‘Succession’: In Season 3 of HBO series, actors keep getting better as their characters’ deeds get worseRichard Roeperon October 15, 2021 at 10:30 am

Season 3 of “Succession” begins with the aftermath of Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong, center, in sunglasses) betraying his family. | HBO

The privileged, awful offspring of Logan Roy have to choose sides during the return of one of the best series on TV.

We’re up to Season 3 of the wickedly funny and pitch-black and wildly entertaining “Succession” on HBO, and I’m still obsessing over the opening title sequence like it’s the Zapruder film of lurid series about terrible and terribly wealthy people.

With swirling string music and an angry piano pounding on the soundtrack, we alternate between modern-day footage of Manhattan and the TV news business and glimpses of sepia-toned home movies of the rich and powerful Roy clan on their enormous estate.

Family patriarch Logan Roy is seen from behind or as a shadowy figure, while his four young children take tennis lessons as butlers look on, line up wearing dress-up clothes and take an elephant ride. There’s never a moment when their parents embrace them or smile with them or even acknowledge them. They’re like miniature extras in the movie of Logan Roy’s life.

Cut to three decades later, with Brian Cox’s Logan running an international media empire while fending off federal investigations, mounting financial issues and health complications — and his four grown children are STILL desperate for Daddy’s approval even though they’ve been shown time and time again that their father will curry their favor and bring them in close and tell them how much they mean to him when he needs them, but he’ll still cast them aside like yesterday’s trash if they prove to be incompetent or an impediment.

We almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

But they’re all so wonderfully awful, so narcissistic and duplicitous, we’re not rooting for anybody. But we’re kinda rooting for everyone because that’s how it works with great shows about irredeemable people, from “The Sopranos” to “Game of Thrones,” from “Breaking Bad” to “Billions.”

Season 3 picks up just after the stunning developments of the Season 2 finale, when Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong, once again doing Emmy-level work) betrayed his father and the entire family by refusing to fall on his sword and instead calling a press conference to implicate his father in a coverup involving egregious sexual crimes committed in Waystar Royco’s cruise line division.

With Kendall riding the high of his spectacular coup but also unsure about how to proceed, Logan and his children Siobhan a.k.a. Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Connor (Alan Ruck), along with key members of the inner circle including Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) and Frank (Peter Friedman), go into crisis mode, scrambling to stay one step ahead of the feds while plotting how to maintain control of the company.

As always, though, everyone is looking out for themselves.

So the snarky Roman and the politically savvy Shiv secretly meet with Kendall to see whether they should switch alliances, while the hapless Connor sees this latest family crisis as a means to strengthening his Don Quixote-esque bid for the presidency.

HBO
Shiv (Sarah Snook) positions herself as loyal to her father, Logan (Brian Cox), but also explores a shift in alliances.

“Succession” is a great-looking show with feature film-level production design and cinematography, breathtakingly gorgeous (and obscenely lavish) location shoots and constant reminders these people are immensely privileged and yet never seem to enjoy a moment of it. All they care about is power grabs and revenge, positioning themselves for the future and saving their own behinds.

The main ensemble gets better with each season. And there’s the usual allotment of first-rate guest stars, including Sanaa Lathan as a brilliant, high-powered attorney everyone wants on their side, Adrien Brody as a key shareholder who toys with the family, Alexander Skarsgard as an eccentric tech billionaire (what a thing!) and Dasha Nekrasova and Jihae as cynical and slick crisis management experts who are hired by Kendall to bolster his public image. There’s such a rich array of characters and so many complex and interesting relationships popping up everywher, that every episode of “Succession” leaves us wanting more.

We recognize more than a touch of the Murdoch and Trump families in the Roy clan. Logan has clear parallels to Rupert Murdoch, while there’s a touch of Donald Jr. in Kendall and Ivanka in Shiv.

Mostly, though, this is a bold and original work, with great acting and razor-sharp writing. And it’s among the best series in the world right now.

‘Succession’: In Season 3 of HBO series, actors keep getting better as their characters’ deeds get worseRichard Roeperon October 15, 2021 at 10:30 am Read More »

After 4 decades apart, ‘true love’ finally triumphs for couple who met in college at LoyolaStefano Espositoon October 15, 2021 at 10:45 am

Jeanne Gustavson and Steve Watts together finally at Gustavson’s home in Cedar Mill, a suburb of Portland, Oregon. | Jaime Valdez / Sun-Times

Jeanne Gustavson fell hard for Stephen Watts. But her family didn’t approve because she’s white, he’s Black. They couldn’t make it work. Now, having come through marriages, divorces, retirement and serious health problems, they’re back together once more.

Stephen Watts lay in bed at a south suburban nursing home. His hair was matted, his muscles withered and his still-sharp mind withdrawn behind a wall he built to block the misery of his daily existence.

To his left, an old TV blared mostly static. To his right, his roommate grunted and shrieked at all hours.

Watts, bed-ridden, thought he’d been forgotten by the outside world.

Then, one day in June, the 71-year-old retired linguist was told he had a visitor — his first in years. His mother and sister were dead, his brother estranged from him.

But Jeanne Gustavson, his love so long ago, after they met in college at Loyola University, had never forgotten him. And now she was here.

She’d thought about him every day since they said goodbye 42 years before.

She saw Watts sitting in a chair in the visiting room at the nursing home. And when he spoke, calling her by the pet name he gave her, she knew she’d been right to fly across the country to see him.

“When he called me the nickname — even though we hadn’t talked yet — I knew in my heart that he still loved me, and this was going to work out,” Gustavson says.

They met in Chicago in 1971, when Gustavson, 18, was a German major at Loyola, and Watts, tall and handsome, was president of the college’s German club.

“He was a hunk,” says Gustavson, now 68 and living in Portland, Ore.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

But, to her family, there was a problem. She’s white. He’s African American. She lived with her mother and grandmother, who didn’t allow Black people in the house unless they were there for work.

In their world, she says, “You didn’t see Black people unless they were a domestic for someone.”

They fell in love anyway but kept that from her family.

Provided
Steve Watts and Jeanne Gustavson in their young days in love — before four decades apart. “He was a hunk,” she says.

Gustavson says she hated keeping secret the source of so much happiness. And Watts told her, if only he could meet her mother, she’d surely like him.

So Gustavson arranged a pool party for the German Club at her mother’s house in Mundelein. She told her that the president of the club was Black, and, “well, she just went ballistic,” Gustavson says. “I didn’t even say we were dating.”

Her mother eventually figured that out, Gustavson says, at one point storming in to the dean’s office at Loyola and talking about pulling her daughter out of school because she was seeing a Black man.

In time, mother and daughter reached a fragile truce. Gustavson agreed to see Watts only on campus. But she says, “There was a part of me that never forgave her.”

“I loved him, and we wanted to get married,” she says. “We talked about it and having a family.”

They dated for seven years. Watts studied linguistics in graduate school at Loyola’s downtown campus. Gustavson graduated from nursing school in Maywood and got a job at a hospital.

Both so busy, it got to where they rarely saw each other. Their phone conversations became increasingly brief.

“One night, when he called me, everything came down on me at once, and I made a decision to end the relationship,” Gustavson says.

She told him, ” ‘I love you, Steve. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.’ “

He was devastated. So was she.

“From the instant I did it, when I hung up the phone at work, I regretted it,” she says. “But, at the time, I thought it was the best thing to do for both of us.”

He moved on, going to Germany to teach. She worked as a nurse for 40 years.

In time, each married someone else — and divorced.

In 1987, she moved to Oregon with her mother, who died in 2012. Three years ago, Gustavson retired.

Through everything, she says, she’d never forgotten Watts. He was her first love and her “true love.”

And she says she was tormented by guilt over how she’d ended things.

With no job now and no longer needing to care for her mother, Gustavson says she thought a lot about her life with Watts.

“I prayed he’d be married and be happy and have kids,” she says. “He always wanted a family.”

She didn’t want to interfere in his life. Still, she was curious.

Maybe he was on Facebook. But no luck with that: There were thousands of Steve Watts there. She couldn’t locate him online, so she tried plugging in the names of family members of his she remembered.

In May, she heard back from one of them — a call from Watts’s niece Adrienne Baskin, who told her she’d last seen her uncle a few years before and that he was in a nursing home near Chicago.

“Someone who is willing to take the time out to locate you and to make sure you’re OK and to help you is one in a thousand,” says Baskin, 49, who lives in Iowa.

Gustavson was thrilled.

“That was one of the happiest days of my life,” she says, “because I thought: Oh, my God, I can find him now.”

She called the nursing home.

“He’s alert and oriented,” the nurse on his floor told her. She couldn’t say more because of privacy rules.

So Gustavson wrote him a letter. She asked for his forgiveness. But she never heard back.

A few weeks later, she flew to Chicago anyway. She went to the nursing home and said she was there to see Watts.

A nurse wheeled him to the waiting area. The tall, handsome man she remembered, who’d always worn a sports jacket and tie, was in sweats now. His hair, thinner, was long and scraggly.

“I knew it was him, but it wasn’t him,” she says.

Then, in a whisper, he spoke the nickname he’d given her all of those decades before — a name no one else knew and Gustavson won’t reveal.

And he told her: “I love you.”

They spent nearly two hours together at that reunion after 42 years.

Gustavson learned Watts had been married for 12 years but had no children. He’d lived with his sister until she died suddenly. Many of his friends had died, too. About 15 years ago, he’d had a stroke, then another. Infections led to his left leg being amputated just above the knee.

He was quieter. But Gustavson says, “He was still the wonderful man that I knew 50 years ago. He had withdrawn. There were little glimmers of his personality.”

At one point, he pulled her close and sang the line, “I love you a bushel and peck,” from the musical “Guys and Dolls.” She’d never heard him sing before.

“I was just flabbergasted,” Gustavson says.

Jaime Valdez / Sun-Times
Jeanne Gustavson watches as her partner Steve Watts play chess with caregiver Sandra Collins at Gustavson’s home in Cedar Mill, Oregon, a suburb of Portland.

She stayed in town for a week. The nursing home staff eventually allowed her to visit with Watts in the room he shared with others.

“His roommates were unbearable,” she says. “I was in the room for two hours, and I couldn’t stand it because of the noise.”

After about a week, she told him: Come back with me to live in Portland.

“I’ll follow you anywhere,” he answered.

Gustavson went back to Portland and returned a week later. She gathered the paperwork they’d need, including documents allowing her to become Watts’ legal caregiver.

Her brother Tony Mathis helped arrange a medical transport van to drive them to Portland. The trip, which cost about $14,000, took 36 hours. Watts didn’t like it.

“I slept with one eye open because he was terrified,” Gustavson says.

In the predominantly white Portland neighborhood where she’s lived for three decades, her neighbors had strung “welcome home” banners to greet them and later brought over hot meals. The fire department sent firefighters to carry Watts up the stairs in Gustavson’s home.

It wasn’t an easy transition for him.

“The first couple of weeks were really rough,” Gustavson says.

Jaime Valdez / Sun-Times
Jeanne Gustavson hugs Steve Watts to comfort him after getting emotional talking about their lives apart for 42 years.

But he adapted. And so, it turned out, did she.

“She’s gone from that sedate person we’ve always known to — she bubbles, she giggles all the time,” says Tina Mattern, a neighbor and close friend. “They are making up for lost time.”

Mathis didn’t know about his sister’s relationship with Watts until she told him after her first trip back to Chicago in June. He gets why she’s so happy. And he’s thrilled.

“She’s been essentially someone shortchanged her entire life,” Mathis says. “For her to experience this reunion is really phenomenal. He clearly is not the man he was 42 years ago. Inside, he is the same human being. And she loves him for who he is on the inside, not for the man he’s become on the outside.”

And now, all of these decades since Gustavson decided broke up with him, what does Watts think?

“I forgive her,” he says. “I love her.”

“It’s everything both of us wanted,” Gustavson says.

Jaime Valdez / Sun-Times
Even after decades apart, Jeanne Gustavson and Steve Watt say they knew from the moment of their reunion that they still love each other.

After 4 decades apart, ‘true love’ finally triumphs for couple who met in college at LoyolaStefano Espositoon October 15, 2021 at 10:45 am Read More »

16-year-old girl among 2 killed, 6 others wounded in citywide shootings ThursdaySun-Times Wireon October 15, 2021 at 9:00 am

Eight people were shot, two fatally, in shootings across Chicago Thursday. | Sun-Times file photo

The fatal shootings occurred in Grand Boulevard and East Garfield Park.

A 16-year-old girl was among two people killed, and six other people were wounded in citywide shootings Thursday.

The teen was among a group of people about 11:30 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Polk Street when someone inside a black sedan opened fire, striking her multiple times throughout the body, Chicago police said. She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she died, police said. Her name hasn’t been released yet.
About an hour earlier, a man was fatally shot while standing on a sidewalk in Bronzeville on the South Side. The 47-year-old was in the 4200 block of South Champlain Avenue when someone in a white sedan fired shots, police said. He was struck and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He has not yet been identified.
A 59-year-old man was in a vehicle traveling southbound in the 5500 block of South Elizabeth Street when he was shot in the left arm and chest, police said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was in critical condition.

At least five others were wounded in shootings throughout Chicago Thursday.

Ten people were shot, one fatally, in Chicago Wednesday.

16-year-old girl among 2 killed, 6 others wounded in citywide shootings ThursdaySun-Times Wireon October 15, 2021 at 9:00 am Read More »

Third-down struggles frustrate Illinois State heading into visit from NDSUon October 15, 2021 at 9:43 am

Prairie State Pigskin

Third-down struggles frustrate Illinois State heading into visit from NDSU

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Third-down struggles frustrate Illinois State heading into visit from NDSUon October 15, 2021 at 9:43 am Read More »

Man fatally shot while standing on Bronzeville sidewalkSun-Times Wireon October 15, 2021 at 4:58 am

A man was fatally shot Oct. 14, 2021, in Bronzeville. | Archive Sun-Times

The 47-year-old was in the 4200 block of South Champlain Avenue when someone in a white sedan fired shots, Chicago police said.

A man was fatally shot Thursday night while standing on a sidewalk in Bronzeville on the South Side.

The 47-year-old was in the 4200 block of South Champlain Avenue when someone in a white sedan fired shots, Chicago police said.

He was struck and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He has not yet been identified.

There was no one in custody.

Man fatally shot while standing on Bronzeville sidewalkSun-Times Wireon October 15, 2021 at 4:58 am Read More »

Horoscope for Friday, Oct. 15, 2021Georgia Nicolson October 15, 2021 at 5:01 am

Moon Alert

Caution! Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Chicago time. After that, the moon moves from Aquarius into Pisces.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

This is a fantastic day to schmooze and enjoy the company of others because everyone will be upbeat and enthusiastic to see each other. Discussions might be profound. However, there is a moon alert all day. Caution!

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Today you feel physically vigorous. You’re happy to be alive! Group activities will help you to accomplish your goals today. You will work well with others because people will be happy to work in cooperation with each other. Work-related travel is likely. Check moon alert!

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

This is a fabulous, creative day, which is good news for artists and anyone involved with creative projects, working with kids, or involvement in sports. Social outings and vacations will be enjoyable. However, don’t shop. Check moon alert!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Family gatherings will be pleasant today. In fact, any gathering for any purpose at home will be a positive experience for you. However, avoid shopping for anything other than food and gas. Likewise, avoid important decisions because of today’s moon alert.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Today your communications with others will be upbeat and positive! Your ideas will be ambitious and you will have a busy day full of short trips, conversations, appointments and discussions. However, take note: There is a moon alert all day!

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

It’s a tricky day. It’s an excellent day to boost your earnings or discuss finances. However, there is a moon alert all day, which means do not spend money on anything other than food and gas; and avoid important decisions. Caution!

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Today the sun is in your sign dancing with lucky Jupiter, which makes you feel in harmony with others. You’ll be happy to use your energy to accomplish things, especially working with a group. People are optimistic. However, there is a moon alert all day. (Yikes!) Tread carefully!

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

This is a feel-good day for you. You feel in sync with yourself and others in a personal, private way. For some of you, this will be a spiritually rewarding day. Very likely, you will choose to relax and take it easy. You will be most comfortable behind the scenes. Be aware of the moon alert.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

This is a great day to schmooze with others. You will enjoy hanging out with friends or participating in classes, groups and large organizations. A feeling of optimism and buoyancy will pervade your exchanges with others. However, today is a moon alert, which means avoid important decisions and shopping.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

You appear successful, even affluent, to others today regardless of how you feel or what the truth of the matter is. This is why others are eager to share your company. They might also seek out your advice. Be aware of the restrictions of today’s moon alert.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Today the sun is dancing with Jupiter in your sign. Furthermore, the moon is also in your sign, which means this is a positive, upbeat day for you! Things will go your way. However, there is also a moon alert all day today, so avoid spending and important decisions.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

In one way, this is a positive money day for you because gifts, goodies and favors from others will come your way. However, there is a moon alert all day, which means avoid important financial decisions and shopping! Tricky!

If Your Birthday Is Today

Sarah, Duchess of York (1959) shares your birthday. You have a lively, energetic spirit! You enjoy socializing and talking to others. You also enjoy beautiful things, especially attractive clothes. People view you as generous and kind. This is a lovely year for you because you have many more opportunities to socialize with others. Relax! Let your hair down. Have some fun; but do remember your goals.

Horoscope for Friday, Oct. 15, 2021Georgia Nicolson October 15, 2021 at 5:01 am Read More »

16-year-old girl fatally shot in East Garfield ParkSun-Times Wireon October 15, 2021 at 5:51 am

A 16-year-old girl was shot and killed Thursday night on the West Side. | Sun-Times file

A 16-year-old girl was fatally shot Thursday night in East Garfield Park on the West Side.

She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she died, police said. Her name hasn’t been released yet.

No one was in custody.

16-year-old girl fatally shot in East Garfield ParkSun-Times Wireon October 15, 2021 at 5:51 am Read More »

Woman charged with setting fire to apartment building, killing 62-year-old manSun-Times Wireon October 15, 2021 at 3:37 am

A woman was charged with intentionally setting fire to a building Oct. 13, 2021, in Austin. | Adobe Stock Photo

Dementhrice Boykin, 64, faces one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated arson, knowing a person was present.

A woman has been charged with setting fire to an Austin apartment building and causing the death of a 62-year-old man.

Dementhrice Boykin, 64, faces one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated arson, knowing a person was present, according to Chicago police.

Boykin allegedly set fire to an apartment building Wednesday in the 5000 block of West Congress Parkway, causing the death of a 62-year-old, police said.

Firefighters found the man’s body in the basement of the building about 12:25 a.m., police said.

Boykin was scheduled to appear in bond court Thursday.

Woman charged with setting fire to apartment building, killing 62-year-old manSun-Times Wireon October 15, 2021 at 3:37 am Read More »

Chicago Craft Beer Weekend, October 15-17on October 15, 2021 at 1:38 am

The Beeronaut

Chicago Craft Beer Weekend, October 15-17

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Chicago Craft Beer Weekend, October 15-17on October 15, 2021 at 1:38 am Read More »

Bears notebook: Team plays coy about ex-Packers DC Mike Pettine’s role this weekJason Lieseron October 14, 2021 at 10:53 pm

Pettine was the Packers’ defensive coordinator from 2018 through ’20. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Plus, a roundup of the latest injury news and a special moment for outside linebacker Trevis Gipson.

Bears coach Matt Nagy had a lot of reasons to hire former nemesis Mike Pettine when the Packers fired him as their defensive coordinator.

Pettine has overseen four defenses that ranked among the top 10 in the NFL in points allowed, he can fill Nagy in on flaws in his offense and — of particular importance this week — he’s very familiar with the Bears’ archrival.

”He has great insight into their people,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. ”The scheme has changed . . . but the personnel and even the mentality of some of the players, I think he has great insight.”

Pettine was the Packers’ defensive coordinator in 2018-20, and their defense ranked 10th in points allowed, 11th in opponents’ yardage and 12th in third-down success rate.

He has been helpful on both sides of the ball since Nagy brought him in as a senior defensive assistant to coordinator Sean Desai.

Desai typically tries to say as little as possible about his scheme, staff and personnel and veered into an emphasis on execution when asked about Pettine’s expertise on the Packers.

”Everybody’s got ideas, and these ideas can come from all different avenues,” Desai said when pressed about Pettine. ”We try to listen to everything, and then that’s my job as a coordinator to consolidate that and come up with a clear vision of how we want to play this game.”

Injury concerns

Two of the Bears’ best players, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and receiver Allen Robinson, remained out of practice.

Hicks suffered a groin injury early against the Lions in Week 4 and missed the game Sunday against the Raiders. He has yet to practice since getting hurt.

Robinson played 83% of the offensive snaps against the Raiders and didn’t indicate he had an injury when he talked with the media Tuesday, but he has been out with an ankle injury. He hasn’t missed a game because of injury in three seasons.

Robinson led the Bears in receiving yards in each of his first three seasons with them and is second to Darnell Mooney this season. He has 17 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown.

Outside linebacker Khalil Mack (foot) also hasn’t practiced this week, but he is expected to play.

Gipson’s moment

Outside linebacker Trevis Gipson spent most of his rookie season on the bench, but he has been a solid backup to Mack and Robert Quinn this season. He has two sacks, including one against the Raiders that turned surreal when he saw Mack and Quinn celebrating him from the sideline.

”I was talking to my grandfather, and I was telling him it was an amazing feeling,” Gipson said. ”To see them cheering me on . . . especially going back two or three years ago, being fans of those guys, [and now] they would be cheering for me like I did for them.”

Bears notebook: Team plays coy about ex-Packers DC Mike Pettine’s role this weekJason Lieseron October 14, 2021 at 10:53 pm Read More »

Third-down struggles frustrate Illinois State heading into visit from NDSU

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