
 |
|
May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
|
| |
Jewish World Review
March 4, 2011
/ 28 Adar I, 5771
When Jane Russell came to lunch
By
Wesley Pruden
| 
|
|
|
| |
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Jane Russell, who died this week at 89, was one of the last grown-ups in Hollywood, from a time when celebrating love of country was not a felony and a conservative Republican was not an endangered California species.
She was one of the last iconic movie stars, a playful actress in movies for adults before "adult" became a five-letter word for "pornographic." She had an incisive interest in politics and an instinct for the authentic, unusual then and now for the Hollywood glitterati, as I learned one day in the previous decade when she was in town to speak to the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual talkfest about life in the movies, and she called to invite me to lunch. I invited her to lunch at The Washington Times instead. She wanted me to dish about the thrilling John Kerry and the exciting Nancy Pelosi, to offer insights into foreign policy and perceptions of our native pols. I wanted her to dish about Jane and Marilyn, who lit up the silver screen together in the movie musical "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
Jane was long gone from the sound stages and Hollywood high life. She arrived dressed in a matronly black dress with a lacy white collar up to her chin, with no hint of the famous decolletage that turned Hollywood on its ear and set off an angry debate, spiced by the wisecracks of a thousand radio comedians, over how far the movies could go. Was there any line left for Hollywood to cross? How quaintly innocent it all seems 50 years on, with vulgarity reigning unchallenged and all the "lines" the movies wouldn't dare cross long since painted out. Now there's a Baptist preacher who plays rock guitar in Jerry Falwell's old pulpit and dreams of playing top banana at the White House.
The contretemps over Jane Russell in Howard Hughes' movie "The Outlaw," an imaginative tale about Billy the Kid, is difficult to comprehend now. She was filmed tucking herself into bed, fully clothed, to relieve the chill of the gravely wounded Billy. The publicity chills of Jane perched atop bales of hay in Daisy Mae's blouse, cut low almost to the equator as if the dressmaker had run out of calico, became a pin-up for millions of homesick GIs in North Africa and the South Pacific to remind them of, they should be so lucky, the girl back home. Jane Russell circa 1943 was to boobs what Betty Grable was to gams ironic because the Russell gams were equally spectacular. Bob Hope once introduced her as "the two and only Jane Russell," and on another occasion defined high culture as "the ability to describe Jane Russell without using your hands." Teenage men of all ages were further titillated by the story that Howard Hughes had invented a cantilevered bra to enhance the Russell assets. "He designed it," she told me over the lunch of breast of chicken, "but I never wore it and he never noticed. He was better at designing airplanes."
Nevertheless, Miss Russell, a shrewd businesswoman, became a television pitchwoman for a brassiere "for us full-figured gals" and her "living bra" was the biggest seller for Playtex until she was well into her 80s. By this time she had returned to music, having once been a torch singer. A devout born-again Christian in all the years she lived and worked in the belly of the beast, she once organized a Gospel quartet with three other women she met at a church social, later joined by actress Rhonda Fleming, and their song, "Do Lord" (" . . . do Lord, oh do Lord, O do remember me . . .") reached the top of the Billboard charts and sold 2 million records.
Midway through our lunch, Jane frowned. "This is a very enlightening lunch," she said, "but you're not like your column. Your column is really funny, but in person you aren't very funny."
"Well, when you accepted my invitation to lunch I gave my writers the day off."
"That's a little better," she said, still not smiling.
"Look," I said, "I grew up in Little Rock, and after watching you and Marilyn sing about being 'two little girls from Little Rock, from the wrong side of the tracks,' I hurried back home and drove across every railroad track I could remember. I couldn't find anyone who looked remotely like you or Marilyn."
She replaced the frown with the dazzling smile I remembered from nights dreaming in the dark at the Arkansas Theater on Louisiana Street. "Well," she said, "now that's really funny."
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
Wesley Pruden Archives
© 2007 Wesley Pruden
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
A. Barton Hinkle
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|