Terry Gross

Actor Dennis Hopper. Some of his films include "Easy Rider," "Apocalypse Now," "Blue Velvet," "Speed," "Waterworld," "River's Edge," "Carried Away," "Hoosiers," and "Basquiat." Hopper made his feature film debut in "Rebel Without a Cause" in 1955. In addition to acting, Hopper has directed film and written screenplays. He is also a photographer and an art collector. This summer an exhibit of his photographs from the 1960s will be showing at the Schindler House In West Hollywood.

Actress/painter Mary Woronov She was part of Andy Warhol's "Factory" in the 1960s. She was discovered while still a college student and was in Warhol's film, "Chelsea Girls," about New York bohemian life. Her memoir about those years is called Swimming Underground: My Years in the Warhol Factory (Journey Editions). Woronov has a new novel called Snake (High Risk Books.) (RE-BROADCAST FROM 12/7/95)

Nadine Cohodas is the author of “Spinning Blues into Gold: the Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records” (St. Martin’s Press). It’s the story of brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, Jewish immigrants from Poland, who knew little about music, but somehow created the influential blues label, Chess Records. Muddy Waters helped them see the potential in the music and they went on to record Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, and others. Chess Records was located in Chicago.

Bodybuilders Pudgy and Les Stockton. Pudgy was an early pioneer of women’s body building, and began working out and performing at Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach in 1939, often teaming up with Les who she married in 1941. Pudgy is featured in an exhibit, “Picturing the Modern Amazon” at New York’s New Museum of Contemporary Art (to June 25th). There’s also a companion book of the same title (Rizzoli publications).

Assistant Managing Editor of The New York Times, Allan Siegal. He oversees usage and style at the Times. A revised and expanded edition of his “The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage” (Times Books) has just been published.

Publisher of the New York Times Arthur Sulzberger Jr. He’s just been named “Publisher of the Year” by Editor and Publisher Magazine. Sulzberger’s family is one of the foremost newspaper families in the world. His great-grandfather Adolph Ochs bought the paper more than a century ago. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., was appointed publisher by his father Arthur Ochs Sulzberger in 1992.

British novelist Martin Amis. He’s considered one of the leading British writers of the late-twentieth century and one of the most controversial. His books include “Night Train,” “Money: A Suicide Note,” “The Information,” and “London Fields.” He’s just written a new memoir, “Experience: a Memoir” (Talk Miramax Books). Much of it is about his father, the late writer Kingsley Amis.

Jeffrey Eugenides (“u-GEN-eh-dees”) is the author of “The Virgin Suicides” (paperback, Warner books) a gothic flavored novel about five sisters who kill themselves. The book is set in suburbia in the 1970s and is told in the voice of boys – now men – who were obsessed by them. The book was critically acclaimed when it was first published in 1993. It’s now the subject of a new movie.

Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. He's the son of the legendary jazz musician John Coltrane, and was two years old when his father passed away. In 1998 he recorded his first album as band leader, "Moving Pictures.” His new album is “From the Round Box” (RCA). (rebroadcast from 5/18/98)

Drummer Elvin Jones. His most influential work was with saxophonist John Coltrane from 1960-1966. Later he established himself as a bandleader. The new box set, “The Complete Blue Note Elvin Jones Sessions” (Mosaic) collects his work as a leader (1968-1973). (Rebroadcast of 1998 interview)