Thursday, September 30, 1999
Ritzy party is worth gawking about
BY JIM KNIPPENBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Where were we? Oh yeah, fresh back from vacation and thinking about some really great parties ...
PARTY NO. 1: Wayne “Box” Miller, for example, and his 44th birthday.
Miller, a poet (Soul of a Man, Pen-Soul Publications; $14) and sports marketer who handles bunches of local jocks, always celebrates his Sept. 13 birthday with a massive party (last year's drew 1,000). This year's — last Friday in Roselawn at the Ritz — was 700.
But size doesn't always matter. Sometimes it's the gawkable guest list: Former Red turned St. Louis Cardinal Eric Davis showed up with teammates Ray Lankford and Thomas Howard; Reds Jeffrey Hammonds, Pokey Reese and Mike Cameron mingled 'n' munched jambalaya; Bengals Takeo Spikes, Darnay Scott and Willie Anderson took a break from Cinergy to mix 'n' munch spicy chicken and pasta (spicy? make it fiery); as did rockers Midnight Star, who didn't perform but did party hearty.
Oh yeah, and a guy name of Rafael McWhorter. Seems Miller had arranged a door prize — a Caribbean trip — and McWhorter won. The beauty of it? It was his birthday the next day.
So now, Miller is planning his 45th: “It's a milestone, so I'm sure going to come up with something different. I just don't know what.”
WHAT GIVES NO. 2: Peter Zolnowski (he was Peter Z when he was at WSAI) is tracking down divas. He's director of development at AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati and, it develops, in charge of getting divas to sing for his Diva Dazzle (Nov. 6, 20th Century in Oakley).
The event honors pianist Shirley Jester, recovering so well from a stroke a year ago that she's playing the Vernon Manor Fridays. Jester, Cincinnati's longest-running diva, probably won't entertain that night.
But singer women Deb Girdler, Mary Ellen Tanner, Spring Pillow and Carol Sherman-Jones will because they're, well, divas. As will drag entertainers done up like Bette Midler, Joan Crawford and Carmen Miranda.
Ditto Randy Roberts, the female impersonator from Key West who stole the show at architect Don Beck's July 17 birthday with fun cabaret stuff.
So, Mr. Z, are the divas being divaesque? Each insisting on the biggest dressing room and all that?
“Nope. It's been easy.”
Knip's Eye View appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Have an item to report? Call Jim Knippenberg at 768-8513; fax: 768-8330.
