"Something historic happened on this spot," said Billy Graham, standing in front of the Los Angeles County traffic court building where the tent had stood for his first crusade. But could it have been 34 years ago and could the evangelist be celebrating his 65th birthday? Yes on both counts. Last week 1,000 cheering fans and local politicians watched as Graham unveiled a plaque commemorating the 1949 start of his Crusade for Christ. During that eight-week stint, 350,000 listened to the young preacher; more than 100 million have done so since. "I have never changed my message. I preach the Bible, and I preach it with authority," he says with seemingly undiminished vigor. "I still feel as though I'm 20."
They are not one of those old brothers acts like the Everly, the Smothers or the Righteous, but Randy and Dennis Quaid occasionally find their separate acting careers intersecting. And the assignment is to play brothers. It happened first when they starred as scruffy outlaw brothers in the 1980 film The Long Riders. This week they will be paired again as they take over the leads in the New York City production of True West, Playwright Sam Shepard's role-switching psycho-comedy. Randy, 33, portrays a degenerate con artist who scuttles out of the desert to antagonize his straitlaced screenwriter brother, played by Dennis, 29. The sibling rivalry that propels the plot came more or less naturally for the two. "I loved to torture Dennis as a kid," explains Randy. "I get to do a lot of it in the play. It's a lot of fun." Oh yeah, says Dennis. "After this play we'll either be closer than ever before or one of us will be dead.'' Some guys never grow up.
Both exhibit an artful command of the blues in their work, but Artist Marc Chagall, 96, and Rolling Stones Bassist Bill Wyman, 47, seem an unlikely collaborative pair. Wyman, a resident of Vence in southern France, was first introduced to Neighbor Chagall and his wife Valentine three years ago by Andre Verdet, 72, a painter, art critic and friend who was writing a book about the Russian-born impressionist. Being an amateur shutterbug, Wyman expressed an interest in taking the photographs for Verdet's volume, which will be published in France next month. The writer arranged a meeting by explaining to Chagall that the veteran rocker was discreet and modest, "not like the other members of the Rolling Stones band." Chagall and Wyman clicked, and the pair eventually settled on 20 black-and-white and color shots that gave them satisfaction. "Chagall liked him very much," says Verdet. "Normally he doesn't like to be photographed at all."