Abraham Lincoln – Ulysses. S. Grant – Mark Twain – Nikola Tesla – Albert Einstein – Charlie Chaplin – Alla Nazimova – Nancy Reagan – Rodney Dangerfield – Pee Wee Herman Continue reading →
Archive for 2011
Harry Truman & Tallulah Bankhead Bond over Bourbon…and Civil Rights, Part II
In the weeks following Truman’s defeat of Dewey in the 1948 presidential election, the actress Tallulah Bankhead was hitting a pinnacle of national fame. Already renowned for her work on stage and film, her political role only increased her visibility…. Read More ›
The Duke of Surfing Who Got the Queen Mother to Hula
Few people are frequently and fondly remembered almost fifty years after their death. Then again, few individuals so authentically embody the spirit and character of a place better than “The Father of Surfing,” Duke Kahanamoku did for Hawaii. Duke was… Read More ›
Harry Truman & Tallulah Bankhead Bond over Bourbon…and Civil Rights
One can’t find two names from politics and entertainment more seemingly dissimilar than that of President Harry S. Truman and actress Tallulah Bankhead. Yet apart from the fact that one was a marital monogamist and the other a bisexual minx,… Read More ›
Mao to Lady Gaga: Celebrity Degrees of Separation
Mao Tse-Tung – Josef Stalin – Winston Churchill – Eleanor Roosevelt – Gary Cooper – Pablo Picasso – Brigitte Bardot – Queen Elizabeth – Lady Gaga Continue reading →
How I Came Up to See Mae West One Time, Got her Floor Lamps and Something Else
I once came up to see Mae West sometime. And I got her floor lamps. And something else. Having just been through an exhausting inventory of all the things I’ve inexplicably bought over the years and August 17 being her… Read More ›
The First Lady Who Loved Dogs…and got Hell for Saving a Horse
She was married to a President unfairly but routinely considered among the worst, proving that no matter how much good a First Lady may accomplish, it can never supersede the perceived damage done by her husband. If that isn’t a challenge… Read More ›
Mae to Mao: Celebrity Degrees of Separation
It turns out that the world’s most Famous have had a virtual Facebook all their own which began about a century ago and continues on, cutting across the mortal limitations of time, moving in and out of the present to… Read More ›
The Heroic Astronaut: John Glenn is 90 Years Old Today
A half-century ago, everyone knew the name of John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth. In his silver suit and white helmet beneath his crew-cut and blue eyes, the astronaut flashed a beaming smile as he crammed… Read More ›
Betty Ford as I Remember Her: The Person and Persona
In ruminating over the times I spent with Betty Ford over the years, on the record and off, be it during interviews, casual meals, a museum tour, work on a ghostwriting project, and backstage at her appearances, I shouldn’t be… Read More ›
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