GU offers Regis Philbin a tour of Bing’s old house
Is Regis Philbin actually going to sleep in Bing Crosby’s bed when he comes to Spokane?
That’s what he said on the air last week on “Live with Regis and Kelly.”
Here’s some background: Philbin is coming to the Northern Quest Casino for an appearance March 21. Apparently, he’s a big Bing Crosby fan. While talking about his Spokane appearance, he mentioned that he wanted to go see Crosby’s old house (now the Gonzaga University Alumni House).
Some people at Gonzaga heard that and sent him an e-mail offering a tour of the campus and of the university’s Crosby collection.
The next day, Philbin went on the air and said something on the order of, “And I’m going to sleep in Bing’s bed!”
Not exactly. That was just Regis being Regis.
“There’s no original furniture there, and we certainly don’t have Bing’s bed,” said an amused Eileen Bell-Garrison, Gonzaga’s dean of library services. “But we could put a sleeping bag in there.”
Still, he will get to tour the house.
Cuba Gooding alert
North by Northwest Productions is shooting another Cuba Gooding Jr. movie in Spokane: “Wrong Turn at Tahoe.”
The action thriller about mobsters, murder contracts and double-crosses also features Mike Starr and Johnny Messner. Johnny Martin directs.
We say “another” Gooding movie, because he has made two previous films in Spokane: “End Game” and “Lies and Illusions.”
The guy probably knows his way around the Davenport Hotel pretty well by now.
O’Hurley in ‘Spamalot’
John O’Hurley, best known as J. Peterman in “Seinfeld,” will play the King in the national touring company of “Spamalot” that arrives at Spokane’s INB Performing Arts Center from May 5 through 10.
The golden-voiced O’Hurley has extensive stage credentials, including a stint on Broadway as Billy Flynn in “Chicago.” He also hosts the annual National Dog Show broadcast on Thanksgiving, and was a winner on “Dancing With the Stars.”
He’ll take on the “Spamalot” role that was originated by Tim Curry on Broadway.
Tickets are available through TicketsWest outlets (325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
‘Cowgirls’ held over
The Interplayers classical-meets-country musical “Cowgirls” has been held over for one extra performance, today at 2 p.m.
This foot-stomping show was originally scheduled to end Saturday, but it has been drawing some happy crowds. Call (509) 455-PLAY to see if some tickets are left for today’s performance.
Demise of KHQ radio simulcast
The radio simulcast of KHQ-6’s audio signal on 87.7 FM will be one of the casualties of the digital TV conversion on Tuesday.
That simulcast will go away along with the station’s analog signal.
This is a big deal for some people who listen to it in the car when they can’t watch TV. I once listened to most of a “Saturday Night Live” broadcast one night while driving home from Pullman.
KHQ is trying to figure out a way to bring the simulcast back, possibly on a different frequency. Stay tuned.
‘Letters from Lincoln’
We learned two interesting things during Tuesday’s Spokane Symphony press conference featuring composer Michael Daugherty, who wrote “Letters from Lincoln,” and Thomas Hampson, who will sing it with the symphony.
• The piece includes the Gettysburg Address, set to music.
• It has already been scheduled for two other performances – by the Elgin (Illinois) Symphony in November and by an orchestra in Milan, Italy, at an unspecified date.
Not bad for a piece that won’t even have its world premiere until Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Martin Woldson Theatre at the Fox.
We also learned one other thing: Some tickets are still left for the Spokane performances. Call (509) 624-1200.
World record bubbles
Spokane “bubbilusionist” Jarom Watts has rescheduled his attempt to break the Guinness World Record for largest soap bubble.
He’ll be making an elephant-sized bubble on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Center, 1316 N. Lincoln St., a block north of the Spokane Arena (not to be confused with the Lincoln Building downtown).
His scheduled New Year’s Eve attempt at First Night Spokane was postponed because the weather was too cold. A bubble would have frozen and shattered into a million shiny bits.
Watts, undaunted, claims that he can quintuple the size of the previous record – a soap bubble the size of a Volkswagen. He also said he will attempt a second record, the nature of which he prefers to “remain a mystery.”
The event is free, and the public is encouraged to attend. All you have to do is show up, but if you want preferred seating, you can register at www.thelincolncenterspokane. com/bubbles.
Big country shows
Just a reminder about two upcoming country concerts:
• Little Big Town, Wednesday, 8 p.m. at the Knitting Factory. They received a Grammy nomination and are one of the hottest bands in country. Tickets are $25.
• Brad Paisley, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m. Spokane Arena. He just won a couple of Grammys and his live act is wildly entertaining. Tickets are $49.75 and $39.75.
Both shows are on sale through TicketsWest outlets.
RAWK Final Four
Speaking of big shows, don’t forget about the RAWK Final Four, the finals of the Inland Northwest’s battle of the bands, Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Service Station, 9315 N. Nevada St.
The finalists are Death by Adam, Green Light Go, Raw Nerve, Olaf Olaf Olaf and Bodhi Drip (yes, there are five bands in the RAWK Final Four).
Tickets are $8 in advance through TicketsWest outlets, or $10 at the door.