ENTERTAINMENT
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I GOING PLACES I-
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WEEK OF
MARCH 31-APRIL 6
JEWISH EVENTS
JEWISH
COMMUNITY
CENTER
Jimmy Prentis Morris
Center, 15110 W. 10
Mile, Oak Park, The
Song Sisters, Sunday,
admission. 967-4030.
SPECIAL
EVENTS
THE PALACE
3777 Lapeer Rd., Auburn
Hills, Detroit Pistons vs.
Chicago Bulls, Thursday;
Greater Detroit
Sportfishing Expo, now
through Sunday,
admission. 377-8600.
BOW-WOW BALL
Somerset Mall, Troy,
gourmet strolling supper
to benefit Michigan
Humane Society,
Saturday, admission.
872-3400.
Jeffrey Zaslow talks about the kinds of questions his readers send him.
ALL 11 11 All ZAZ
Jeffrey Zaslow will be glad to
offer you advice ---- through his
Chicago Sun-Times column.
MAIDA PORTNOY
Special to The Jewish News
111 n July 1981 Jeffrey
Zaslow, a 22-year-old cub
reporter for the Orlando
(Fla.) Sentinel, wrote a
story about Ann
Landers. He-sent a copy to the
renowned syndicated advice
columnist and received a
thank-you note predicting,
"You'll go far in this
business."
Neither appreciated the ac-
curacy of her prediction at the
time or could know that six
years later Zaslow would
abandon a promising future
at the Wall Street Journal to
replace Landers at the
Chicago Sun-Times. After 31
years at that paper, Landers
had moved to the rival
Chicago Tribune.
The Zaslow adventure
began with a contest spon-
sored by the Sun-Times to
replace Landers with two new
columnists, who also would be
syndicated (to more than 40
newspapers) throughout the
country. Zaslow, covering the
competiton for the Journal,
was sorely in need of a fresh
approach to an already over-
publicized event.
He decided the way to cover
the assignment was to
become one of the 12,000 en-
trants, throwing his own hat
into the ring. He filed an
eight-page application and
then, received permission to
review, for assignment's sake,
the applications of other
contestants.
Zaslow, the Carnegie-
Mellon University honors
graduate who majored in
creative writing and edited
the school newspaper, recalls
the credentials of the
competition.
"Most of the applications
were from women. A lot of
them thought that hard luck
was all they needed for the
job. One said, 'there isn't
anything horrid my eyes
haven't seen' and listed 30
things that made her right for
the job. One woman said, 'I'm
so good at giving advice, I
helped my husband get his
girlfriend back." Eighty per-
cent of the contestants stated,
`I've been told I'm Ann
Landers.' "
Zaslow had never been told
he was Ann Landers and he
wasn't trying to be. But the
talented writer did attempt to
adopt the proper mindset for
the desired position.
Z
"I read Nathaniel West's
Miss Lonelyhearts, a powerful,
depressing book about a
young male advice columnist,
and I did a lot of soul search-
ing. Friends warned me to
consider what I was getting
into."
As a Chicago-based Wall
Street Journal reporter for
the past four years, he had
gained the respect of both col-
leagues and readers for uni-
que, offbeat essays that
displayed a wonderful sense
of humor and great sensitivi-
ty. He wrote stories about
lonely farm boys who couldn't
find dates, about a homeless
man who lived down the
street from him and was
mysteriously set on fire and a
subjective piece on what to do
with old love letters.
Twice nominated "for con-
UNIVERSITY
PRODUCTIONS
Frieze Bldg., State and
Washington, Ann Arbor,
"$5 Revue," an evening
of songs and skits to
benefit a scholarship
fund for U-M musical
theatre students,
Thursday through April
8 and April 1345,
admission. 764-0450.
COMEDY
COMEDY CASTLE
593 Woodward, Berkley,
Mark Schiff today and
Saturday, admission.
542-9900.
THEATER
HILBERRY AND
BONSTELLE
THEATRES
Wayne St. University,
Detroit, Romeo and
Juliet, Tuesday,
Thursday and April 11;
The Scarlet Pimpernel,
now through April 15;
The Night Thoreau Spent
in Jail, now through
May 13, admission.
577-2972.
MEADOW BROOK
THEATRE
Oakland University.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
65
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