Society Confidential: La-Van Hawkins returning to Detroit

Susan Whitall and Chuck Bennett / The Detroit News

From the beak of a sparrow

Those darn birds have so much information. Just the other day, a little birdie told us that a major Detroit player who got himself in some legal trouble and went "away" for a while will be returning to Detroit with a vengeance. No, not Kwame Kilpatrick ...La-Van Hawkins . Yep, the big guy who owned a slew of Burger Kings and Pizza Huts, and the once highly-acclaimed Sweet Georgia Brown, is on his way back to Detroit, bigger, better and more flamboyant than ever. Well, maybe not bigger -- our feathered friend said La-Van is about 125 pounds lighter than when last seen in these parts. Prison chow...Hawkins, who was serving a federal prison sentence for fraud and perjury in a Philadelphia public corruption case, apparently already has some big business lined up. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Hey, Birdie don't lie.

The cool warrior; the emotional philosopher

The new twin princes of Detroit, Leonides and Socrates Karmanos (born to Compuware honcho Peter Karmanos and wife Danialle in June) were baptized Sunday at a suburban Greek Orthodox church. Little Leonides, named for a great warrior, was as cool as a cucumber through hour-long proceedings, but twin Socrates -- named after the philosopher -- cried, well, like a baby the entire time. Even though their famous "Uncle Bobby " Ritchie (Kid Rock ) couldn't come because he was recording in L.A., the sanctuary was filled with high-profile folks, including Chris Chelios , FlorineMark , Denise Ilitch , Debbie Dingell , Hank Winchester and former Miss Michigan, Shannon Grace Clark . Afterward, the party shifted to Bacco Ristorante for a decadent Italian feast. We asked Daddy Pete if Soc was OK. "He just didn't like getting naked in front of that many people," Dad said.

You don't know Mike

Producers of the Jack Kevorkian HBO biopic "You Don't Know Jack" thought they could keep intrepid Detroit News reporter Mike Martindale off the set of the movie, which was on his beat at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac. But the wily scribe made his way into the wardrobe area where he interviewed extras. When a wardrobe assistant mistook Martindale for one of the reporter extras, he admitted he was the real thing. The wardrobe assistant regretfully gave Martindale the boot, saying, "Too bad, nice look." Yes, he rocks that reporter look. That wasn't the only mistaken identity: A passing attorney mistook actor Danny Huston for the real GeoffreyFeiger, remarking, when someone helped Huston on with his coat, "Fieger must love that." Martindale's previous celluloid appearance was in Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine," among a pack of ink-stained wretches at Kmart HQ.

Book beat

Who needs New York publishers? Kalamazoo-based writer Bonnie Jo Campbell 's collection of short stories, "American Salvage," gritty rural noir tales of meth addicts and abandoned towns, is a finalist for the prestigious National Book Award. Campbell's book is part of Wayne State University Press' "Made in Michigan" series.

swhitall@detnews.com (313) 222-2156 chuckbennett@hotmail.com