Hollywood's Pittsburgh connection: It's Mom

By Barbara Vancheri, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Each mother got to pluck one of the roses, long-stemmed beauties in shades of salmon, hot pink and red, from the centerpiece.

But only Oakmont's Babs Widdoes was able to arrive and depart with the reason she was invited to the gathering: her son, actor turned director Jamie Widdoes. He was here to see his mom and plan, with two pals, a joint 50th birthday bash.

What was dubbed the first "Media Mothers Lunch," held at the Pitt Club in Oakland, was the brainchild of Lucy Fischer, director of the University of Pittsburgh Film Studies program, and Carl Kurlander, a visiting assistant professor who is a writer ("St. Elmo's Fire") and producer ("Saved By the Bell").

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/movies/20030510moms0510fnp5.asp