Kirk and Michael Douglas kick off AARP convention in Boston

AARP kicked off its Life@50+ lifestyle event and expo in Boston with a humorous and touching appearance by actors Kirk Douglas, 90, and his son, Michael, 62. The stars talked about their relationship, their lives and their work, both before and after Kirk Douglas had a stroke several years ago.About half of the 26,000 AARP members and their families who have registered for the event are from Massachusetts and 40 percent are younger than 60.South Shore residents Thursday participated in a forum on caregiving, and a Quincy woman is performing in the Silver Stars evening cabaret Friday.AARP auditioned more than 70 acts by Massachusetts members who are non-professional entertainers and selected 19 of the acts to perform as Silver Stars.Anita Milano, 71, of Quincy was chosen to perform Friday night with We Three, a singing trio consisting of Milano, Mary LePage of Weston and and Marilyn Bozzuto of North Reading.They grew up in Somerville and have been singing together for 56 years. ''We are thrilled to be chosen, and we will do a medley of 1940s tunes,'' Milano said.The public is welcome but people must be AARP members to attend any of more than 70 sessions.After a Friday morning workout with LL Cool J, fitness guru Richard Simmons will be on hand Saturday. Tips on how to look your best will come from makeup artist Bobbi Brown. Suggestions on style - and mother-daughter relationships - will come from Joan and Melissa Rivers. Comedian Bob Newhart will praise ''life and laughter.'' Former Celtics MVP Bill Russell will plug community service.Several sessions will focus on what AARP calls the two most pressing domestic issues for people 50 and older: health care and financial security.Lily Tomlin and Earth, Wind & Fire are featured on Friday night, and Rod Stewart on Saturday night.Tony Award winner Brian Dennehy launched the ''Movies for Grownups'' film festival, screening five new Hollywood feature films not yet released: Russell Crowe's ''3:10 to Yuma,'' ''The Jane Austen Book Club,'' ''In the Shadow of the Moon,'' Michael Douglas' ''King of California'' and ''Feast of Love'' with Morgan Freeman.On Thursday, AARP and WGBH-TV will tape a town hall meeting at which caregivers, their parents and caregiver professionals will discuss challenges and solutions. The panel will include personal finance columnist Jane Bryant Quinn and ''Passages'' author Gail Sheehy. The program will be aired next year.Patriot Ledger columnist, motivational speaker and humorist Loretta LaRoche, author of a new book, ''Kick up Your Heels ... Before You're Too Short to Wear Them,'' is making several appearances Friday and saturday in her own booth in the exhibit hall.Other highlights:— A discussion of trends in boomer spending and marketing.— An interview by Maya Angelou of Whoopi Goldberg.— How the cosmetics industry is targeting the 50-plus market.— AARP University, a series of workshops on consumer issues such as how to avoid travel scams, how to write a first novel and what's new at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab.— Interactive games will feature the latest AARP research on safe driving and other issues.Admission to the expo is $15 for members and $27.50 for nonmembers. People can register at the door. Go to aarp.org/events for more information.AARP has 850,000 members in Massachusetts and more than 38 million members nationwide.

Channel: Entertainment
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: patriotledger

Length: 04:41
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