Our shrimp flew 1,972
miles to join you
for lunch.

where the Grease characters would be
today. Frenchy probably does a little
bit of hair on the side, says Conn, but
makes her living as a dog groomer.
In real life, it was work in commer-
cials that led Conn to Hollywood and a
job on television's "Keep on Truckin"'
summer replacement show. She later
• played the receptionist of dentist Danny
Thomas on "The Practice."
In 1981 Conn was in California to
do the "Benson" TV show. Listening
to the radio one night, "this beautiful
music started playing. It was the scores
from Farewell My Lovely, The
Conversation, All the President's Men
and Norma Rae," recalled Conn.
"Then this composer is being inter-
•
viewed, and his name is David Shire.
And he's telling jokes, and I wonder
where I heard that name before," Conn
continued.
"I remembered a few years before, a
girlfriend of mine had tried to fix me up
with him, but I was dating somebody
else. I wondered if she still had his num-
ber. She did.
"The night he was interviewed,
•
/— David happened to mention that he
always had a crush on Charlotte
Rampling, who played the lead opposite

'The noct
few miles
are up
to you.

They have a 5 1/2-year- old son, Daniel
Joshua.
"When we decided to have a family,
we tried everything that modern science
had to offer, including going to the mik-
vah and waiting in line for Rabbi
Schneersohn, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, so
he could bless us and wish us luck," said
Conn. Daniel Joshua was adopted by
Didi and David at birth.
About 2 1/2 years ago, the Shire fam-
ily moved to Rockland County, N.Y.,
about 30 minutes from Manhattan,
where they attend services at Temple
Beth Torah in Nyack.
Didi and her husband have appeared
together at several benefits, including
Nyack's "First Night" New Year's Eve
celebration.
But the charity closest to Conn's
heart is "a phenomenal school for autis-
tic children at the Jewish Community
Center on the Palisades in Tenafly. I did
a fund-raiser for them last year with the
cast of 'Shining Time Station' (the
award-winning PBS children's series on
which Conn portrays Stacy Jones).
"We did two shows and made
$30,000, which pays for one tuition,"
said Conn.
Conn is allocating a portion of her

Ever notice how a lunch

spot can seem too far away until one day you try it and really like it?

Then let us bait an introductory hook.
We'll knock a buck off your lunch bill for each mile you drive getting here (up to five). Meaning,

we're betting a fin for each person at your table that the experience will bring you back.

Take our shrimp. Because you want them plump and sweet, we haul them in from as far away as

Cancun and Caracas. And because we're Joe Muer's, we do them a dozen imaginative ways,

including and the best way of all.

Which is any way you want.

Sometimes, you just gotta go that extra mile.

It's how you distance yourself from ordinary lunch.

30855 Southfield Road, Southfield, MI 48076, (248) 644 5330

THE GALLERY RESTAURANT

Enjoy gracious dining amid a beautiful
atmosphere of casual elegance

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER

OPEN 7 DAYS:

MON.- SAT. 7 a.m.- 9:30 p.m. SUN. 8 a.m.- 9 p.m.

6638 Telegraph Road and Maple • Bloomfield Plaza • 248-851-0313

e
• k

QUALITY IS OUR PRIORITY

BROASTED
OR
BAR-B-Q CHICKEN
AND WHOLE SLAB
OF RIBS

• 1 coupon
per person

• Dine In Only

• Expires
4-2-98

The Pink Ladies at their slumber party. From left, Jan (Jamie Donnelly), Sandy
(Olivia Newton-John), Frenchy (Didi Conn), Rizzo (Stockard Channing) and
Marty (Dinah Manoff).

.

Robert Mitchum in Farewelb My Lovely.
"So I figured I'd call him up, say I
was Charlotte Rampling, that I'd heard
him on the radio and I'd like to go out
with him. I was in my dressing room on
the set of 'Benson,' and I called him up
and in a low and sexy voice said, 'Hello
David, this is ... But then I couldn't
finish and started laughing and went
back to my normal voice and said, Didi
Conn.'"
Didi and David married in 1984.

royalties from Frenchys 'Grease' Scrapbook
toward establishing another $30,000
scholarship at the school.
A career highlight for Conn occurred
when she "stood by" for Mercedes Ruehl
as Bella in Neil Simon's Pulitzer-Prize
winning play Lost in Yonkers. Conn's
perseverance paid off when, four years
ago, she appeared on Broadway with her
name over the title. Said Conn, "It was a
dream come true for a kid from
Brooklyn."

❑

• • di*k

WHOLE SLAB
OF RIBS &
BROASTED OR
BAR-B-Q CHICKEN
FOR 2!

• OPEN 7 DAYS
SUN.-THURS.
11-10

118 SOUTH WOODWARD • ROYAL OAK

JUST NORTH OF 10 MILE NEXT TO ZOO

L

544-1 21 1

FRI. & SAT.
11-11

"The Simone Vitale Band is an assurance of a great
evening... One of the hottest bands in town."

Danny Raskin, Jewish News

• "Royal Oak band leader extraordinaire Simone Vitale..."

Bob Talbert, Detroit Free Press

• Weddings •

Anniversaries
• Private/Corporate Parties • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs

Call Simone for the best personal service in town, with
an exciting night of dancing and fun at your party.

&)1/nont 0717 61 (248) 544-7373

3/27
1998

1 01