After Hours with Rick Kogan

08/28/2026

When Jim Ruddle left the Chicago TV news biz in 1986 he said, “I’m not trying to find work here, there or anywhere.” He had decided instead to live full time on his boat and sail calmly into his final decades.

Jim Ruddle may have vanished from local TV screens 40 years ago, leaving town to sail the world, but news of his death brought forth a stream of memories from former colleagues and ratings rivals.

08/26/2026

Bob Danon, sitting in his Evanston gallery and frame shop, has always had big ideas and many interests. Read about what he has done and what he's up to in this free link to a story of his life so far, in print Sunday.

He has always had big ideas and interests, from the time I first met him, more than 50 years ago.

08/25/2026

Lenny Bruce was her hero, she spent formative time at The Second City here, paved the road for female comics and was an original. Taking the measure of Joan Rivers.

Here’s a joke: “I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die, they will donate my body to Tupperware.” Joan Rivers continues to be remembered as a master of stand-up comedy.

08/19/2026

Gift link to story coming in print Sunday tells of a colorful evocative new book bringing the creative magic of the amazing Edgar Miller back to life and shows us how he brightened the city with his one of a kind genius.

“A Total Work of Art: The Story of Edgar Miller,” a new book by Hannah Dykstra and Jeff Kruse, tells the story of the designer whose genius can still be seen in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood.

08/18/2026

A gift link to story (in paper today) about the long ago August day when Alex Haley's "Roots" started to fly from bookstore shelves and change the way people (many but surely not all) thought about race.

There was a time when a book could shake the world and on Aug. 17, 1976, a book titled “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” by Alex Haley arrived on bookstore shelves.

08/12/2026

Online (gift link) now and in print Sunday, a story about how the Newberry Library has become home to the amazing, influential, wild and wonderful history of Marc Smith and his Poetry Slam, and poetry all over.

The Chicago founder of poetry slams is donating his personal mementos to the Newberry Library. The Poetry Slam’s history is still being written, with the next event this Sunday at the Green Mill.

08/11/2026

Remembering Rodney Dangerfield: "“A girl phoned me the other day and said, ‘Come on over. There’s nobody home.’ I went over. Nobody was home.” Let's give him the respect he deserves all these years after his death.

08/05/2026

When Ann Landers came to the Tribune, Mike Royko happily said, "Now, all those wackos who’ve been writing to me with their problems can write to her.” Now, with Dear Abby retiring, where are those wackos to go?

A look at the history of the “Ann Landers” and “Dear Abby,” two popular advice columns run by twin sisters.