NAMES
Actor's life imitates art; retirement gift is music to Berk's ears
By Carol Beggy & Mark Shanahan, Globe Staff, 10/24/2003
A REAL SHOT IN THE ARM Lately, reality is stranger than the world of movies for local actor-writer Duncan Putney, who last month won the honor of best short script for "Toast" at the Woods Hole Film Festival. Putney was recently hit by a random "projectile" on his right arm while on a street in Providence, police confirmed. That would be his writing arm. While the police say the incident is under investigation, Putney said he believes he was shot and that whatever hit him is still lodged under his armpit. Initially, Putney's friends told us, the writer-actor lost feeling in his right hand but is slowly getting it back. Eerie coincidence No. 1: In the movie "Mystic River," Putney plays a character who stumbles across the character played by Tim Robbins doing something unusual and is beaten up. Eerie coincidence No. 2: Putney's twin brother, Air Force Major Douglas Putney, has just returned from several months in Iraq, and although he saw combat and was honored for his service, we're told, he returned without a scratch. Perhaps Duncan Putney can turn this around in a screenplay.
ABCD OF GOOD WORKS Among those whom the anti-poverty group ABCD will honor tonight at its annual awards dinner, which recognizes people who have made contributions to neighborhoods and local causes, are outgoing Boston Police Commissioner Paul Evans (who won't just be stepping down from his job but is heading to England), Regis College President Mary Jane England, and Ch. 56 reporter Terrel Harris. The dinner, which will be at the Marriott Copley Place, will feature guest speaker David Hall of Northeastern University, who has served as the school's provost and dean of the law school. Some 1,500 people are expected.
HOW YOU SLICE IT Pizza (Italian) by way of Manchester (England) will be coming to Newbury Street next spring. Croma, an offshoot of a popular casual restaurant across the pond, will open in the old Davio's space, said co-owner Gregg Nourjian. The two-floor restaurant with an outdoor patio will offer gourmet pizzas, baked pasta, salads, and an extensive wine list. Along with co-owner Biff Shea, Nourjian plans a "neighborhood place with moderate prices." An April 1 opening is planned after a complete renovation of the restaurant space. . . . Elements in Arlington Center has closed after less than six months in business. A message on the restaurant's phone service said economic conditions caused the closing.
THIS SONG'S FOR YOU How to pay tribute to Lee Berk, who's retiring after 25 years as president of the Berklee College of Music? Rather than something silly such as a rocking chair, his friends sought a more imaginative way to celebrate Berk's many achievements. They found it in a song written by former Berklee professor (and legendary keyboardist) Al Kooper and Dennis Montgomery, assistant professor of ensemble at Berklee. The composition, "Musical Fortress: The Lee Berk Song," was performed for the first time at a gala last week for the Berklee City Music Program. Afterward, Kooper and Montgomery presented the song's framed sheet music to Berk and his wife, Susan.
THE NEXT GENERATION Generally speaking, books by celebrity children is a genre we're not crazy about, but when three celebrity children come around to flog their books on the same day, we pay attention. The parade of famous kin kicks off Wednesday with Caroline Kennedy, who'll sign copies of her book, "A Patriot's Handbook," before a panel discussion about patriotism at the John F. Kennedy Library. That evening, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, son of the late Audrey Hepburn, will be at the Ritz-Carlton to celebrate the release of his memoir, "Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers." Finally, Margo Howard, the only child of the late Ann Landers, will be at a cocktail party in Lexington to mark the publication of "A Life in Letters," her collection of letters from her famous mom.
DOCTORS IN THE HOUSE A fund-raiser last night at the Pinebrook Country Club in Weston, benefiting the Essco-MGH Breast Cancer Research Fund, drew more than 200 people, including Dr. Peter Slavin, president of Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Judah Folkman, surgeon-in-chief emeritus at Children's Hospital, and Dr. Kenneth Tanabe, chief, division of surgical oncology at MGH. The evening's celebrity auctioneer was Susan Wornick, consumer reporter at WCVB-TV in Boston.
Alison Arnett of the Globe staff contributed to this column. Names can be reached at names@globe .com or at 617-929-8253.
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