Gabby Douglas will be at Barnes & Noble in Old Orchard Mall from 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. on May 2. Douglas will be promoting and signing her new book, “Raising the Bar,” which gives an inside view into her life as an average teenage girl as well as her experiences in the spotlight, according to a press release issued on Thursday. Line tickets will be distributed to customers presenting a copy of Douglas’ new book with proof of purchase from Barnes & Noble starting at 9 a.m. on May 2. Douglas won the gold in gymanstics during the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the first American to win gold in …

Andy Cohen is  coming to Skokie, according to his Twitter account. Particularly, the Barnes and Noble at Westfield Old Orchard Mall. The "Real Housewives" guru will be in Skokie to talk about his new book, "Most Talkative: Stories From the Front Lines of Pop Culture," at Barnes and Nobles in Westfield Old Orchard Mall on April 10 at 7 p.m. Cohen is a Bravo Network executive and also host of "Watch What Happens Live." See other 'Stars in Skokie' -- Skokie Patch on Facebook

NBC's new TV series "Chicago Fire" was filming at Haben Funeral Home in downtown Skokie on Thursday. The above photos are from Skokie resident Greg Singer.  Haben Funeral Home also submitted several of the pictures.  If you snagged some pictures of yesterday's shooting email me at georges@patch.com! Read our previous story here.  -- Skokie Patch on Facebook 

Editor's note: Content and video may be inappropriate for children. Call 24-year-old Esther Povitsky and you may be greeted with a sarcastic voicemail. “Hi, you’ve reached Esther. If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 911.” The Niles North High School graduate has done a little bit of everything since leaving her Skokie hometown. She’s made an appearance on Fox’s hit TV show, New Girl and performed standup on Jimmy Kimmel Live! More recently, however, MTV purchased one of her pilots, Little Esther.  The Skokie native is also well known for her standup routines and viral videos, …

The retired athlete coming out to greet his fans now that some time has passed from his last days on the field. It is a ritual played out seemingly daily in sports crazed America, but it still seems strange that Kerry Wood is that athlete. Less than two weeks after saying goodbye at Wrigley Field, Wood, about to turn 35, was in Skokie Tuesday night signing his children’s book, All You Can Be: Learning & Growing Through Sports, which is intended to be an inspirational tome for children and teenagers. Earlier: Ricketts Shares Vision of Cubs’ World Series “This is a positive story about ups and …

Jennifer Hudson stopped by Barnes & Noble at Westfield Old Orchard Mall on Tuesday night. And judging by the crowd's reaction, the Chicago native looked fabulous. Hudson, who lost 80 pounds through Weight Watchers, was in Skokie to promote her new book, I Got This: How I Changed my Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down. The biography was released last week by Penguin Group. The Academy Award-winning actress writes about her rise with American Idol to her standout performance in Dream Girls. Hudson also touches on the inspirational motivation her son David Jr. gave her to live a more …

More than a 500 Chad Michael Murray fans gathered at Barnes & Noble in Old Orchard Mall on Wednesday. "The line was insane," said an enthusiastic 17-year-old Amanda  Taylor. "There was a slew of teenage girls and like two boys ... There were girls shouting out, 'I love you Chad, I'm leaving!' and he actually said 'bye' to them." Taylor was one of the many people who came to see Murray promote his new book, Everlast. The One Tree Hill star has told the media in the past that his "graphic novel" took more than six years to write. Originally a fashion model, Murray shot to TV stardom after …

Former United States President Bill Clinton Friday urged Occupy Wall Street protestors to bring together local politicians and business owners to come up with economic initiatives. Clinton discussed OWS during a brief, morning appearance at the Barnes and Noble in Old Orchard while promoting his latest book Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy. "I wrote this book to try and respond to what Occupy Wall Street and these other Occupy Movements are doing," said Clinton. "I think what they need to do now is...we know what they're against but now they need to be for …

Jane Lynch, who plays Sue Sylvester of FOX's "Glee," signed copies of her new memoir Saturday afternoon at the Barnes and Nobles in Skokie. The book details aspects from Lynch's life and career, including her struggles with her sexuality, alcoholism and the string of happy accidents that led her to where she is today. The visit was a homecoming for Lynch, who was born and raised in Dolton on Chicago's South Side. Lynch spent the first two decades of her career in Chicago theaters. The actress even had her mother, Elaine, and several of her friends attend the event. Stars in Skokie: Rick …

How far are you willing to go to meet your TV idols? If you're Edwin Pearson from Omaha, Nebraska, around 473 miles; close to 200 miles if you're Indianapolis native Adrienne Eaglin. Pearson and Eaglin, were just two of the few hundred zealous Glee fans  dubbed as "gleeks," who converged in Skokie on Friday afternoon, to catch a glimpse of Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera, two of the many stars of the Fox hit show.  Nobody could beat Valerie Pistek and Mariah Tonway, however, in making it first in line. The churchmates from Midlothian and Hickory Hills camped out next to the AT&T store in Skokie…

Hundreds of people of all ages packed into Skokie’s Barnes & Noble bookstore for the chance to see Betty White on May 7.  The star of The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland signed copies of her newest book If You Ask Me: (And of Course You Won’t) for customers who had bought it at the store. Keisha Smith, community relations manager for the Old Orchard Center store, said that the first person in line to see White arrived at 4 a.m. This was the actress's only signing in the Midwest and customers drove from all over for the event. Customers received wristbands when the store opened at 9 a.m., …

Syndicated movie critic Roger Ebert reached for the black pen and small notepad that he was using as his means of communication. "Good movies make us better people. Bad movies do not," he wrote. That is the one thing that Ebert wants readers to take away from his new book, The Great Movies III. The 68-year-old journalist remains an admired figure among his fans who fondly remember him teaming up with Gene Siskel for 23 years to provide film critiques via television programs. Ebert, who lost his lower jaw and his ability to speak to thyroid cancer in 2006, met about 40 fans at a book signing …

When the production crew of the new medical thriller Contagion offered Sandra Perry $100 to use her hose, she politely declined and asked for Laurence Fishburne's autograph instead. The movie, which is shooting scenes inside the Illinois Science + Technology Park today, stationed Fishburne's trailer about 20 feet from Perry's backyard in the 8100 block of Keating Avenue. The crew needed access to water and Perry just happened to be home. "Man, I'd take an autograph and a handshake instead of a $100 any day," she said. "I fell in love with [Fishburne] when I saw him as a great father figure in…

It's easy to see why Earl Bennett often gets overlooked in the discussion of Jay Cutler's passing targets. He wasn't a highly touted first-round draft pick from a major college program. He doesn't run the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. And no, he hasn't set the NFL record for touchdowns on kickoff and punt returns. Yet here he is, perhaps Cutler's most trusted option in only his third year out of college. Bennett and Cutler were teammates at Vanderbilt University, with both making All-American teams in 2005--the only season they played together. That season Cutler and Bennett combined for 79 …

For one day, Billy Elliot traded his ballet shoes for fashionable polo shirt, jeans and jacket as he strutted the catwalk at a Saturday fashion event in Skokie. Myles Erlick, the "newest Billy" in the Tony Award-winning Billy Elliot the Musical, joined the show's cast members to launch back-to-school fashion at Bloomingdale's in Westfield Old Orchard Mall. The mid-morning program in the department store's children's section, also allowed Broadway in Chicago producers to promote the show in the North Shore area. "It's a great way for us to show off our young cast of Billy Elliot," said Ryan …

Perfect weather was just one of the winning ingredients for Rick Bayless' "fiesta." The event, which featured more than 300 guests, was held underneath a large tent at the parking lot of Westfield Old Orchard Mall on Aug. 28 and was just west of his restaurant, Frontera Fresco, inside Macy's. Bayless, who lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter, was promoting his new book, Fiesta at Rick's, which advises readers how to prepare everything from cocktails such as sizzling mojitos to meals such as brava steak with lazy salsa. Skokie Patch got a chance to catch up with Bayless and ask him …