghost” 170
3.”GoodFellas” 153
4.”Pretty Woman” 113
5.”The Godfather Part III” 49
6.”The Hunt for Red October” 47
7.”Home Alone” 38
8.”Driving Miss Daisy” 32
9.”Edward Scissorhands” 26
10.”Cinema Paradiso” 23
As always, our most popular category. ”Driving Miss Daisy,” though eligible for the 1989 Oscars, didn`t open in Chicago until 1990.
Actor
1.Kevin Costner, ”Dances With Wolves” 245
2.Sean Connery, ”The Hunt for Red October” and ”The Russia House” 97
3.Al Pacino, ”The Godfather Part III” 80
4.Patrick Swayze, ”Ghost” 68
5.Robert DeNiro, ”Awakenings” 60
6.Jeremy Irons, ”Reversal of Fortune” 59
7.Richard Gere, ”Pretty Woman” 37
8.Robin Williams, ”Awakenings” 34
9.Daniel Day-Lewis, ”My Left Foot” 29
Andy Garcia, ”The Godfather Part III” 29
Lewis was honored with the 1989 Best Actor Oscar, but his movie did not open in Chicago until 1990.
Actress
1.Julia Roberts, ”Pretty Woman” 213
2.Kathy Bates, ”Misery” 105
3.Demi Moore, ”Ghost” 71
4.Michelle Pfeiffer, ”The Russia House” 67
5.Winona Ryder, ”Edward Scissorhands” and others 66
6.Jessica Tandy, ”Driving Miss Daisy” 59
7.Meryl Streep, ”Postcards From the Edge” 58
8.Cher, ”Mermaids” 44
Jessica Lange, ”Men Don`t Leave” 44
10.Whoopi Goldberg, ”Ghost” 36
Pfeiffer won last year for ”The Fabulous Baker Boys.”
Song
1.”Nothing Compares 2 U,” Sinead O`Connor 114
2.”From a Distance,” Bette Midler 59
3.”U Can`t Touch This,” M.C. Hammer 54
4.”Vogue,” Madonna 34
5.”Hold On,” Wilson Phillips 31
Virtually every one of the 116 singles that placed in the Billboard Top 10 last year got votes, so leaders` totals are relatively small. The ”top” two songs in our Worst Song category (see Page 5) still had their followers-Madonna`s ”Justify My Love” got 17 votes, Vanilla Ice`s ”Ice Ice Baby”
got 16. Midler won last year for ”The Wind Beneath My Wings.”
Album
1.”I Do Not Want What I Haven`t Got,” Sinead O`Connor 62
2.”Rhythm of the Saints,” Paul Simon 60
3.”Please Hammer Don`t Hurt `Em,” M.C. Hammer 56
4.”Wilson Phillips,” Wilson Phillips 47
5.”. . .But Seriously,” Phil Collins 42
6.”Janet Jackson`s Rhythm Nation 1814,” Janet Jackson 38
7.”Violator,” Depeche Mode 34
8.”Nick of Time,” Bonnie Raitt 33
9.”Mariah Carey,” Mariah Carey 29
10.”The Immaculate Collection,” Madonna 23
Two of these albums-Collins` and Jackson`s-first appeared on the Top 10 in 1989.
Pop/rock performer
1.Phil Collins 71
2.Madonna 69
3.M.C. Hammer 52
Sinead O`Connor 52
5.Wilson Phillips 47
6.Janet Jackson 37
7.Midnight Oil 26
B-52`s 26
9.Paul McCartney 25
10.Billy Joel 24
Repeats from last year`s Top 10: Madonna, B-52`s, Joel, McCartney. Last year`s winner-the Rolling Stones-got 16 votes. Other previous winners and their votes: George Michael, 8; Bruce Springsteen, 2; Michael Jackson, 0. And, in case you`re wondering, Milli Vanilli got 3 votes.
Country performer
1.Randy Travis 129
2.The Judds 56
3.k.d. lang 45
4.Clint Black 39
Kenny Rogers 39
Another repeat for Travis.
Folk performer
1.Indigo Girls 65
2.Suzanne Vega 40
3.Peter, Paul and Mary 32
Last year`s winner, Tracy Chapman, got 16 votes.
R&B performer
1.Janet Jackson 67
2.M.C. Hammer 57
3.Anita Baker 39
4.Robert Cray 32
5.Luther Vandross 23
Baker won last year.
Jazz performer
1.Harry Connick Jr. 64
2.Kenny G. 39
3.Miles Davis 24
4.Ramsey Lewis 23
Pat Metheny 23
Kenny G. won last year.
Classical performer
1.Chicago Symphony Orchestra 260
2.Yo Yo Ma 14
No one else got more than 10 votes. The CSO has won every year of our poll.
Local performer
1.Dick Holliday and the Bamboo Gang 22
Johnny and the Leisure Suits 22
3.Nicholas Tremulus 12
A category in which lots and lots of people get votes-but nobody gets very many.
Local concert
1.Paul McCartney 119
2.Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Cray 32
3.Madonna 30
4.Janet Jackson 25
Billy Joel 25
McCartney repeats. Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash shortly after the Clapton-Vaughan-Cray concert at Alpine Valley.
Musical play
1.”Phantom of the Opera” 475
2.”Les Miserables” 50
3.”Into the Woods” 34
4.”Pump Boys and Dinettes” 28
5.”Gospel at Colonnus” 23
No race. Last year`s winner (by a similar margin) was ”Les Miz.”
Non-musical play
1.”The Iceman Cometh” 97
2.”Shear Madness” 77
3.”Do the White Thing” 57
4.”Other People`s Money” 51
5.”Love Letters” 23
”Shear Madness” keeps on going and going and …
Dance production
1.”The Nutcracker” 68
2.Hubbard Street Dance Company 47
Yet another 1-2 finish for these perennial favorites. Nothing else came close enough to warrant a 3rd spot.
Fine dining
1.Pump Room 42
2.Lawry`s 39
3.Ambria 22
4.Everest Room 21
5.Nick`s Fishmarket 20
Lots of favorites, little consensus.
Fun dining
1.Ed Debevic`s 218
2.Bub City 69
3.Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! 39
4.Scoozi 32
5.Hard Rock Cafe 30
A repeat winner; the same five were in our Top 5 last year.
Fast-food dining
1.McDonald`s 125
2.Portillo`s 115
3.Wendy`s 62
4.Rock `N` Roll McDonald`s 41
5.Taco Bell 40
Another repeat; the margin would be greater if the Rock `N` Roll McDonald`s votes are added in. Portillo`s appears to have actively campaigned for votes, but we counted them in this category (rather than the Special Award above)
because they weren`t blatantly obvious.
Pizzeria
1.Gino`s East 144
2.Uno`s 125
3.Giordano`s 92
4.Eduardo`s 84
5.Connie`s 42
Five straight years for Gino`s East.
Bar
1.Baja Beach Club 24
Probably the most frustrating category for our counters since literally hundreds of bars get votes but nobody gets very many. This was the only bar to get more than a dozen or so votes.
Dance club
1.Excalibur 57
2.Cabaret Metro/Smart Bar 50
3.Shelter 38
4.Baja Beach Club 34
5.Medusa`s 22
Excalibur takes over the top spot from Baja. Shelter is the only newcomer to the Top 5.
Nightclub
1.Second City 39
2.Cabaret Metro 30
3.Excalibur 30
Last year`s winner: Excalibur.
Nightclub act
1.Second City troupe 24
One of our least popular categories; no other act got more than 10 votes.
Comedian
1.Jay Leno 85
2.Jerry Seinfeld 41
3.Dennis Miller 26
4.Robin Williams 21
5.Andrew Dice Clay 18
Six straight years for Leno. But times change for some. Clay fell from second to fifth, and Eddie Murphy (replaced in the Top 5 by Williams this year) got only 2 votes.
Radio station
1.WXRT-FM 93.1 371
2.WLUP-FM 97.9 and AM 1000 255
3.WBBM-FM 96.3 95
4.WGN-AM 720 92
5.WBEZ-FM 91.5 56
6.WCKG-FM 105.9 55
7.WKQX-FM 101.1 52
8.WNUA-FM 95.5 50
9.WFMT-FM 98.7 29
10.WYTZ-FM 94.7 27
Only major move in our list this year was WBBM-FM, which went from 7th to 3rd.
Disc jockey
1.Jonathon Brandmeier, WLUP-AM and WLUP-FM 193
2.Terri Hemmert, WXRT 119
3.Steve Dahl, WLUP-AM 111
4.Johnny Mars, WXRT 71
5.Robert Murphy, WKQX 64
6.Kevin Matthews, WLUP-AM 61
7.Frank E. Lee, WXRT 50
8.Bob Collins, WGN 47
9.Spike O`Dell, WGN 21
10.Patty Hayes, WCKG 17
Five in a row for Johnny B.
TV show
1.”L.A. Law” 167
2.”Cheers” 122
”Twin Peaks” 122
4.”The Simpsons” 104
5.”Murphy Brown” 59
6.”thirtysomething” 48
7.”The Civil War” 41
8.”Knots Landing” 38
9.”In Living Color” 36
”The Wonder Years” 36
Four straight for ”L.A. Law.” ”Twin Peaks,” ”The Simpsons,” the PBS miniseries ”The Civil War,” ”Knots Landing” and ”In Living Color”
replace ”Roseanne,” ”Married . . . With Children,” ”China Beach,”
”Designing Women” and ”Quantum Leap.”
Talk show host
1.David Letterman 273
2.Oprah Winfrey 224
3.Arsenio Hall 126
4.Jay Leno 91
5.Johnny Carson 69
For the first time, perennial winner Letterman is NOT a lopsided winner. Nonetheless, talk show host and radio station (WXRT) are the only ”pop”
categories where the winner has been the same since our poll began.
Music video
1.”Justify My Love,” Madonna 100
2.”Vogue,” Madonna 81
3.”U Can`t Touch This,” M.C. Hammer 43
4.”Groove Is in the Heart,” Dee-Lite 41
5.”Opposites Attract,” Paula Abdul 26
For the flip side to the Material Girl`s appeal, see the worst lists on Page 5.
Art event
1.”Monet in the `90s: The Series Paintings,” Art Institute of Chicago 286
2.”Ed Paschke: Paintings,” Art Institute of Chicago 25
3.Gold Coast Art Fair 19
A runaway.
Cultural spot
1.Art Institute 284
2.Museum of Science and Industry 70
3.Field Museum 39
Same lineup as last few years.
Cultural event
1.Taste of Chica
Sports event
1.Last White Sox game at Comiskey Park 157
2.Bears 144
3.Bulls 109
4.Cubs 65
5.Black Hawks 42
Sox break the Cubs-Bears lock on this category.
Strangest event
1.Jane Byrne`s reentering politics 47
2.The earthquake that wasn`t 37
3.Iraq 30
4.Milli Vanilli fraud 20
5.Elections (in general) 18
Other frequently mentioned events included the tornado in the Joliet area, the last Sox game at Comiskey Park, Roseanne`s version of the National Anthem, the Gay Pride Parade, Earth Day and Steve Lyons dropping his pants at Comiskey Park.
