Comedy Central recently announced a development deal with Chicago comic Hannibal Buress. But he's not the only homegrown talent you'll see on the network in the coming weeks and months. Another local stand-up, Milton "Lil Rel" Howery, is slated to appear Friday, June 7 at 11 p.m. as part of a Comedy Central showcase called "The Half Hour."

Cast last year for a remake of "In Living Color" that never got off the ground, the Chicago native has also appeared in several films (including the Chicago-shot "Barbershop 2") and an array of television specials: among them, "Russell Simmons Presents" (2010), "Martin Lawrence 1st Amendment" (2011) and "Jamie Foxx 2011 NBA All Star Comedy." He also scored a seat in 2012 at Chelsea Lately's comedic roundtable on E!

Warning: some strong language

("Yvonne", a Great Pyrenees, is adopted by the Entler family, Rachell, Eric, Madelyn, 6 and Jax, 8, of Forest Park. Homeless, unwanted and rescued dogs, cats, kittens and puppies were on display and available for adoption during the PAWS Chicago Sixteenth Annual Angel with Tails event along Michigan Avenue and Oak Street on Sunday, May 19, 2013. | Richard A. Chapman~Sun-Times)

Volunteers from PAWS CHICAGO, the city's largest no-kill animal shelter, will travel Friday to rescue approximately 75 pets from the Oklahoma City-area, site of Monday's deadly tornado.

Oklahoma City Animal Care & Control is out of space after taking in more than 150 animals left homeless by the tornado. PAWS is taking animals, some which have significant medical problems, and transporting them back to Chicago. Some of the animals should be ready to adopt at 11 a.m. Monday, May 27. Others will be in a foster home and receiving medical care until they are ready to be adopted.

For more information about PAWS CHICAGO and the adoption event, click here.

With the just-released "Star Trek Into Darkness" now playing at theaters, and continuing the saga of Captain James Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise, you can experience a bit of where it all began thanks to veteran actor William Shatner.

Shatner is in town this weekend to host special screenings of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" May 24 (screenings at 6:15 and 8:45 p.m.; appearance between 4 and 10 p.m.), and May 26 (screenings at 1:30, 4 and 6 p.m.; appearance between 1 and 7 p.m.) at Hollywood Boulevard Cinema in Woodridge; and May 25 at Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville (screenings at 11:30 a.m. and 10 p.m.; appearance between 1 and 9 p.m.)

Commenting on the newest entry in the "Star Trek" feature film dynasty, Shatner said: "The new film has story based on the old film. So it's of interest from many points of view of folks interested in 'Star Trek.' ... This new one, for example, is masterpiece of special effects and wonderful storytelling devices that we didn't have in the old show. But we didn't know that. This sophistication wasn't around. ... It's a monument to the longevity of 'Star Trek,' almost 50 years, and here we are with energetic, vibrant film that brings new magic to this old franchise."

Working on the original "Star Trek" feature films, specifically "Wrath of Khan," Shatner has only fond memories.

"The story, the actors, we all had a good time doing that," he said. "When it was done everybody was very proud of the result.... Nobody could have anticipated this new film would come around one day. ... To be part of this continuity and the phenomenon of 'Star Trek.' ... The series and movies are all over the place [television syndication and DVD sets]. I did a documentary on it. I did personal docs on the individual actors of the 'Star Trek' franchise. [Laughing] I've been peripherally useful for 'Star Trek' [franchise] over the last several years."

The 79-year-old actor is currently appearing in the television series, "Weird or What?" on the SyFy network, in which he investigates various oddities and mysteries.

"The show is about all the weird things that exist, and [we] give it and explanation," Shatner said. "I'm just gratified that I continue to work and put stuff out that I find interesting."

So what are some of the strangest stories he's come across in the series?

"Well, two guys fall out of the sky [while] window washing 44 stories up. One guy gets mashed on the pavement, the other floats to safety. Why? A boat goes down in the middle of the ocean, and they find it upright, pristine, no damage. How did it sink? ... The overall picture is we know nothing. And we look at these mysteries and wonder why and how. These little things that happen, these anomalies are so interesting to try to explain.

In an homage to Mr. Spock, perhaps, Shatner said: "The fact that science tries to explain a mystery is continuous. Trying to give some logical explanation to the strangeness around us. It's my belief that science in the next few years will have a 180-degree turn about everything... a wrenching moment of realization that everything they thought is wrong."

In the realm of the strange and odd, Shatner is also remembered for an iconic episode ("Nightmare at 20,000 Feet") of perhaps the ultimate sci-fi series, "The Twilight Zone," in which he starred as a man, just recovered from a nervous breakdown, who looks out an airplane window to see a very strange creature indeed. The actress who portrayed his wife in the episode, Christine White, recently passed away.

"I'd lost track of her after the show," Shatner said.

Shatner says he is also set to release a new book titled "You Can Hire Yourself," about people being out of work after age 55.

"People who are 55 or over are out of work longer presumably because they get more money than a kid coming out of college. But they have with them a fund of knowledge that has to be used."

So what's the worst job Shatner ever had?

"Several of my movies," he says laughing heartily.

For more info on tickets and show times for Shatner's appearances this weekend, visit atriptothemovies.com.

(Credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk)

Dame Helen Mirren, who played Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 movie "The Queen" and is currently starring as her in the West End play "The Audience," recently stayed in character for a visit with a 10-year-old boy with Downs Syndrome who is dying of cancer.

Young Oliver Burton wanted to meet the actual queen, but she wasn't available. So Mirren stepped in, inviting Burton and his family to her play and then drinking pop and sharing tea sandwiches with him after the show. The show's corgi canine stars, Coco and Roco, also made an appearance, according to the Daily Mail.

"She stayed in character for the whole thing," James Browne, Oliver's father, told the paper. "Oliver thought she was the real Queen, and well, that's good enough for us.
She was really lovely. She did the whole thing - had a butler there, was dressed in costume and did it all properly for him."

Oliver was first diagnosed with leukemia in 2003 and has twice beat the disease. The paper reported that his most recent diagnosis is grim.

As all Liberace fans must know by now, the upcoming HBO film "Behind the Candelabra" depicts the final years of Mr. Showmanship, and his affair with the much younger Scott Thorson. The film, supposedly director Steven Soderbergh's swan song, has received mostly rave reviews (check out the one by Sun-Times' Lori Rackl), with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in particular singled out for their fearless performances.

But many don't know that Lee, as his friends called him, was a child of the Midwest, born less than 75 miles away from Chicago in West Allis, Wis. Here are some more tidbits to ponder before "Behind the Candelabra" debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday:

+ He made his professional debut at age 16 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under music director Frederick Stock. Later he appeared again with the CSO in a 1940 concert at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee. In a Milwaukee Journal article published in 1993, Liberace's former teacher Florence Kelly recalled that the young pianist was terrified of Stock, a legend in the classical music world. She told him, "You're going to play like you've never played before. This is it!" Then he performed so well at his 1936 audition that Stock "let him play the entire Liszt A Major Concerto without interruption."

+ He had a ribald sense of humor. One of his favorite jokes: "What's better than roses on your piano? Tulips on your organ."

+ He made his very last public appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," broadcast on Dec. 25, 1986, just six weeks before his death of AIDS-related causes on Feb. 4, 1987.

+ He plays an undertaker in the film satire "The Loved One" (1965), directed by Tony Richardson (also a closeted homosexual), and billed in its promotional material as "the motion picture with something to offend everyone!" (DVR alert! TCM will broadcast "The Loved One" at 10:45 p.m. Friday.)

+ He was born with a stillborn twin, as was the case with Elvis Presley. Later, his mother would say of the tragedy, "Even then, he wanted too much."

"Million Dollar Quartet," the musical that conjures the unique 1956 recording session that brought together rock and roll legends Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, will break a record this Saturday, May 25 as it becomes the longest-running musical in Chicago history. With 1,949 performances over the course of its 5 years in this city, the Tony Award-winning rock 'n' roll musical has surpassed both "Wicked "and "Pumpboys and Dinettes."

In a prepared statement, producer Gigi Pritzker noted: "After five incredible years, with 500,000 tickets sold, 1,949 performances, 6,000 guitar picks, and 500 cans of hairspray, it's an absolute thrill for 'MDQ' to take its place as the longest-running musical in Chicago history. Since the very beginning, Chicago has embraced [this show], and we are grateful for the continued and enthusiastic support of our hometown audiences."

The show, which also has found success in New York, London, Japan, Las Vegas and on a national tour, has extended Chicago performances through Sept. 1, with cast members Brandon Bennett (Elvis Presley), Shaun Whitley (Carl Perkins), Lance Lipinsky (Jerry Lee Lewis), Chris Damiano (Johnny Cash), Tim Decker (Sam Phillips), Whitney Kraus Jones (Dyanne), Marc Edelstein (Jay Perkins/bass player) and Dan Leali (Fluke/drummer).

Directed by Eric Schaeffer and Floyd Mutrux, with a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, "Million Dollar Quartet"
features such rock 'n' roll, gospel, R&B and country hits as "Blue Suede Shoes," "Fever," "Sixteen Tons," "Who Do You Love?," "Great Balls of Fire," "Ring of Fire," "Whole Lotta' Shakin' Goin' On," "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," and "Hound Dog."

"Million Dollar Quartet" is at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln. For tickets ($25-$85) call (773) 935-6100 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. For more show information, visit www.milliondollarquartetlive.com.

Credit: Will Barrat/imdb.com

Joel Murray -- of the Wilmette Murrays -- first met Chris Farley when they were students at Marquette University in Milwaukee. After graduation, they performed sketch comedy and improvised together on the stages of Second City and elsewhere.

In a recent Facebook post, Murray ("Mad Men," "Shameless," "The Artist") wrote that he and other Farley pals from Marquette "are still angry at the universe that [Chris] is gone." Farley, who long struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, died of an overdose in Chicago on December 18, 1997. He was 33.

Murray posted this, too: a fairly recent remake of the first scene Murray and Farley ever improvised together. Shot early last year by some expat Chicagoans from Backyard Productions (Rob Pritts directs), it centers around a dad (Murray, as "Mr. Farley") picking up his son (Chris, played by Daryl Sabara) from jail after Chris is collared for public drunkenness. The duo frequently performed it on the road during Second City touring shows.

Murray, by the way, says he's slated to sing the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field on June 21 (even though the Cubs supposedly nixed celebrities at the mic). Later that evening, he'll emcee the 2nd Annual Hot Stove Cool Music Chicago benefit concert at Chicago's Metro.

June 21 also happens to be the day that Pixar's "Monsters University" comes out, and Murray is among several Chicago area folks (Bonnie Hunt, Sean Hayes and Julia Sweeney) with plum voice roles.

Credit: www.hannibalburess.com

He went from struggling local standup to local headliner to national headliner to "Saturday Night Live" writer to "30 Rock" writer to co-starring in the lauded "The Eric Andre Show" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Now Chicago's own Hannibal Buress -- a favorite of Louis C.K. and Chris Rock, among others -- has his own development deal at Comedy Central. Per promotional verbiage, it includes a co-starring role on "Broad City" (a popular web series that's slated to debut on Comedy Central in 2014), a pilot commitment, a one-hour stand-up special and a nationwide stand-up tour.

"This is really exciting," Buress said in a statement. "I can finally quit my day job at Quiznos. People talk down about the illuminati a lot, but this is proof that membership has its benefits."

If you want to see Buress live and in the flesh, he'll be back in town next month for a June 14 appearance with Northwestern grad, native Evanstonian and future Jimmy Fallon replacement Seth Meyers at the Chicago Theatre during the TBS Just for Laughs Chicago comedy festival.

(Credit: Chicago Park District)

You don't need to know how to build a fire, catch a fish or pitch a tent to camp in select Chicago city parks this summer.

The Chicago Park District, working with The North Face's Explore Your Parks, is offering novice family camping. For $50 for up to six people in a group, the park district provides families with tents as well as fishing equipment and lessons in fire building and cookout camping. A parent or guardian must participate.

Dates on Northerly Island are sold out but you can register here for:

Aug. 17-18, Palmisano Park, 2700 S. Halsted St.
Sept. 14-15, Gompers Park, 4222 W. Foster Ave.
Oct. 5-6, Jackson Park, Wooded Island, 6401 S. Stony Island Ave.

A registration date has not yet been announced for:
Sept. 21-22, Bull Frog Lake, Palos Park, Ill., in conjunction with the Cook County Forest Preserve

The Second City is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Playwrights Theatre Club with a free reunion event at 3 p.m. on June 23 at UP Comedy Club (230 W. North, 2nd Floor of Piper's Alley).

The event reunites Playwrights Theatre (the precursor to The Compass Players and The Second City) original members including Ed Asner, Helen Axelrood, Rolf Forsberg, George Goritz, Zohra Lampert, Sheldon Patinkin, Bernie Sahlins, and David Shepherd, along with Joyce Piven, Carol Sills and Joann Shapiro, for a panel discussion.

The Playwrights Theatre Club began in Chicago in the early 1950s by a group of young theater pioneers including founding members David Shepherd, Paul Sills and Eugene Troobnick. In two years, the company presented nearly 30 productions, with the company members, several of whom lived in the theater, making all sets and costumes. In addition to show rehearsals, company members regularly played "theater games" (now considered the basis of improvisational theater). The troupe was rechristened The Compass Players in 1955, presenting regular improvisational theater shows. Roger Bowen, Elaine May and Barbara Harris are among the original Compass Players.

For reservations, call (312) 337-3992 or reserve online at www.SecondCity.com.