I know the Oscar story -- do you?

Hey, Dann! I have a trivia question for you. Prior to 1983, do you know where the Oscar statuettes were manufactured? At Dodge Trophy in Crystal Lake.

-- Anita Wirth

Dear Anita: You are right! Here is, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. The Dodge owners actually approached R.S. Owens to buy their struggling company, and they used the Oscar account as an enticement. Owens passed on the purchase.

Dodge eventually went out of business. The Academy honchos asked Dodge executives who they would recommend to pick up the Oscar contract.

In a rare gesture that I contend could only happen in Chicago, Dodge owners recommended Owens, the very company that had declined to buy them out.

Anita, you get a gold star for knowing your local Oscar history!

Dann: You crack me up. I love you, man. And what's this about a Dann Gire T-shirt?

-- Jackie Sonnenberg

Dear Jackie: It all started with two wacky guys I know through a James Bond Web site. When Paul Baack and Tom Zielinski started selling 007 memorabilia, they named one of their designs "The Dann Gire Shirt." It's not a T, but a sleeveless job with a gun-brandishing griffin on the front. It costs $17.99. You can see it at www.hmss.com. I get no cut from any sales.

By the way, if my reviews crack you up, you should see me in a sleeveless shirt.

• John Turturro's musical drama "Romance and Cigarettes" will be shown by the After Hours Film Society at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove. Admission costs $9 ($5 for members). Stick around for a discussion about the movie. Go to www.afterhoursfilmsociety.com or call (630) 534-4528.