Chuck Darrow
Bettors Insider
Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Past articles by Chuck:
‘Champions of Magic’ review: Talented cast conjures a winner at Caesars Atlantic City
Once upon a time, summertime was the right time for magic in Atlantic City. The week before Independence Day historically saw the opening of season-long magic shows—often more than one--featuring such toplining wizards as the slick Mark Kalin & Jinger, Vegas stalwart Lance Burton and the Kabuki-inspired Jeff McBride. And for the past few summers, Tropicana Atlantic City has lured… → Read More
Why are Philadelphians so obsessed with the band Yes?
You want a great love affair? Forget Kanye and Kim, or Jay-Z and Beyonce. We're talking almost 50 years. We're talking deep, unbreakable love. We're talking progressive-rock titans Yes and the Delaware Valley. → Read More
Sebastian Maniscalco stand-up: Are you satisfied yet?
For the uninitiated, Maniscalco, who turns 45 next week, is a suburban-Chicago native and veteran of the standup comedy wars who appears to be on a course headed for supernovadom, if he’s not already there. → Read More
How crooner Johnny Mathis has kept his voice silky smooth for his seven decade career
Johnny Mathis performs at the Golden Nugget. - Chuck Darrow, Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News → Read More
‘Weeding Out the Stoned’ is a buzzworthy bit of (canna)business
It’s likely Philadelphia’s decriminalization of marijuana possession in 2014 has had both good and bad consequences. But there has also been at least one rib-tickling consequence. → Read More
Dennis Miller a hardcore right-winger? Not so fast, he says
Make regular appearances on Fox News, tour with disgraced hard-right commentator Bill O’Reilly and regularly lob verbal bombs at liberal pieties and conventions and those who embrace and represent them, and you’re sure to be labeled “conservative” or “right-wing.” Although he has done all of the above, comedian Dennis Miller would prefer you not hang such labels on him. → Read More
WOGL's Marilyn Russell celebrates 25 years on the air
The radio business is not for those to whom planting roots is important. It's pretty much the norm for on-air personalities to have called multiple towns and cities home. And then there's Marilyn Russell. → Read More
Netflix scores with biopic of ‘National Lampoon’ co-founder
Some Netflix productions are heralded with the kind of hair-on-fire publicity that would accompany the news that Donald Trump was actually 67 percent cream cheese (can you say “My next Guest Needs No Introduction?” → Read More
Hard Rock Atlantic City rolling toward summer opening
It’s been almost a year since the Seminole Tribe of South Florida—which owns the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino brand—announced it had purchased, with two local businessmen, the shuttered Taj Mahal with the intention of spending as much as a half-billion dollars to turn it into a Hard Rock-branded property. → Read More
Anthony Jeselnik sticks a thumb in the eye of the PC crowd
The so-called ‘brilliant’ stand-up comic mines laughs from many taboo subjects → Read More
New ‘Fanatic’ programming head looking to share the wealth
It’s not unusual for a newly hired broadcast executive to arrive in a market and proclaim that he or she will take down the existing ratings champ. At least not here in Philly. → Read More
Thanks to '64 Phils' collapse, this fan can't help his Eagles negativity
Imagine if you will, you are eight years old and there is a toy that you want. No, not a toy you want, but a toy that you absolutely must have because is at the center of your very existence. → Read More
Take a sneak peek at what’s in store for show biz in 2018
The arrival of a new year motivated me to reach out to the all-knowing, all-seeing show business prognosticator, The Not Great, But Well Above Average, Darini, who specializes in show business predictions. → Read More
After 40 years, Bowie/Crosby Christmas duet still remarkable
Two weeks ago, I used this column to vent my spleen about a topic that has had me seething for years: The appropriation of secular, winter-inspired songs for the “Christmas music” canon. This week, I’m revisiting the seasonal-song realm, but from a different angle. → Read More
Remembering ‘Shep’ as ‘A Christmas Story’ week approaches
Long before the movie, there was Jean Shepherd and his tales → Read More
‘This Is The Week That Is’: More chuckles than belly laughs
Your enjoyment of this year’s edition of 1812 Productions’ annual satirical revue, “This Is The Week That Is” may very well depend on what you are expecting going into it. → Read More
A dope idea for AC's Bader Field
More than 40 years ago, a handful of visionaries in a then-reeling Atlantic City saw legal casino gambling as a way to reverse the town’s declining fortunes. In 1976, a statewide vote gave it the ways and means to accomplish that, which it did for three decades until forces mainly beyond its control brought Atlantic City to where things stand today. → Read More
54 years later, JFK is still a star
Brace yourself, for it is coming as surely as dawn follows night. We speak, of course, of the inevitable onslaught of television programming commemorating the Nov. 22, 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. → Read More
Impressionist Frank Caliendo navigates a P.C. minefield
In these politically correct times, even a totally innocuous impersonation can open a career-threatening can of worms. → Read More
Jackie Martling shoots down Howard Stern feud rumors
You can file under “Fake News” those internet reports that Howard Stern has it in for his former sidekick, Jackie “The Jokeman” Martling. → Read More