Fiction writer Dennis Lehane has been widely praised for his gritty crime novels featuring the Boston police detective partners Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. However, he "hit the big time in 2001 with Mystic River, which quickly became a bestseller,...

Bookstores are lined with the works of novelists who've never seen their creations make it to the silver screen — or who've been burned when they do. So count Dennis Lehane among the doubly fortunate few.First Clint Eastwood made a film classic out of the...

Sean Penn applauded President Hugo Chavez as the Venezuelan leader lambasted the Bush administration and demanded an end to war in Iraq.Chavez met privately with the 46-year-old actor for two hours Thursday, praising him as being "brave" for urging Americans to impeach President Bush."In the...

The Good, the Bad, and Me: In My Anecdotage, by Eli Wallach. Harcourt, 320 pages, $25.It never mattered whether the part was big or small, whether the movie was wonderful or execrable, Eli Wallach always approached acting like Albert Finney approached eating in Tom Jones:...

I once asked the late, esteemed voice teacher Beverley Johnson what distinguished a truly great singer. “An inner light,” she said. “Whether you’re talking about Piaf or Pavarotti, the great voices have a way of illuminating their soul.” On Monday, July 3, the most luminous...