Page h • Portland, Observer • March 7, 1990
ENTERTAINMENT
Black Velvet Invites Women
With The “ Velvet Touch” To
Enter Local Competitions
B ehind -
T he -S cenes
by Lisa Collins
G nunm ys-A Dud!: The National Acad
emy o f Recording Arts & Sciences held its
annual Grammy Awards ceremony recently
in Los Angeles. Topping the list of this
year’s winners were .Anita Baker, who capped
the award for R&B vocal, female, and Bobby
Brown-R&B vocal, male. Soul II Soul nabbed
two awards for R&B group, and R&B in
strumental, while Young M.C. topped off in
rap, and best new artist went to Milli Vanilli.
However, for all the excitement generated
on screen, it could have been bedtime back-
stage, save for some emotional moments
when a nonthinking journalist asked Patrick
Swayze about his w ife's recent miscarriage,
and an anxious young Black journalist told
M illi Vanilli that he didn’t think they de
served the ‘ ‘bestnew artist’ ’ nod. (The reply
from the duo was along the lines of ‘‘we
couldn’ t give a . . . ” ) Yet, the truth is criteria
has always been a question mark for the
Grammys.
Take, for instance, the fact that L uther
V andross has never won one. Vandross
speculated that it could be a question of
exposure. “ You just don't know what the
criteria is from year to year that people use
to vote for you. My career is very success
ful; d o n 'tg etm e wrong, the accountant will
tell you that. But it is a lower profile career.
I was always very apprehensive about doing
TV, so I don’t do a lot of it. For the longest
time I ’ve had a weight problem, and I still
struggle with it.” Incidentally, Vandross
recently completed an extensive fast.
Yet, while the awards themselves may
have been a dud, the festivities surrounding
them were all but boring. Arista led off the
Champions-The American Sports Bar
at tite Downtown Marriott, 1401 SW Front
Street, Portland, March 15, 22, 29.
Reflectory, 1618 NE 122nd, Portland,
March 21,28.
Steamer’s Restaurant & Lounge, 8303
NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, March 29.
Flirts Lounge at the Holiday Inn, 8439
NE Columbia Blvd., Portland, March 22.
Aspiring models may also enter by
submitting a color head-and-shoulders photo,
accompanied by an entry form available at
the Black Velvet Model Search display in
liquor stores during February and March.
Neither modeling experience nor affiliation
with a modeling agency is required. Entries
must be post-marked no later than April 2,
1990.
Susan Blakely, the inaugural "Black
Velvet Lady" symbolized the brand in the
'70s, today, Black Velvet is looking for a
contemporary woman of the '90s. Heublein
is searching for someone who is polished
and sophisticated but still maintains the
qualities and appealing personality of the
girl next door.
For more information about the Black
Velvet Model Search call 1-800-752-8271.
Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey is
imported by Heublein Inc., Farmington, Conn.
FARMINGTON, C O N N .-A Portland
area woman may soon launch her own inter
national modeling career and join the ranks
of Kim Alexis, Christie Brinkley and Kelly
Emberg. All three went on to become mod
eling superstars after appearing in Black
Velvet Canadian Whiskey advertising
campaigns.
The third annual nationwide search is
underway to find the 1990 “ Black Velvet
L ady." Heublein, Inc., importer of Black
Velvet, will select a beautiful but undiscov
ered talent to represent the brand in its
advertising and promotional material. Glam
orous, yet approachable, the “ BV Lady"
must communicate the brand’s smoothness,
quality and premium taste.
Black Velvet will donate proceeds from
state final entry fees to the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation for the conservation of
fish, plant and wildlife resources in the U.S.
Last year’s winner. New Jersey resident
Monica Edwards, was convinced by friends
to enter the competition by submitting a
photo and entry form from a local liquor
store. After being selected as a finalist,
Edwards postponed her wedding to compete
in the national competition in Scottsdale,
Ariz. She became the newest "Black Velvet
Lady” to be featured in the longest running
advertising campaign in the distilled spirits
industry. She will appear in newspaper
advertisements, billboards and point of sale
material for the premium brand.
This year's search, beginning in Febru
ary with local competitions, culminates with
the announcement of the new ‘ ‘ black Velvet
lady” in November 1990 in Orlando, Fla.
In addition to appearing in the Black
Velvet 1991 domestic and overseas adver
tising campaigns, the winner will be awarded
a contract with prestigious Ford Models,
Inc. She will also receive a m odel’s portfo
lio coordinated by Ford and a one-week all-
expense-paid to New York City for agency
photo sessions.
Interested Portland area women age 21
or over, may enter by competing in contests
hosted by local nightspots, taverns and clubs.
To date, the schedule of competitions in
cludes:
B.C.’s on Powell, 2433 SE Powell Blvd.,
Portland, March 6, 13, 20, 27.
Mr. B ’s Lounge at Bums Bros. Truck
Stop, 790 NW Frontage Road, Troutdale,
March 6, 13.
J.T. Barringers, 3000 SE Powell Blvd.,
Portland, March 7, 14 ,2 1 ,2 8 .
Charlie’s Bar and Grill, 7125 SE Nyberg
Road, Tualatin, March 9.
Flirts Lounge at the Holiday Inn, 25425
SW Boones Ferry Road, Wilsonville, March
10.
New York Diner & Radio City Music
Hall, 11875 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy.,
Beaverton, March 14.
week-long parties on Tuesday, with its annual
pre-Grammy gala (the invitations read
“ Dressed to kill” ) at the Beverly Hills
Hotel. Among those in attendance were
James Ingram, Jennifer Holliday, M TV’s
Julie Brown, Kenny G, Ashford & Simpson,
Michael Bolton and Milli Vanilli. Across
town, Capitol Records hosted a party and
showcase featuring M.C. Hammer. Of course,
the parties were spread all over town on
Grammy night. Top producers Jimmy Jam
& Terry Lewis, high on the success of Janet
Jackson's “ Rhythm Nation,” could be found
at A&M’s sit-down dinner and buffet, as
were Herbie Hancock and Wilt Chamber-
lain. Tone-Loc, Byron Allen, and yours
truly braved the scene at M CA's Grammy
bash, held at the exclusive Beverly Hills
Hotel. And while the room glittered with the
likes of Michael Douglas and Sally Struth
ers, notably absent were its star-studded
lineup of R&B acts including Jody Watley
and Bobby Brown. Of course, a great many
of m usic’s top stars including Paula Abdul
and Natalie Cole attended the official post-
Grammy party at the L.A. Biltmore Hotel.
The very next night, Warner Brothers
Records feted Black Entertainment Televi
sion with its tenth anniversary bash, which
drew Angela Winbush, Joe Sample, and
actors Dorian Harewood and Tisha Campbell.
On Friday, Virgin Records feted its top star
Paula Abdul with a party. Abdul, outfitted
all in white, was on hand to greet the star-
studded crowd which included "M agic”
Johnson, "L .A . & Baby face” and 227's
Barry Sobel. What a week! (Meanwhile,
w e’ve talked so much about the Grammys
that w e'll just have to deal with the rumored
romance of Cree Summers and new actor
Courtney Vance next time).
S hort Takes: Danny Glover, Keenen
Ivory Wayans, and Suzanne DePasse were
among this year's inductees into the Black
F ilm m aker’s Hall of Fam e in Oakland,
CA. as part of the annual Oscar Micheaux
Awards. Said Glover, “ This is for all Black
people whose souls are my playground and
whose dreams are my foundation of inspira
tion.” Micheaux, a Black film pioneer,
directed, produced, distributed and starred
in over thirty movies between 1918 and
1948, including “ Body & Soul,” which
served as the debut for none other than Paul
Robeson.
C am eras are rolling on P rince’s up
coming movie, “ Graffiti B ridge." The
project, which has been dubbed a “ new
Hollywood m usical," will feature Morris
Day, and is set for an August release.
Next week: W hitney H ouston
taps first movie role opposite Denzel
W ashington?
G
They who give have all things; they
who withhold have nothing.
The Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences Announces
17th Annual Student Film Awards
‘Call For Entries
BEVERLY HILLS, C A -T he call for
entries for the Seventeenth Annual Student
Film Awards competition has been announced
by Karl Malden, president of the Academy
of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the
institution best known for its annual Oscar
Presentations.
Malden commented, ‘ ‘The Student Film
Awards give many young, talented student
filmmakers the opportunity to have their
work seen and judged by some of the indus
try’s top professionals. Many of our past
winners have, in fact, gone on to build very
successful film careers."
Students interested in submitting their
work must first enter a regional competi
tion; the Academy has divided the country
into seven regions for this judging. Entries
will be judged by regional juries in four
categories: animation, documentary, dra
matic and experimental.
Students attending colleges and univer
sities in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, N e
vada, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and
Northern California, (inclusive of Santa
Barbara and northward), should contact Mr.
Bill Foster, or Ms. Kathy Budas, Northwest
Film Video Center, Oregon Art Institute,
1219 SW Park, Portland, OR. 97205, (503)
221-1156, for more details. To be eligible,
films of 16 mm or larger must have been
completed after April 1,1989, and made in
a student-teacher relationship within the
curriculum of an accredited school. All entries
must be received by the regional coordina
tors on or before midnight April 2,1990.
Winning entries at the regional level
then move on to the Academy for considera -
tion. Final voting is restricted to the Acad
emy membership, the same group which
each year selects the Oscar winners.
All winners will be flown to Los Ange
les to participate in an intensive week of
industry-related activities, such as visiting
film locations, meeting with industry pro
fessionals leaders, and attending state-of-
the-art filmmaking demonstrations. Several
gala dinners and an awards reception are
also held in their honor. The week culmi
nates in the Awards Presentation Ceremony,
where achievement and merit the award-
winners in each o f the four categories will
receive $2,000 and $1,000, respectively,
along with their Student Film Award tro
phies.
The Student Film Awards were estab
lished in 1972 to encourage outstanding
achievement in film production by college
and university students with no previous
professional experience. The Awards are
sponsored, for the third consecutive year, by
the Colgate-Palmolive Company.
Sinbad is Coming to Make Portland Laugh
Sinbad is bringing his own brand of
comedy routine to the Arlene Schnitzer
Concert Hall, Saturday, March 24th at 8:00
p.m.
Sinbad’s name recalls the literary leg
end that symbolizes strength, adventure and
optimism and that is what he strives for.
Sinbad believes life should not be taken too
seriously and we must leam to laugh at
ourselves. Certainly, he adds to our laughter
on Thursday nights when he portrays a zany,
energetic dormitory director and gym teacher,
Walter Oakes, on NBC-TV's “ A Different
W orld.”
Bom in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Sinbad
grew up singing, dancing and telling jokes.
His childhood dream was to be a profes
sional basketball player and actor. At 6-
foot-5 he figured that his only way to see the
country was accepting a basketball scholar
ship at the University of Denver where he
played forward and center. But his comedic
flair intervened here - his real goal was to be
a member of the world famous “ Globe
Trotters.'' A serious knee injury ended those
hopes in 1981. However, Sinbad has been
forward and center ever since.
In 1983, Sinbad began what he refers to
as his “ Poverty Tour.” With no money, he
slept in bus stations and stranger’s homes
while pitching his act to local clubs. Sinbad
soon started working the local comedy clubs
and college circuit
While performing in Denver, he acci
dentally crossed paths with a “ Star Search’ ’
audition and was not only asked to appear on
the show, but went on to w in ., .w in ...w in !
After ten consecutive wins and then losing
in the finals, Sinbad earned a broad audience
and the beginning of a television career. A
contact with ABC later led to a regular spot
on the CB S series, ‘ ‘The Redd Foxx Show. ’'
Although people thought he was simply
polishing his act by doing audience warm
ups at “ The Cosby Show” tapings, Sin-
bad’sm othcrdidnotraiscadum m y. He was
really trying to get Bill Cosby’s attention.
Well, he succeeded and not only appeared
on “ The Cosby Show,” he then became a
regular on “ A Different W orld.” Soon af
ter, Dick Clark became interested and asked
him to co-host “ Keep On Cruisin’.”
Sinbad's first love is stand-up so when
his television work permitted he toured with
the likes of Kcol and the Gang, B.B. King,
Smokey Robinson, The Pointer Sisters, Miami
Sound Machine, Anita Baker, and Luther
Vandross.
Sinbad is a family man and devotes
much of his time to raising his daughter
Paige and son Royce in Los Angeles with his
wife Meredith. This family affair is strength
ened by his brother and personal manager
Mark Adkins, sister Dorothea as road man
ager and wardrobe designs by sister Donna.
His father. Reverend Donald Adkins and
mom Louise continue to support him while
residing in their hometown, Benton Harbor,
Michigan.
Though Sinbad's schedule is hectic, it
doesn't keep him from what he finds most
rewarding - his commitment of helping kids.
It’s a reputation h e’s proud of. He supports
many youth organizations tliroughout the
U.S. and his "T hink Positive” message is
well received by young audiences every
where.
ECI and Artist Consultants are proud to
present ‘ ‘An Evening With Sinbad,’' Satur
day, March 24th at 8 p.m. at the Arlene
Schnitzer Concert Hall. Reserved tickets at
$13.50 and $15.50 (Includes .50 city user
fee, subject to service charge) are available
at G.I. Joe’s/Ticketmaster, PCPA, Civic
Auditorium and Coliseum Box Offices or
Charge-by-Phone: PCPA 248-4496.
AN E V E N IN G W IT H
J ANCY BRIGHT, who owns her own
lusiness in Portland, Oregon, is one
if five women featured in "Fax and
rigures," a six-page pictorial in the
riarch issue of Playboy magazine.
Vancy was among the nearly 100
vomen who faxed their photos to
Mayboy last year after learning about
hefeature. The March issue ofPlayboy
¡oes on sale Tuesday, January 30.
Photo credit: Playboy 1990)
APPEARS
ON ‘ A D I F F E R E N T W O R L D ”
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F ast W s c h t Loss
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3 1 N W FIRST
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FAST & FLEXIBLE
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Thursday, March 8th
R o is e n
Friday, March 9th
N e r o ’s R o m e
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D ub S q u ad
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B ash
Monday. March 12th
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D u b h
H o u se
SATURDAY-MARCH 24-8 PM
ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
RESERVED SEATS
$13.50 & $15.50
•HYSTERICALLY FUNNY
- U S A TODAY
(INCLUDES 50C CITY USER FEE)
(TICKETS SUBJECT TO SERVICE
CHARGE)
I LAUGHED TILL I CRIED"
-CH IC AG O TRIBUNE
PROOUCEO BY ECI ANO ARTISTS CONSULTANTS
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT G.I. JOE'S/
TICKETMASTER. PCPA. CIVIC
AUDITORIUM AND COLISEUM
BOX OFFICES. OR CHARGE BY
phone
PCPA 248-4496
J O IN A N Y C L A S S A N Y T IM E
For Information Call (collect) weekdays
8 :3 0 a .m . to 5 :0 0 p.m .
(5 0 3 ) 297-1021
NORTHEAST PORTLAND
Maranaiha Church
4222 N.E. 12th
(Enter on Skidmore)
Temple Baptiet Church
Sat 9:30 a.m.
TUlamook Park Bldg.
2108 N.E. 41 m Ave.
Mon. 7:00 p.m.
The«. 7:00 p.m.
Wed 9:30 am. A 500 p.m.
Thun. 700 p.m.
Fri. 9:30 a.m.
1319 NB. 17th
Firende Room
Tueaday 12:00 Noon
(Brown Bag Lunch Clan)
NORTH PORTLAND
Rlvergate Community Church
4737 N. I.ombard St.
Tuea. 7:00 p.m.
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.
Columbia Hall
(Enter from Porumouth)
Wed. 5 0 0 p.m.
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