Here he is

Actor Steve Guttenberg stays plenty busy these days, but his career and projects don't receive nearly as much media attention as his breakout decade during the 1980s.

In fact, it's fun that Macy's is flying Guttenberg in to the Windy City this weekend, where he will walk the red carpet tonight at the 10th annual Macy's Glamorama, benefiting the Art Institute of Chicago.

The 2008 Glamorama theme is Pop Candy Arcade, celebrating everything '80s, which will be the overwhelming influence on the fall fashions that will be showcased on the runway tonight at the Chicago Theatre.

Also walking the red carpet this year are Cyndi Lauper, MC Hammer and Sanaa Lathan, with Lawrence Zarian and Tanika Ray serving as the red carpet hosts.

Guttenberg, who turns 50 on Sunday, has had a rollercoaster career, which began at the same time as that of Tom Hanks. If fact, he has been referred to in the media as "the poor man's Tom Hanks."

Guttenberg, who is two years younger than Hanks, actually began his Hollywood career as a much brighter and more promising star than Hanks.

While Hanks was still labeled as a television star, with guest appearances on "Happy Days" and "Love Boat" before landing his own shared sitcom "Bossom Buddies" with Peter Scolari (both in drag), Guttenberg was already receiving critical praise for his big-screen roles in "Diner" (1982) and "Cocoon" (1985) and "The Boys from Brazil" (1977), the latter costarring Sir Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck. In fact, in 1983, Guttenberg was a presenter at the 55th annual Academy Awards.

And then, he decided to pass on some lead roles, like the plum part in "Big," which then was given to Hanks, and turned down the role of Dr. Peter Venkman in "Ghost Busters" (1984), which went to Bill Murray, in favor of playing the lead character Carey Mahoney in the four installments of the silly "Police Academy" movies, which began in 1984.

Tickets for Glamorama and the post party at historic Macy's on State Street are still available by calling Ticketmaster at (312) 902-1500, visiting ticketmaster.com or contacting the Chicago Theatre box office. Tickets cost from $50 to $1,000.

You are correct

I've received so many calls and e-mails from readers about my Tuesday column, hinting that Angelina Jolie could be showing her claws as The Catwoman in the next big-screen Batman movie, that I decided I needed to print an addition to that item.

I mentioned that both actresses Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar played the villainess in the earlier 1960s television and movie franchise, but neglected to say that Eartha Kitt also donned the black sequined ears and cat-eye mask for a couple episodes later in the series run.

As for the more recent Batman big-screen franchise, both actresses Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry have taken turns playing "the cat's meow."

Here are just a few of the reader responses reminding me of Eartha's omission and running commentary on the latest Batman flick featuring the late Heath Ledger's final performance:

* "Hello! In your column today, you left out the BEST catwoman - Eartha Kitt! Her Catwoman was far superior to the other two. Her only problem was that she was 'too sexy' for that time, so the other two were brought in to ratchet that aspect of the character down a few notches." -- Kevin Clark

* "You mention Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar taking turns playing The Catwoman, but you forget to mention Earth Kitt, who was by far the best." - - Don Markus

* Dear Phil, I saw 'The Dark Knight' over the weekend. I guess that there must be something wrong with me, because I think that 'Batman Begins' was better. I think that the story to 'Batman Begins' was way better. There was just too much going on at one time for me to enjoy it. It would have been nice to have Cillian Murphy cast as The Joker instead of him playing The Scarecrow, because he has a natural Joker face. I am not sure if I am the only one that noticed that too. About Heath Ledger getting an Oscar? Not sure about that. I haven't seen many movies this year, but there must have been more dramatic roles out there. Just my opinion. Truly, Fred Sage

You can read the rest of the comments and join in the discussion by visiting the online version of this column at http://www.nwi.com/articles/2008/08/21/columnists/offbeat/doc46f681084c269f9a862574a90072a029.txt.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.

celebBirthdays

Author Ray Bradbury is 88. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf is 74. Newsman Morton Dean is 73. Actress Valerie Harper is 68. Correspondent Steve Kroft ("60 Minutes") is 63. Actress Cindy Williams ("Laverne and Shirley") is 61. Guitarist David Marks (The Beach Boys) is 60. Country singer Holly Dunn is 51. Guitarist Vernon Reid (Living Colour) is 50. Country singer Collin Raye and actress Regina Taylor ("The Unit," "I'll Fly Away") are 48. Singer Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears and drummer Debbi Peterson of The Bangles are 47. Guitarist Gary Lee Conner of Screaming Trees is 46. Singer Tori Amos and country singer Mila Mason and keyboardist James DeBarge of DeBarge are 45. Rapper GZA (Wu-Tang Clan) is 42. Comedian Ant ("Celebrity Fitness Club") is 41. Guitarist Paul Doucette of Matchbox Twenty is 36. Rapper Beenie Man and singer Howie

Dorough of the Backstreet Boys are 35. Actress Jenna Leigh Green ("Sabrina the Teenage Witch") is 34. Guitarist Jeff Stinco of Simple Plan is 30.