July 25, 1990 The Portland Observer Page 5
i
&
Portland Observer
ENTERTAINMENT
Ben Vereen Recalls Years of
Drug Abuse
BEN VEREEN
Stage and film star Ben Vereen,
who had previously acknowledged that
he turned to drugs for solace when his
daughter, Naja, was killed in an auto
accident in 1987, has revealed that he
was no stranger to drugs at the time.
Vereen, who now lectures young
sters around the country aginst drug
abuse, said in an interview to be pub
lished this Sunday in PARADE that he
had been involved with drugs since the
’60s. “ It seemed like everybody was
doing them, at least in my crowd,” he
recalled. “ We live in a society that
says 5 o ’clock is happy hour. 'Y ou
really look like you need a drink or a
joint,’ “ he mimicked.
“ But sometimes what people re
ally need is a good hug, so they know
they are loved. We didn’t understand
love. Instead, we bought into drugs.”
For years, Vereen said, “ I told
myself, 'I can handle it. It’s not han
dling me.’ Then Naja died. Y oudon’t
want to face the loss. The addictive me
said, ' I ’m going to need some MAJOR
drugs to hide the pain.’ But the pain
just seeped away anyway.”
Describing his lowest point, Ver
een said, “ You see yourself crawling
on the floor. You smell yourself, and
you don’t smell good, and you don’t
care. I had hit skid row in my life,
meaning I had given up. You could
have walked in and wiped me out, and
I wouldn’t have cared. Thoughts of
death danced through my mind.”
Vereen, who has four other chil
dren, said his older daughter, Malaika,
20, finally made him realize what he
was doing to himself. “ She came
bursting into my room one day, when I
was in the heap of destruction, and
started screaming at me, 'Y o u ’ve been
like this for four months now, and Naja
wouldn’t have wanted this!” ’
Admitting that he needed help,
Vereen went to a psychiatrist and then
placed himself in adrug-treatment cen
ter. “ I reconnected with my spiritual
ity,” he said. “ I realized that it had
never turned from me. I had turned
from i t It motivated me and became
my rock.”
“ I felt I wasn’t enough,” he con
tinued. “ And I am enough. If I had
loved me, I wouldn’t have gone through
all those years of substance abuse. If
you don’t love yourself, you have noth
ing to hold onto.”
Vereen said he still grieves and
finds it hard to smile. “ Now, when I
have a problem and find myself feeling
anxious, a voice inside me says, This
too will pass.’ When I’m going through
trauma, the voice says, 'Y o u ’ve suf
fered greater loss. This is nothing. Get
up. Get on.” ’
ACTOR BLAIR UNDERWOOD LAYS
DOWN THE LAW IN HOLLYWOOD
Debonair actor Blair Underwood
coming movie, “ Heat Wave,” explains
why he enjoys the challenge of network
continues to make his case for Holly
wood success; Plus
p ro d u c tio n s ,
though his relation
EM asks, “ Should
ship leaves him
You Keep Your
little time to watch
Sexual Past A Se
TV. “The lady I’m
c re t? ” discusses
with, she’s an in
careers in the cos
mos with Black
credible young
lady, and she’s
astronaut Charles
very supportive,”
Bolden, Jr., explains
Underwood says.
“ How To Say Goo
“ I’d rather just sit
dbye To Your Best
at home, or go
Girl” and heads off
somewhere with
to college with smart
her. That sounds
looks in campus
boring, but that’s
fashions, in the
m e,” he adds.
August issue.
Also in the Au
Finding consis
gust EM: A look
tent, quality acting
at why the roots of
roles since his first
some sexual in
big break on TV’s
volvements should
“ The Cosby Show,”
BLAIR UNDERWOOD
remain buried, and
talented star Blair
Underwood, now entering his third sea America’s fourth Black astronaut Char
les Bolden, Jr. tells why space is the
son as co-star of the weekly series, * ‘L. A.
place for future pioneers. Plus EM ex
Law,” continues to prove that for him,
plains “ How To Say Goodbye To Your
Hollywood success is an open-and-shut
Best Girl” with respect, and reviews fall
case. Underwood, 26, whose growing
fashions for the man about campus.
roster of impressive work includes
“ Murder In Mississippi,” and the up-
503-286-2557
(24 HOURS)
NORTHWEST
AFRIKAN AMERICAN
BALLET
:
:::
Wednesday, 25th
HEART OF
DARKNESS
Thursday, 26th
BIG HOUSE
TICKETS
$13.50
TICKETS
AVAILABLE AT:
PC PA BOX
OFFICE.
BODY & SOUL
M EM O RIAL
C O LIS EU M ,
all G.l. J O E ’S
TICKET
MASTER
O UTLETS
Saturday, 28th
CRAZY 8 s
ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 8,1990
8:00 P.M.
Sunday, 29th
[ THE CLEVELANDS
M onday, 30th
Support our A d vertisers-
SAY YOU SAW IT IN
BATON ROUGE
THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
Tuesday, 3 1 st
LOST BOYS
ONE STOP TOP 10 SINGLES
-------------------
ai & ist
KP
rn oL
LAP'LL &
1
Do ¡Ms
‘B e d P ivD e Moe
2
24061
Makf y o u Sweat
Plekira 4-66683
Xfith Sweat
3
JtrkO ut
Pauley P a rf4 19750
‘IheTime
4
Crazy
Motown 2053
‘Ihe'Bcys
s
Slit s Mine
Moloum 4724
[W a n t ItK ffw
‘Basic ‘BLacf
6
GOOD FOOD, GOOD DRINKS,
GOOD MUSIC, GOOD PEOPLE
Please send me more information and a membership packet I don't want to let this unique opportunity pass me by. I have enclosed $2.00 for
shipping and handling.
Male
Female
Name:__________________________________________ ______
Address
City/State/Zip:.
I certify that I'm 21 years of age or older single, and African American.
Signature:
____________________________________________
(503) 293-7979
J ‘ etls (food
polygram 877436
tony! Tons! tone!
8
Let Me ‘Be you r Lover
Cnigma 5069-4
Innocent
Capitol 44593
'Ptridn o f Love
i lK r e w
o
African American Singles Network, P. O. Box 12514, Portland, OR 97212, (503) 293-7979
Sally Kirkland
Discusses Her Role
in Black Film "Watts"
Actress Sally Kirkland, who plays
the only major white character in a cable
television movie about the violent riots
in the Black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts
twenty-five years ago, hopes the film
will make a difference.
” 1 think with this movie we bring
some real humanity to some real prob
lems,’ ’ Kirkland told PARADE contrib
uting editor James Brady, who inter
viewed her for this Sunday’s issue of the
magazine.
Kirkland play a Beverly Hills woman
for whom Cicely Tyson works as a maid.
“ I side with Cicely against my husband,
who’s white,” Kirkland said. Also star
ring in the movie, titled “ H eatW ave” ,
are James Earl Jones and Blair Under
wood. It was produced by the Turner
Television Network and will air August
S
I N
i
A C ity-W ide Youth Talent Festival
A g e s 12-17
Live V id e o to Star S e a rc h
$$ C a s h & Prizes $$
For in fo rm a tio n c a ll 2 8 1 -0 1 7 4 o r 281-2661
I c
E
TV
Suave" f »ei utive Co
•The Whispers
Mariah Carey
236-3932
RECORD SHOP
V IS A
IF WE DON'T HAVE IT. WE WILL ORDER ITI (503) 284-2435
«
P resent"
Only the best accommodations
CBS 73348
ONE
S i s t e r s In U n i t y
Cameo
7
10
The Portland Observer:
R eflecting C o m m u n ity Pride
11.
Polygram 87558
9
Howard Hewett is a man at peace
with himself and the world. The power
of that feeling come through on his
eponymous new album on Elektra
Records. “ It’s a little bit clearer than
the rest of my albums, “ says Howard,
“ in those days, I was searching for
things and there was a lot of craziness
in my life. This album differs in the
sense of direction, clarity, and uni
formity.”
Bom and raised in Akron, Ohio,
Howard Hewett began performing as a
pre-teen with his family gospel group,
the Hewett Singers, and went on the
gospel road circuit with the Five Blind
Boys From Alabama,the Soul Stirrers,
Mighty Clouds of Joy, and the Staple
Singers. At the age of 14, Howard
began his shift tow ard the
secular,learn mg the bass and perform
ing with a number of Akron R&B
You've Just about given up) You've tried the dating scene: night clubs, bars, social lounges.
All the prospects |ust were not what you were looking for in a permanent relationship.
Ws understand how you feel. The African American Singles Network Oateletter is what you need. It offers a
unique opportunity to mset qualified, pre-screened singles who are eager to meet you as well.
The Oateletter provides:
■ Intriguing articles on dating, loving and relationship success
• Notice of cultural and social events where the possibility of meeting other African American
Singles are greatest.
■ Detailed info, on singles who are interested in a long term, meaningful relationship.
• Privacy is assured'
A confidential way to select only those individuals who are most compatible with the type of person you wish to spend time with.
So come onl Send In the coupon below. It may be the best thing you've ever done!
Friday, 27th
CIVIC
A U D IT O R IU M .
F U N D E D IN
PART BY
BIO
ALL T ttL §00® O9&S AfRfL V W & W
IN CONCERT
CHARGE
A-TICKET
BY CALLING
(5 0 3) 2 48 4 49 6
HOWARD HEWETT
bands while still in high school.
In 1976, two years after graduat
ing from high school, Howard Hewett
moved to Los Angeles. ‘ ‘There I was at
the L.A. airport with $34.00 in my
pocket," Howard remembers, “ my only
plan was to see what I could gel into.”
He joined a show group--put together
by John D aniels-as lead vocalist play
ing California hot-spots like Maver
ick’s Flat and touring Europe.
In 1979, Howard got an offer to
join the top R&B group Shalamar. He
auditioned on a Saturday morning,
singing “ Feel The Fire” in a rocking
chair, and was on a plane that evening
to perform with the group on televi
sion.
For the next six years, Howard
Hewett led Shalamar through an un
broken chain of hit records, including
the certified-Gold albums Big Fun,
Three For Love, and Friends. How
ard’s silky vocal also propelled singles
like “ Second Time Around” , “ Make
That Move,” * ‘For The Lover In You,”
and “ A Night To Remember” and
other top hits. Jeffrey Daniels and Jody
Watley had left the group, “ instead of
just going out on my own,” Howard
recalls, “ I fell there was still some
thing I needed to do with Shalamar.”
With Howard Hewett at the helm, a re
formed Shalamar recorded the group’s
final album Heartbreak and the single
“ Dancin’ In The Sheets” --which wound
up in the multi-Platinum Footloose
soundtrack. In 1985, Howard picked
up a Grammy for “ Don’t Get Stopped
In Beverly Hills,” from the Beverly
Hills Cop soundtrack.
Howard is also an accomplished
song writer, co-author of such hits as
“ Show Me’, “ Let Me Show The Love” ,
“ Let’s Get Deeper,” and others.
>
•V
,