Terry Gross

Chubby Checker got the credit for "The Twist," but the real credit goes to Hank Ballard who wrote the song and recorded it first (with the Midnighters') in 1958. Balalrd was a notorious figure in the early days of rhythm and blues. His song "Work with me Annie," was considered too lewd for many stations to play. Anyway, Ballard gets the credit for "The Twist," in a new documentary, "Twist" by film maker Ron Mann. Terry talks with both Hank Ballard and Ron Mann.

First-time film-maker Tiana (the Americanization of the name Thi Thanh Nga) has made a personal documentary tracing her 1988 journey back to Vietnam, where she was born: "From Hollywood to Hanoi." Her father was the head of press relations for the South Vietnamese government, and she enjoyed a privileged childhood. But her father moved the family to the United States just before the fall of Saigon. Tiana was raised in California from the age of three and became an actress in low-budget exploitation films.

Editor of the editorial page at the Des Moines Register, Dennis Ryerson. Ryerson and the staff are putting out the paper during the floods, without running water or electricity; they work in daylight with pencils and typewriters. Ryerson was in the unique position to report on the near fistfight between the Des Moines mayor and its city council over the right time to turn on the city's water supply.

Forty year Hollywood veteran, and director of almost fifty films, Richard Fleischer. He's the son of the legendary cartoonist, Max Fleischer, who created Betty Boop. Richard Fleischer's films include "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Fantastic Voyage", "Doctor Doolittle" and "Conan The Destroyer".

Regional Director of four women's clinics in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Omaha, Nebraska, Diane Strauss. Three of her clinics were the target of Operation Rescue's protests last week. Before that, Strauss has been harassed at home by the group. In 1987, one of STRAUSS's clinics was the first clinic to be targeted by Operation Rescue outside of Binghamton, New York where the group is based.

Founder of the anti-abortion group, "Operation Rescue," Randall Terry. Last week his group tried to stop abortions by blocking access to clinics in seven cities across the United States, including Philadelphia. TERRY also has a new book, "Why does a nice guy like me keep getting thrown in jail?" (Huntington House Pub., Lafayette, LA; Resistance Press, Windsor, N.Y.)

Poet, writer, and teacher Nancy Mairs. She's a Catholic feminist, who started out Protestant, and who late in life became a feminist. She calls herself, "the connoisseur of catastrophe." She's known for writing honestly about her struggles with multiple sclerosis, depression, and the life-threatening illness of her husband, also about being a woman, a mother, and a wife. Her newest book of personal essays is "Ordinary Time," (Beacon). One reviewer calls it "a small miracle of honesty mediated by dignity and humor."

Producer Jeff Apple and writer Jeff Maguire. Their latest project is the new film, "In the Line of Fire," starring Clint Eastwood as a burnt-out Secret Service agent, haunted by the assassination of President Kennedy. Apple has produced hundreds of TV commercials as well as documentaries and promotional films. He came up with the idea for the film, and approached Maguire to write the film script.

Chris Rock. Besides his work on "Saturday Night Live," Rock played the junkie in the movie "New Jack City" and recently co-wrote and starred in the rap parody film "CB4". (Rebroadcast from 12/12/91).

Comic Actor Martin Short. Short was with the Second City troupe for three years, where he created such characters as the infamous Ed Grimley, who lived on in the Saturday morning children's show, "The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley." Short brought that character and others to "Saturday Night Live." Since then, he's starred in feature films including "Three Amigos!" and "Innerspace." (Rebroadcast from 1/30/89).