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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 1982)
Page 8 Portland Observer, June 23, 1962 ENTERTAINMENT HAPPENINGS K & G LANDSCAPING ENTERTAINMt N M ow ing, wooding, odglng. tilling, fonclng ond minor construction. QCP . Coll Gordon Spink. Jr. v° GETTIN' DOWN WITH REN There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day for Ren Woods: the 25-year-old actress/singer who first gained national attention as "Fanta’ in the telemovie “ Roots” is virtually everywhere in 1982. Moviegoers can see her now in ‘Penitentiary 11,” Jamaa Fanaka’s follow up to the successful “ Penitentiary” film. Those who prefer audio entertain ment can discover her vocal talents on Azz Iss, her recently-released debut album for E lek tra /A s ylu m Records. A n d, to put the icing on the cake, Woods may be doing a concert tour this summer, if she can get another al bum in the can first. The territory Ren Woods has covered up to now is fairly extensive. Born in Chicago in 1957, she grew up in Portland, Oregon. At age nine, she was in a singing group called the Three Little Souls which ended up playing reg ular dates at a local bar. A local talent manager named Larry Raphael even tually took the band to Los Angeles. As Sunday’s Child, the group did spe cials with Nipsey Russell, Redd Foxx and appearances on “ The Jack Benny Show.” Sunday’s Child broke up when Ren was 17, but she decided to remain in Los Angeles. She landed the part o f "D o ro th y” in the Los Angeles theater production o f “ The W iz ,” and during the show’s run, she took a break to shoot “ Roots,” Those roles led to parts in the films “ 9 to 5 ,” "T h e Jerk” and “ H a ir.” Playing the girlfriend o f a boxer in “ Penitentiary I I ” was a step in a d if ferent direction from those roles. “ Jamaa had been talking to me about doing another film called ‘The D u ke,’ but I ran into Leon Isaac Kennedy and he mentioned something about this role. I auditioned for it and got it ,” she relates. She wants to do more television in the future, though she’s a bit worried about the effect those guest spots have on her overall career. “ Those shows always seem to pop up again as re-runs, and when you least expect them,” Woods notes. “ I don’t mean to put down this particular show, but a ‘White Shadow* I was in was recently aired again. You’re trying hard to impress people with a new record and then here comes this old ’White Shadow* epi sode!” 289-5462 Jtw« MRSa C’S , z A w ie y /z Betty Cabine. Proprietor 84 DIFFERENT STYLES AT 46 IN A VARIETY OF COLORSI Featuring wlga by N A O M I SIM S. ANONE DOUGLAS. BILLIE ft NATALIE COLE Bob, Dave and Marianna will appear In “ Metro Jazz '82“ at the Western Forestry Center, June 27th, at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Other participants include Shirley Nanette, Sonny King, Thara Memory, the Mt. Hood CC Jazz Lab Band, and many others. Full bar and hot links 'n ribs by Geneva's will be available. Now Lalla N ig h t Fever by Naomi Sima by Blllw < j -I coo *15°° I WJ Reg 32" ■ Reg 29" 2 R®0 Saia Ends: W ad., June 30th TRIAMMCSYRUP Your Northwest Dealer for R evlo n, ''P o lis h e d A m b e rs " and j TR1AMINIC-12 TABLETS Zuri C o sm etics . FO RAU BKVRBJB THATS NOTHING TO SNEEZEKT M R S . C ’a W IG S 707 N.E. Premont 281 >6526 Closed Saa. 6 Usa. OPIN Tass. thru SsL 11iJ0 AM to 8.-00 PM f 19H2 D orw y Laboretorwe. Dtv tason of Sandot. Inc . Lincoln Nebraska tMAOl GEMINI 2 PR O D UC TIO N S presents Among those appearing at “ M etro Jazz ’82“ w ill ba Elian Wong. Coming Attractions Ren Woods A zz /zz isn’t her first album, though it may be the first record buyers are aware of. Ren maintains that her first album, Out O f The Woods, released in the late 1970s on A R C /C o lu m b ia (E arth , W ind & Fire’s label), was a “ well-kept secret,” adding that she really doesn’ t mind now because she feels her new Azz /zz is much better. "This new one comes from me,” she emphasizes. “ Also, there are songs by close friends on Azz Iz z ." Woods only co-wrote one song on the new album, “ Lovin’ Power,” but she hopes to write as many as six for the next. “ I ’m trying to get Teena Marie to produce it. 1 think I ’ll be able to. She’s a big fan .” W ith all her work. Woods still finds time for a personal life. She remains ensconced in her small Los Angeles apartment. “ I don’t want to get into that big rent mentality,” she concedes. Still, she manages to find room for bout 30 plants o f all kinds, though she admits she hasn’t “ gotten good at growing flowers yet.” She dates a fellow musician, a drummer, and works out at the trendy Jane Fonda’s Workout in Beverly Hills. In fact, it was here that she met one o f her songwriters— Patryce Banks. Fans o f trivia may know that Banks, under the name o f Chocolate, was the co-lead singer o f Graham Central Station. “ I met her and she said she had some songs she wanted me to hear. We went to my car and put on the cassette and I said ‘Yeah, this is it,’ ” re calls Woods. For all her accomplishments, Woods is still awed by those o f others. A t the Black Filmmakers H all O f Fame awards show she got to meet veteran singer Cab C allow ay and actor Yaphet K o tto . R eferring to C allo w ay, she notes, “ He still sounds good singing ’H i De H o ’ at 70. He liked my per formance so much he jokingly said I should be ashamed o f myself for doing such a good show.” Coming Attractions “ A Touch of Class,” South Park Blocks, Fridays, July 9 -A u g . 20, 7:00 p.m. “ Big and Little Bands,” Laurel- hurst P a rk , Sundays, July 11-A u- gust 1. Kool-Aid...On A Stick br ano s o t duina mix Frozen Suckers 1 anvfeope KOOL-AKT UnaweefenW Sefl Drink MI k , •ny flavor 2/lcupaugar 1 quart wafer Dissolve soft drink mix and sugar m water Pour into plastic ice-cube trays or small paper cups Freeze until almost firm Insert wooden stick or spoon into each Freeze until firm M akes about 20 The 19th Annual Festival o f Arts will he held June 24th through 27th at Lakew ood Center (368 S. State S t.) in Lake Oswego. Free. 636- 3634. M t. H o o d C o m m u n ity College w ill hold its O ld Fashioned Straw berry Festival on June 26th, 10 am-6 p. D unk tan k , puppet show, arts and crafts, strawberry desserts. 667- 7474. Aszemar Glenn, pianist, will pre sent “ Second Phase C oncert E n gagement” in a benefit for T .H .E . C . R . I . B . , June 2 6th , 7:30 pm at King Center. O regon Jam 1982 w ill be at Autzen Stadium, Eugene, July 25th. Foreigner, Blue Oyster C u lt, Joan Jett, Taxxi. Oregon Bach Festival will be held June 28-July 11 at Beall H a ll, U n i versity o f Oregon, Eugene. A fte r noon and evening concerts, benefit picnic, masterclasses. 686-5665. Eddie W ied and Sky T r io , the Vintage, June 21, 22, 23. Spend July 2, 3 & 4 at the St. Paul Rodeo. C arnival, fireworks. Night events at 8:00 p.m. Continuum Band, Saturday M a r ket, west end o f Burnside Bridge, June 27. John Denver concert, M em orial Coliseum, June 28th. M t. H o o d C o m m u n ity College Festival o f Jazz. M H C C , Aug. 6-8. Theatre: The Man o f La Mancha, Portland Civic Theatre, June 25-Ju- ly 31. A nnie— Civic A uditorium . June 15- July 11. West Coast Latvian Choral Con cert, Civic Auditorium , July 4. “ In the V olcano” : Free concert series. M t. Tabor Park, 7 p.m ., ev ery Thursday. June 17-July 29. O ’ Bryant Square Concerts. Wed nesdays, 11:30 am , June 23-A ug. 25. z “BV*®,« \ ¡s? ? * -’- " ' MC and COMEDIAN JIMMY THOMPSON ALSO. . . A GUEST BAND 21 and over LUNG FUNG JULY 8, 9 RESTAURANT & CLUB THURS. and FRI. 8001 S.E. DIVISION ST. AT 82nd AVENUE PORTLAND, O R E G O N I 2 SHOWS NIGHTLY £.m. F O R TICKET IN F O . . . ALL MAJOR OUTLETS A N D CLUB FOR INFO CALL ( 5 0 3 ) 7 7 7 - 1 7 9 1 STEVENS & SO N (Lloyd’s C enter) (5 0 3 )-2 8 4 * 2 1 8 1 G.I. JOE’S (Meadows) (5 0 3 ) 2 8 1 .1 1 7 1
