‘ NAUGHTY’ TALK
Christie Hefner emerges to lead Q& A about book on sex in the ’ 90s
In Christie Hefner’s first public event since the death of her father Hugh Hefner, the daughter of the legendary Playboy founder — who herself ran his empire for more than two decades — hosted a discussion with author David Friend at The Hideout on West Wabansia about his new book, “The Naughty Nineties: The Triumph of the American Libido.”
While Hefner has consistently declined media requests to comment on the passing of her father or the future course for Playboy — including from the Sun- Times — her own lifetime of exposure to issues of sexuality and women’s sexual and political liberation clearly came into play as she chatted with Highland Park native Friend, a longtime editor at Vanity Fair magazine.
Before an audience Tuesday night that included author Scott Turow and Vanity Fair contributor James Warren, plus Marlene Iglitzen, the widow of film critic Gene Siskel, Friend said he has spent a long time on the East Coast, but “I’ve always felt my roots were very much in Chicago. My sense of myself is tied in with the middle of the country.”
During their nearly hourlong Q& A session at The Hideout, Hefner engaged Friend to draw analogies between the big, sexually charged stories of the 1990s — Anita Hill’s testimony against Clarence Thomas, Monica Lewinsky and the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, the Lorena Bobbitt and Heidi Fleiss cases — and the current state of affairs in American political and popular culture. Today’s headlines about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and sexual harassment, Friend said, differ from but are somewhat related to attitudes expressed in the last decade of the 20th Century — by Clinton and others.
The book was sparked by something quite sexual. “I was at a dinner with a cardiologist friend of mine,” said the writer, “and he was explaining the backstory of how Viagra was discovered. Originally, it was a drug all about heart health issues. During the trials — the tests for this drug — the patients who were taking this drug …”
“… Had some side effects,” Hefner interjected.
“Yes,” smiled Friend, “They had some good side effects.”
Learning the drug’s origin made Friend think that other backstories from the 1990s could coalesce into a real book. “I began to see there’s this weird sexual overlay in society now. I was looking back at the ’ 90s and feeling a lot of that started then.”
Mario Lopez to light Chicago pink
A good cause is what’s bringing Mario Lopez to Chicago on Oct. 21, but the actor and TV personality pointed out in a phone chat that his wife’s sister and her family live in the area, “so we often get back to Chicago for all kinds of family events, holidays and the like.”
Next week, Lopez will be the celebrity anchor of the “Ignite the Fight Gala” that will include a bridge- lighting ceremony at 7 p. m. Oct. 21 — illuminating the Chicago River, the Dearborn and Clark Street bridges, City Winery Riverwalk and the Virgin Hotel Chicago. The burst of pink is all about Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the 20th anniversary of Susan G. Komen Chicago and the foundation’s long battle to find a cure.
“I know everyone in Chicago — as out here in L. A. and in every place in America — has a direct connection to the disease,” Lopez said. “We’ve all had family members, friends, colleagues at work, teachers and the rest who have been afflicted with breast cancer. It strikes a chord for me, as it does for everyone.”
In addition, Lopez will attend a post- lighting party at the Virgin Hotel to celebrate the beta launch of Indistry TV, a socially conscious entertainment platform. The subscription streaming service will offer content shaped by its audience.
While Lopez “sadly did not get out for any World Series games last year,” he understandably thinks there will be “another matchup with my beloved Dodgers and your Cubs,” depending on what happens this week. Though he wasn’t happy to see his Dodgers lose to the Cubs in the 2016 playoffs, Lopez did admit, “I was glad the Cubs finally did win after that 108- year drought. They deserved it.”
‘ The Voice’ winner to perform at Macy’s tree lighting
The annual lighting ceremony for the Macy’s Great Tree Lighting will feature the participation of Jordan Smith, the winner of NBC’s award- winning hit musical competition show “The Voice.” This year will mark the 110th lighting of the great tree, located in the famed Walnut Room on the State Street store’s seventh floor. The ceremony will be held at noon Nov. 4.
The tree itself — a holiday landmark in Chicago dating back to the store’s Marshall Field’s days — will be 45 feet tall and feature more than 2,000 ornaments and 6,600 sparkling lights.