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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, August 12, 2016 2 By Kyla Brewer TV Media K nown as The Windy City, Chicago is famous for a lot of things — deep dish pizza, the L train and Oprah Winfrey to name a few. But the city is also infamous for being the setting of the rise of one of North America's most notorious organized crime syndicates: The Chicago Outfit. A new docuseries offers viewers a dramatization of the events that led to the rise and fall of one of the Mob's founding members. Michael Kotsohilis ("The Dark Side of War," 2009) stars as iconic gangster Al Capone in a new episode of "The Making of the Mob: Chicago," airing Mon- day, Aug. 15, on AMC. In addi- tion to dramatic reenact- ments, the program features archival footage and photos, as well as interviews with his- torians, authors, law enforce- ment personnel and actors fa- mous for their portrayal of gangsters. Actor Ray Liotta ("Goodfel- las," 1990) narrates the series, which is now in its second season. The first season fo- cused on the rise of the New York Mob, particularly with reference to Lucky Luciano, who was credited with revolu- tionizing the Big Apple's orga- nized crime hierarchy by form- ing alliances and creating the Five Families. Attracting around a million viewers per episode, the debut season was a respectable success for AMC, so it came as no surprise when the show was renewed. "The histories and the spec- tacular personalities inside the American mafia provides a fascinating real-life look at or- ganized crime, and allows us to expand the storytelling be- yond New York City," said AMC executive Joel Still- erman. "Al Capone is one of the most notorious crime fig- ures, and 'The Making of the Mob: Chicago' showcases the canny criminal minds and brutish no-nonsense killers that will stop at nothing for power." The eight-episode series picked up with Capone's early days in New York, and fol- lowed him on to Chicago, where he worked with his childhood mentor in the un- derworld: Johnny Torrio (Paolo Rotondo, "The Insider's Guide to Happiness"). After Prohibi- tion was established, Capone got into the bootlegging busi- ness, garnering a reputation for his ruthless practices and flamboyant lifestyle, which at- tracted the attention of Presi- dent Herbert Hoover. For a time, he was seen as a man of the people, even donating some of his ill-gotten gains to charity. However, the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre shattered that rock star gang- ster image. Capone is believed to have been responsible for the murder of seven members of the rival North Side Irish Gang in a bid for power. Season 2 of "The Making of the Mob" features appear- ances by actor Vincent Pastore ("The Sopranos") and Mi- chael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs," 1992), both famous for their portrayals of Capone-like gangsters. Jonathan Eig, a New York Times best-selling author and a renowned Ca- pone expert, also shares his thoughts, as does former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman. While the focus of the se- ries rests squarely on Ca- pone's brawny shoulders, he isn't the only gangster fea- tured in this season of the do- cuseries. Along with the afore- mentioned Rotondo as famed Italian-American mobster Tor- rio, "The Making of the Mob: Chicago" stars Jason Fitch ("Shortland Street") as en- forcer Tony Accardo, newcom- er Christopher Valente as "The Brains" Paul Ricca, and Em- mett Skilton ("The Almighty Johnsons") as Sam Giancana, known as The Wild Card. Hollywood has long tapped organized crime for stories, and some of the most memo- rable films in history have dealt with the workings of the American Mob. From "The Godfather" (1972) to "Scar- face" (1983) to even TV's "The Sopranos," North Amer- ican audiences seem to be fascinated with the Mob, which is good news for AMC. "The Making of the Mob" ap- pears to have a solid follow- ing, with about a million live viewers per episode last sea- son, and another 500,000 or so tuning in at their conve- nience. Things appear to be on track for Capone's turn in the spotlight, as the opener attracted close to 1.2 million viewers. Cable has recently been pi- oneering this type of program: a hybrid of drama and real life, mixing history, dramatic reen- actments and interviews with experts and other notables. Stephen David Entertainment, which produces "The Making of the Mob," is also known for the highly successful History Channel miniseries "The Men Who Built America." AMC re- cently wrapped "The Ameri- can West," a similar series that took a look at the lives of famous native Americans, cowboys and lawmen, as well as notorious outlaws in the Wild West. While it's next to impossi- ble to know the whole truth in such situations, programs like these consult extensively with historians and experts. The Huffington Post has cred- ited "The Making of the Mob: Chicago" with taking a more human look at Capone's rise. Based on his actions, there's little doubt the man was ruth- less, but AMC's series pres- ents a multi-faceted Capone as opposed to the one-dimen- sional killer he's often depict- ed as in other TV shows and films. A/Bulls Head Inn B/Laura Reyda 2 x 2 coverstory A thug tale 'The Making of the Mob: Chicago' chronicles Capone's rise By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Years ago, a movie was shown that I have not seen since. It had a scene with a handsome man walking out of the ocean, and I believe the actor was Monte Markham. I think it was called "Death Takes a Holiday." Is it on DVD? Where can I find a copy? A: I'm glad you included the actor's name in your question, because the film you're looking for is one of two films called "Death Takes a Holiday." They're both based on a play of the same name. Your "Death Takes a Holiday" was a made-for-TV movie that aired in 1971 on ABC. This is bad news, because ABC churned out a lot of them for its "ABC Movie of the Week" se- ries (roughly one a week, to be exact), most of which never saw video release. That includes "Death Takes a Holiday." I'm also glad you included the ocean scene in your descrip- tion, because it is significant to the plot. Markham's character, David Smith, is in the ocean rescuing a drowning woman. We eventually discover that Markham's character is in fact Death in human form. He saw the young woman struggling in the water and decided to come to Earth to learn why humans cling so hard to life — essentially, why they fear him so much. It's a solid premise that's been revisited a number of times. The play has been staged many times, including twice on Broadway in the '30s, and in recent years it was adapted as a stage musical. It also yielded yet another film adaptation in 1998, when it was remade as a starring vehicle for budding megastar Brad Pitt, under the title "Meet Joe Black." Q: I'm trying to remember the name of a creepy movie where David Hyde Pierce takes in a stranger in need. Can you help me figure it out? A: The movie you're looking for is 2010's "The Perfect Host." The creepiness plays out slowly, so I won't describe it much here, except what's revealed on the box: David Hyde Pierce's ("Frasier") character is preparing to host a dinner party when a criminal on the run approaches him, pretend- ing to be a friend of a friend, in order to be invited in and gain shelter from the police. However, the host may not be what he seems. The indie film won a number of strong reviews, despite working from an incredibly small budget (the Internet Movie Database puts it at $500,000 — to put that in perspective, it's 1/400th the budget of the year's biggest movie, "Toy Story 3"). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Losie's Gun Shop 1 x 4 320800 Attention: All new handgun permit owners, Come check out our inventory!! Receive $25 Off the purchase of your first Handgun with this Ad.

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