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Modeling On The Side
Name:
Kevin Gregory For
Kevin Gregory of Laurelton, modeling is a side project, unless that modeling
translates into exposure and a chance at a career as a singer.
Gregory,
27, has never been in a band and cannot play any instruments, but loves to
bellow out Michael Jackson tunes.
Originally
from the island nation of Jamaica, Gregory has lived in Queens for the past
eight years, and now works at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square.
“One
of the perks of the job is that I get to see a lot of famous people,” he
said. He
hopes to return to school and study music in the future, has modeled in
print ads for chewing gum and is currently searching for a modeling agency.
“If this can become a career, I won’t mind. But I’ll be happy if it’s not, ” he said. The
Queens Beenes
It
appears that Hollywood television producers are once again looking to Queens
as a backdrop for a prime-time small screen program. With
the scheduled January premiere of “Oliver Beene,” the FOX Network will
be bringing the world of early-1960s Rego Park into the homes of viewers
across the country. “Oliver Beene” will revolve around the character of an 11-year-old boy with the same name and his “misadventures.” Critics have described the show as a “Wonder Years-ish” sitcom that follows the day-to-day of Beene and his dysfunctional family, which includes a dentist father, a happy homemaker mom and a sports fanatic brother.
“Flashbacks
and flash-forwards vividly re-create the Kennedy-era ’60s in this
fast-paced comedy,” one critic wrote. “Beene”
isn’t the only new show to hit the airwaves in January using Queens as the
setting. “Queens
Supreme,” a show that “takes a peek under the robes of the bench” of
the court system in Queens, according to Peter and Daniel Thomas –
Queensites and producers of the show – will hit the airwaves in January on
CBS. Achievements
Of The Queens Kind
Queens’ own Simon and Garfunkel will be honored with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” at next year’s GRAMMY awards show in New York, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences announced last week. Simon and Garfunkel first met in grade school while living in Kew Gardens Hills and both members of the famous folk rock duo graduated from Forest Hills High School.
The
duo immortalized their home borough, not in the lyrics, but in the title of
the “59th Street Bridge Song” – a reference to the Queensborough
Bridge — but Simon and Garfunkel split up in 1971. In
1990 the Queens folkies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According
to the Recording Academy, Simon and Garfunkel were arguably the most
successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s “and had an appeal that spanned both
the pop and rock audience, and spoke to all age groups.” A
statement from the Academy said their songs “authentically reflected the
zeitgeist of their time.” The
duo has earned a total of six GRAMMY Awards over the years, including one
for “Album Of The Year” for “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and
“Record Of The Year” for its title single, and “Record Of The Year”
for “Mrs. Robinson.” Council
Tea Time
The Republicans in the New York City Council may be few in number,
but they know how to make a point.
During the Council’s recent vote to raise property taxes across the
City by 18 percent, the Council’s few Republicans – including Queens
Councilmember Dennis Gallagher – tied tea bags to their desks to symbolize
taxation without representation.
Gallagher explained that “the working class, the body that will be
hit hardest by the property tax increase, is not represented in the City
Council at all,” and said, “The tea bags were symbols, we felt, of the
City taxing people without any representation. It’s reminiscent of the
times of King George.”
Of course, the tax increase passed anyway, tea bags or no tea bags,
but Gallagher said, “We wanted to show that relying on the taxpayers
should be a last resort to close the budget gap, not a first step,
especially since the groups that will suffer don’t have any representation
. . . I think we made the point.”
And just in case anyone was wondering, no, the GOPs didn’t use
English tea.
That’s
a Rap
Queens-bred
rapper Ja Rule is in the middle of a minor debate in the film world about
what he should be getting his hands into. The
new action movie he’s co-starring in with Steven Seagal, called Half
Past Dead, is getting less-than-stellar reviews. Okay,
it’s getting trashed by everyone including Roger Ebert. While
most of the abuse is being directed towards the “stilted” Seagal and the
movie’s director, Rule is also getting some of the heat, with suggestions
that he stick to his specialty, producing slick hip-hop for the masses. “Let’s
boycott these rapper/wannabe actors cause [sic] they are talentless and a
waste of publicity,” one IMDB.com (Internet Movie Data Base) user posted
last week. Meanwhile,
other users of the website are sticking up for Rule and his acting hobby,
arguing that he, and others like him, aren’t in it for the long haul. “The
rappers are just doing this for fun,” said user PhatBleekll. To
each his own!
E-MAIL your items to: conf@queenstribune.com
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