The lake, ancient and alluring, is the latest target for the active curiosity of that boosterish purveyor of history and civic pride known as Geoffrey Baer.
Of Lake Michigan’s 1,638 miles of shoreline, only 26 of those are in the city, but they are the most lively, glamorous, crowded and disturbing miles of all, coming at us with Baer and his colleagues (primarily producer/writer Michael West) in “Touring Chicago’s Lakefront,” premiering at 7 p.m. April 14 on WTTW-Ch. 11, with all manner of web-extra embellishments.
The familiar is, well, familiar, and so most viewers will recognize and know at least something about such people as the fur trading first resident Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, who already has his own urban byway, and George Streeter, better known as “Cap,” and his wife, Maria, better known as “Ma,” who claimed a slice of the city’s lakefront near Superior Street and fought for it with shotgun in one hand and, usually, a bottle of whiskey in the other.
Characters abound, even those of a feathered type, as Baer reminds us of the “descendants” of Monty and Rose, that pair of endangered piping plovers who stopped on the lakefront near Montrose and to much media hoopla.
Baer goes about his guiding chores with typical enthusiasm, solid research and necessary speed. Given the opportunity, he eagerly becomes a participant in some segments, such as donning scuba gear to visit a reef and the site of a sunken ship off 47th Street; fishing for lake trout; eating all manner of lake denizens at Calumet Fisheries; and hiking Northerly Island and the Garden of the Phoenix in Jackson Park.
It is a jam-packed hour, artfully edited by Joe Winston and filled with so many facts that you might be wise to watch with a pen and paper handy to take notes.
Some of the segments deserve (and in some cases have already had) individual hours dedicated to them, and though basically a sunny journey, we are told of such horrific historical happenings as the 1919 race riots that exploded when a Black teenager was killed at the 31st Street Beach. But we also learn of African American rodeo athletes who currently ride and rope and wrestle at the South Shore Cultural Center. But, really, who needs a “celebration” of the NASCAR nonsense?
The purpose of these frequent Baer journeys is, I suppose, not merely to entertain but to get people out of their apartments or houses. As he says, “I hope this show will remind people how critically important the lake is and inspire them to explore on their own.”
Nice idea. It’s getting warmer and thus a fine time to remind ourselves that the lake has ever defined our place on this planet and has always been a powerful magnet. For most of us, Lake Michigan is a glorious and important part of our world. And for all the acrobats, joggers, bathing beauties, bodybuilders and triathletes expressing and exposing themselves at the lakefront, there are thousands content with simpler things: a small square of sand and a breath of cool air off the water.
Dozens of people mingle and jump into the choppy waters of Lake Michigan at Montrose Beach during the Friday Swim Club on Sept. 1, 2023. There were approximately 150 people who attended the swim meet-up even though it had been canceled. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)
Spotlight on Liza
A new and enlighteningly spectacular “American Masters” edition, “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story,” aired on WTTW-Ch. 11 not long ago.
You should, no matter your taste in music, watch it, for it is about not only music but fame, family, addiction, love and resilience.
Liza is, of course, Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland and film director of Vincente Minnelli, star of “Cabaret” (on stage and screen), ferocious song and dance performer, tabloid darling, loyal friend … flat out charmer.
Such friends as Mia Farrow, Joel Grey, Chita Rivera, George Hamilton, Michael Feinstein and others speak fondly of her. Ample archival footage shows you her stunning EGOT talents and lively personality. She is on contemporary camera too, still compelling even though beset by health troubles in her years approaching her 80th.
This glittering crowd does not include Chicago’s Dennis DeYoung, that child of Roseland and leading force/principal songwriter/vocalist of the rock group Styx.
He met Minnelli in 1986 when she came here in advance of a week of shows at the Chicago Theatre to work with DeYoung on her new album.
A full house at the Chicago Theatre greeted singer Liza Minnelli for “Loop Alive” on Feb. 11, 1982, in Chicago. (Quentin C. Dodt/Chicago Tribune)
“She put herself totally in my hands, vocally,” he told me then. “She’s done things she’s never done before. She showed incredible stamina, incredible professionalism. I couldn’t ever have imagined that someone of her stature could be so open to new ideas. I’ve never met anybody in rock and roll who would even think of listening to another person’s ideas.”
The two met at the suggestion of Gene Simmons, formerly of KISS and a highly regarded producer. DeYoung agreed to produce some tracks for a new Minnelli album. That work was done here and he told me, “She is already the master of her own medium — the sort of Broadway show tunes that were America’s popular music before there was rock and roll — but without ego conflicts of any kind, she allowed me to lead her into new vocal territories.”
Minnelli recorded at Pumpkin Studios in Oak Lawn, spending eight or nine hours a day on separate visits putting together the new songs.
“She stayed at our house the second time she was here,” DeYoung told me. “My kids love her. My wife too.”
Those kids are grown now. He and his wife, Suzanne, still live happily in the southern suburbs. He has not seen the program but he plans to and so should you.
