Car crash wrecks this Doll’s plans

MAYBE you were wondering why Tamara Schupman, the well-known Spokane singer and actress, was scratched from the cast of “Guys and Dolls” three days before it opened at the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre.

“I was hit by a truck,” said Schupman.

Not metaphorically, either. She was driving on the South Hill on June 21 and her car was totaled by a truck.

“I was slammed hard and knocked out,” said Schupman, from her mother’s home in Spokane. “I fractured my skull.”

She didn’t have to spend the night at the hospital, but she was certainly in no condition to jump up on a table and belt out “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.” She also missed the final three performances of the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene Opera’s dinner-opera at Luigi’s, and eight performances of Allegro’s Music in Historic Homes series.

Nike Imoru filled in on short notice as General Cartwright in “Guys and Dolls” and Ann Fennessy took over in the Allegro concerts. Max Mendez covered for her in the opera performances.

Schupman has recovered sufficiently to take part in rehearsals for “Footloose,” in which she was already cast at the CdA Summer Theatre. She will also appear as scheduled in the “Mozart in Manito” outdoor concerts, July 19 and 20.

“This is an incredibly caring community,” said Schupman, who makes her home in Chicago but returned to Spokane for a series of summer gigs. “If I had to get hurt, I’m glad it was here.”

Back to their radio roots

Two familiar Spokane radio names have gone back to their roots:

Victoria Frederick: She returned last week to KKZX-FM (Classic Rock 98.9), the station where she was known as Vic at Night for 10 years.

Two years ago, Frederick went over to KZBD-FM (The Buzzard, 105.7) as program director. Now she’s been rehired as KKXZ’s program director and midday host.

Scott Shannon: He’s back as program director at KCDA-FM (Familiar New Music and Retro Hits, 103.1).

Shannon (real name Scott Rusk) helped established the station’s successful format in 2003. He recently has been heading the promotions department at Clear Channel Spokane, which owns KCDA and KKZX.

Both of the above moves were sparked by the departure of Sam Hill, former program director of both stations, who has moved on to KALC-FM (Alice 105.9) in Denver.

L.A. connection goes both ways

Last week Spotlight noted that former Spokane TV journalists Rob Hayes and Christine Clayburg are now on the L.A. airwaves.

One alert reader called to remind us that the pipeline goes both ways. She remembered watching Charles Rowe on L.A. station KTTV in the 1970s.

Years later, she moved to the Inland Northwest. There was Rowe again, a KREM-2 anchor.

Fox concerts with dates

Last week, we ran a list of the July concerts at the Fox Theater.

Only one little problem: The times were included, but not the dates. Here they are:

Friday: Spokane Folklore Society showcase, 5 to 10 p.m.

July 22: Windsong, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.

KPBX and Katherine

Spokane Public Radio’s annual “Evening Under the Stars” fund-raiser on July 21 is billed this year as a tribute to the late Katherine Gellhorn.

Because Gellhorn died in 1997, many of you did not have the pleasure of knowing this tiny Swiss dynamo, the most effective arts supporter the city has ever had. We hereby present a collection of classic Gellhorn-isms:

• “I saw Hitler in Berlin in an open car. Everybody was standing there saying, ‘Heil Hitler!’ But I didn’t. I wasn’t one of them.”

• “My husband called the symphony here the ‘sewing club,’ because there were all these old ladies sitting there. As time went on, it got better.”

• (About a minor setback during one of her fund-raising events) “I didn’t get back from the hospital until 3 a.m. and was taking down the decorations, one-handed, with a cast on.”

• (To a new volunteer) “Pleased to meet you. Now go sit down.”

• (Ordering someone out of the restroom during an Opera Buffs road trip) “You don’t have time for that now. The bus is leaving. You can do that at the Opera House.”

• (After undergoing cancer treatments) “The doctor said I should rest more, and in the daytime I rest an hour, which I never did before.”

That should give you an idea about the force of nature that was Katherine Gellhorn.

Kudos to KPBX-FM for paying tribute to her. She did, after all, found the “Evening Under the Stars” fund-raiser 15 years ago.

This year’s version takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. on July 21 at the Arbor Crest Winery. The food will be Swiss and the music will include Gellhorn’s favorites.

Call 328-5729 for tickets.

Expeditionary events

Here are two Lewis and Clark Expedition bicentennial-related events:

• “Discovering the Rivers of Lewis and Clark,” a national touring exhibit featuring art, videos, models and more, including a child-sized replica of the expedition’s keelboat. Runs Monday through Aug. 28 at River Park Square’s Atrium and Nordstrom corridor. Free.

• “York,” the one-man play starring David Casteal and written by Bryan Harnetiaux, about William Clark’s slave/manservant. It will be revived one night only, Wednesday, 6 p.m. in the Eric A. Johnston Memorial Auditorium at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. Free for museum members, $4 for the general public. Not for children under 12.