Windy City Crowd Blew In to Party

The Scene: The fourth annual Windy City West party Monday at Ed Debevic’s for expatriate Chicagoans connected to the entertainment industry. One guest mentioned that if Al Capone were alive today, he’d probably be an entertainment agent in L.A.

Who Was There: More than 600 guests, including NBC Entertainment Group Chairman Brandon Tartikoff, Dick Butkus, Marsha Warfield, Arte Johnson, Fred Silverman, Betty Thomas, Tom Dreesen, Steve Edwards, Shelley Berman, Mary Frann, Dennis Farina and Carl Ballantine. Being born in Chicago wasn’t an absolute requirement, but some connection--more than just a lay-over at O’Hare--was needed. (Tartikoff, for example, worked at WLS television in Chicago for four years.)

Honored: The Windy City West Award went to William and Lee Bell, who are “gods in the soap opera world,” according to one organizer. They write and produce “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless,” both on CBS. The award was presented by Tartikoff--winner of the first Windy City West Award--who said: “Here I am giving an award to two people who are kicking my butt in daytime programming. Next thing you know, I’ll be giving awards to Bart Simpson.”

Money Matters: Tickets were $25 and had to be purchased in advance. “Typical Chicago,” said the doorman. “People were trying to bribe me to get in.”

Chow: The essence of the party was a mega-cholesterol menu flown in from Chicago: Mr. Beef sandwiches, Eli’s cheese cake, Chicago Fish House smelts, Don Carson’s barbecue ribs and Fluky’s hot dogs. “You can’t get a real hot dog fix any place but Chicago,” said Shelley Berman. “Any place else, they’re fake. It’s like being on hot dog methadone.”

Quoted: “Hey, Chicago’s a cold place, you need food like this,” said Marsha Warfield. “You’d have a hard time surviving without some fat. You need the padding. There’s only so much a winter coat can do.”

Pastimes: Revitalizing intense anguish over the Cubs’ loss of a playoff berth to the Mets in 1969. The South reconciled itself to losing the Civil War in less time than it will take Chicago to accept being defeated by New York.

Cub Fan Certification Question: Who was the peanut vendor in right field? Answer: Irving. “He was the guy with only one tooth,” explained one fan.

Key to Being a Chicagoan: “Chicago people are hangout people,” said comedian Tom Dreesen. “You gotta be able to hang out, and the key to hanging out is being able to tell funny stories. And be able to listen to the same stories 500 times. And still laugh.”