Three things about the 1960s in America:
music
civil rights
assassinations
Pictured above: leaders - activists, you might say, or - American optimists --
Medgar Evers, field secretary for the N double-A-C-P in Mississippi.
Assassinated June 12, 1963.
President John F. Kennedy.
Assassinated November 22, 1963.
Malcolm X.
Assassinated February 21, 1965.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Assassinated April 4, 1968.
Robert F. Kennedy.
Assassinated June 6, 1968.
-30-
optimism: a poem
having a plan
and some interests and
enthusiasms
simple pleasures;
doing things as well as we can,
then - rest
When I view episodes of That Girl, I sometimes remember watching it as a pre-teen and thinking that the styles - clothes, hair, etc. - were more like early 1960s, even though the show ran from 1966 to 1971.
Maybe this was somewhat true - styles on television in the 1960s didn't always keep up with what was on the street currently - maybe partly because of advertisers' conservatism, and also because styles changed really fast then.
And maybe my perception was a little bit off because I was watching episodes that originally aired in 1966 and 1967, as re-runs, in 1970, 71, 72, and 73....
I am led to contemplate how the 1960s almost was sort of two decades rather than one.
Early '60s: The Dick Van Dyke Show; straight, knee-length skirts; hair that went down to your shoulders and then flipped up; ladies' clubs having luncheons and teas.
Late '60s: Vietnam War; Vietnam War protests; Woodstock; bell-bottom slacks; long straight hair parted in the middle; sit-ins; walk-outs...
It's been written in many contexts that the beginning of the 1960s was an era of optimism in America.
I think that's partly because adults then had lived through the Depression in the 1930s and the Second World War in the 1940s. The relief people would feel after all that hardship and horror could make you feel optimistic about the future, I think. Like - the bad stuff was over.
My parents both lived through the Depression, as children. The thing my dad said about it was, "All through the Depression, our father always had a job."
(They lived in Akron, Ohio, so Grandpa worked at Firestone.)
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In Monday's blog post, talking about Marlo Thomas and her dad being Lebanese, it made me remember an episode of The Golden Girls where they had a house guest for a few days and it turned out that she was a lesbian.
There's a scene where Dorothy says to Blanche that Rose had just got that information and is adjusting to the idea that their friend is a lesbian.
Blanche (actress Rue McClanahan) says, in her usual brisk fashion, "So what? - Isn't Danny Thomas one?"
lol
Marlo Thomas starred in the 1960s TV series That Girl and she will look familiar to fans of the 1990s hit show Friends, as she played Rachel Green's mother.
Ms. Thomas developed the idea of That Girl, and was involved with its production.
Sometimes people speaking about her would say, with a little bit of awe, "She is Lebanese."
Her father, born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, in Deerfield, Michigan, grew up in Toledo, Ohio. His parents were immigrants from Lebanon.
Going into show business, Mr. Kairouz changed his name to Danny Thomas.
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The irony at the end of "that" That Girl episode - the whole time, Ann's father has been outraged and scandalized because he thinks Donald's novel is too risque, but when the publisher reads it, he judges it to be not risque enough.
("Don't water it down! Let it sizzle!")
He wants to make it more exploitative, and Don says "no" to that.
Mr. Marie is very surprised by T.L. Harrison's comments. He is astounded to learn that the publisher's point of view is not the same as his own.
This aspect of the story reminded me of the Jane Austen novel, Emma, and also the movie Shadow Of A Doubt, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
In both of these works, the main characters think they know what's going on with other characters in the story, but there are attitudes and arrangements and situations with those other characters that the main characters don't know about.
These stories illustrate how people go about their business, in life, depending upon the information they have, or the information they have thought up in their own imaginations, which may be vastly different from reality.
(President Richard Nixon used to say, "Let me make one thing perfectly clear..."
In many situations, things are not perfectly clear, and we don't have a true picture.)
-30-
Don:
Mr. Marie, I tried to write a sensitive novel, about a young couple who are doomed because they didn't have the benefit of parents like you and Mrs. Marie.
Lew Marie:
Show me where it says that!
Ann:
Daddy, it was stated allegorically.
Lew:
Sure, some kind of trick!
Mrs. Marie:
I think Don's right.
Lew Marie:
How do you know? You haven't read it.
Mrs. Marie:
Oh, I read some of it. I got interested when you were out buying paper clips.
Lew:
And you liked it?!
Mrs. Marie:
I laughed a little, and I cried a little. What more can you ask?
------------------------------------------- When the doorbell rings, a few minutes later, Don volunteers, "I'll get it" - at the door is Mr. T.L. Harrison.
Harrison:
Good morning, young novelist! How goes the battle?
Don:
Coming right along...
Harrison:
Good...
----------------------- After he greets everybody, he turns down coffee and says, "I'm on my way to the club - I just stopped in to see this young man."
Harrison:
Mr. Hollinger. When I got home last night I read your novel.
Don:
Yes, sir?
[suspenseful music - Ann looks eager and apprehensive]
Harrison:
I - like it.
[Lew Marie looks really surprised.]
Don:
Well, thank you, thank you.
Harrison:
It's the kind of material we keep our eyes open for, around Tornado Publishing.
Donald:
Well sir, that's very exciting!
Harrison:
That's the word - exciting. The kind of book that catches your eye the minute you step into that drugstore, or hit that newsstand. Zap! City - Of - Sin!
Don:
Excuse me, Mr. Harrison, the title of the book is City Of Strangers.
T.L. Harrison:
Yes, well, you let us worry about the title - the title, like time, is money.
(pause)
I did - mark - certain - pages. With paper clips.
Lew:
I knew it.
Ann:
Didn't you like them, Mr. Harrison?
Harrison:
They need work.
Don:
I see.
Lew:
I've been talking to the boy about watering down certain of the passages.
Harrison:
Exactly! Every time you reach a scene - that really has a chance to sizzle, you water it down. Don't do it, fella! - Let it sizzle! At Tornado, we like to call a spade a spade, spell it out, don't fool around!
Don:
Sir, that wasn't my first consideration. You see, I was trying to say something!
Harrison:
Well, you try to sell something first, young novelist, you can say anything you want later! Come by my office Monday afternoon, we'll discuss the rewrites, and the cover. Something really really exciting - Michael and Rosemary Mmh [with a mischievous glance] - know what I mean?
Don [profoundly doubtful]
Yes, I think so.
Harrison:
You know what we say at Tornado? The public always judges a book by its cover.
Don:
Uh - Mr. Harrison, I'm afraid what you're asking isn't my style.
Harrison:
You think it over, young novelist, and let me know. So long, Lew...
Lew [looking befuddled] -
Good-bye.
Mr. Marie refuses to introduce Ann and Don to the publisher, T.L. Harrison, or to point out where he is, in the restaurant. Mr. Marie gestures toward the manuscript and says, "No! You want to give him that!"
Ann starts doing a bit of detective work around the dining area, searching for bowls of onion soup since her father had mentioned that's one of the items Mr. Harrison orders when he dines there.
She doesn't locate him, so she goes back and sits at the table with Donald. Her dad comes over and says, "Nice try."
Then another man walks into the shot saying to Lew Marie, "Good-night, Lew! Very good."
Lew:
Oh, thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it. See you next time.
the customer:
Excuse me, is this Ann - aren't you Lew's daughter?
Ann:
Yes, yes I am.
customer:
I thought I recognized you. My name is --
Lew:
This is my daughter, Ann. And this is her boyfriend, Don Hollinger. And this is one of my oldest and dearest customers and friends.
------------ He stops, not giving the man's name.
Ann and Donald exchange a glance.
Ann:
Mr. -
customer:
T.L. -
Ann:
Harrison!
Lew (trying to hustle him out)
OK, T.L., no blocking the aisles!
Harrison:
You have a lovely daughter, Lew.
Lew:
Yes, well, when you've seen one daughter, you've seen them all.
Ann:
Donald is a novelist.
Harrison:
Really? I'm a publisher, myself.
Don:
Yes, we know.
Ann:
And Donald's written a novel, and it's called City Of Strangers.
Harrison:
Well! I'd love to read it sometime.
Ann:
Well, you know what they say, there's no time like the present. Why don't you take it with you?
Lew:
No! Don't take it.
Harrison:
Why not?
Lew:
Oh, well, because it needs a lot of work. You - know how novels are....
Harrison:
Well, of course I do! I'll give it special attention.
Don:
Well I appreciate it, sir. Thank you very much.
-------------------------------------------- After Ann hands him the manuscript and Mr. Harrison leaves, Mr. Marie sort of gracefully accepts defeat of his efforts to keep the book from the publisher. Ann says they are going back to New York - her father says it's too late at night for that long drive, and asks them to stay over at the Marie home.
Then the waiter comes to take their order, and Mr. Marie tells him, "No check."
____________________________
The next morning Mr. and Mrs. Marie and Ann and Donald are at the breakfast table.
Lew speaks sternly to Don:
Now tell me why you didn't write a book about boats. Or about a young couple who climb Mount Rushmore and discover the true meaning of America. Or - what's the matter with a cookbook?
-30-
Ann's enthusiasm for Donald's novel, and his writing talent, is recharged now, & she says to him, "We're going back to Brewster!"
She wants to find Mr. T. L. Harrison, the publisher, and present him with Don's manuscript.
They go back up to Brewster, and learn from a phone call that Mr. Harrison is dining at Ann's father's restaurant.
So they go to the restaurant to speak to him.
Mr. Marie greets them as they enter.
Donald:
Good evening, Mr. Marie.
Lew Marie:
Good evening. Do you have a reservation?
Don:
No, I'm afraid we don't.
Mr. Marie:
I'm sorry. Without a reservation, it'll be a nine-hour wait.
Then Ann starts asking Donald questions about certain parts of the book - "When he picks up the other girl instead of seeing Rosemary - is that the time you broke our date at the last minute and you said you were sick?"
Donald:
Of course not.
------------------------- She goes on, asking him about a couple of other scenes in the book - "Is this like that other time when you..."
She is doing the same thing her father did - she is wondering if Donald is writing about his own feelings and activities when he describes attitudes and actions of the fictional character "Michael."
He answers each of her questions with a "No."
Ann:
You mean to say that none of Michael's experiences are based on any of your experiences?
Donald:
Right. [pause] Practically none.
Ann:
Practically?
Donald:
Honey, what I'm trying to explain is, that every writer subconsciously includes bits and pieces of himself in every character he writes.
Ann:
Page thirty-seven?
Donald:
No.
Ann:
Forty-five?
Donald:
No.
Ann:
Oh, Donald, not 61 through 68!
Donald:
Will you cut it out? The characters of Michael and Rosemary are absolutely, and unequivocally, not modeled after you and me.
Ann:
Donald - I can certainly see that Rosemary and I are nothing alike.
(a little uneasy) - I just wasn't too sure about you and Michael.
Donald:
Honey, listen to me. City Of Strangers is an exercise in imagination. It's a pure fiction. I dreamed up the story, and the characters, and put them down on a piece of paper because I thought the idea was important enough. That's all there is to it. Understand?
Ann (since Don has reassured her, her state of mind changes to calm, and sincere) -
I think it's a very good book, Donald. I really do.
Donald:
Thank you.
Ann:
You know, if the parts without paper clips are as good as the parts with paper clips, I think it could be a bestseller!
-30-
Donald Hollinger:
Mr. Marie, What I want to convey is -
Lew Marie:
What I want to convey is, that I wouldn't show this book to a man like T. L. Harrison with a ten-foot pole!
Ann:
Oh, Daddy, you promised!
Lew:
I didn't promise, I offered. And the offer is hereby rescinded.
-------------------------------------- Mrs. Marie, with a hopeful attitude, then tries an offer of coffee again - Mr. Marie is all ticked off about the book's contents, and Don and Ann leave and go back to New York City with the manuscript.
(No one has any coffee.)
-30-
Lew Marie (reading from the manuscript):
"After the party, he takes her home."
[looking up, and using his own words] - Is this the way a gentleman talks to a lady he's only known for three hours?
Ann Marie (curious...):
Let's see.
Lew:
Page 67. I'd like you to explain the behavior on Page 67.
Don Hollinger:
Wait a minute. That is not behavior. That's Michael's neurotic fantasy.
Ann:
Let's see.
Lew (still holding the manuscript away from her):
If he were my son, I'd wash his neurotic fantasies out with soap!
-30-
Mr. Marie:
Their relationship is indecent!
Don Hollinger:
Indecent?! Mr. Marie -
Ann:
Oh, Daddy, that's just ridiculous.
Lew Marie:
Have you read the book?
Ann:
No. But I have faith.
Ann's mother (softly and firmly):
So have I, Lew.
Lew:
Oh, you have? Oh come, all ye faithful, and listen to this.
[reads from the manuscript]
Michael is a writer in love with an actress. He is also one of modern literature's greatest swingers. Page one. Michael and Rosemary meet at a party.
[stops reading from the manuscript, looks up and says - ]
...a party that in my opinion would be too wild for a Cossack!
Ann (curious) -
Let's see...
[She goes over to look, and her dad holds the manuscript away from her]
Lew Marie:
Over my dead body!
Donald Hollinger:
Well - exactly which parts did you object to?
Lew Marie:
The beginning, the middle, and the end! Other than that, I was crazy about it!
Mrs. Marie:
How about a nice cup of coffee?
Lew Marie (speaking sternly to Donald) -
If Michael and Rosemary in City Of Strangers are anything like Donald and Ann, in the city of New York - I'll strangle you!!
Ann:
Well, you just never mentioned you knew anybody as important as T.L. Harrison!
Lew:
He lives in Brewster. Where he's been eating in my restaurant for years.
Ann:
Donald, how 'bout that? My humble father knows a prominent publisher!
Donald:
Do you really know him well, sir?
Lew:
Well? - Onion soup, mixed green salad (oil and vinegar), New York steak-medium-rare, baked potato - sour cream and chives, coffee, and custard. That well enough for you?
----------------------------------------------------
Ann asks her dad to give Donald's novel to T.L. Harrison, to read.
Don demurs, saying it's too much of an imposition, but Mr. Marie wants to help.
They give him the manuscript.
The following weekend, Don and Ann drive up to Brewster to see Ann's parents, by invitation, and to see about the novel.
Ann's mother lets them in.
Ann:
How's everything?
Mrs. Marie:
Oh, fine - fine.
Ann:
Did Daddy show Mr. Harrison Donald's novel?
Mrs. Marie:
No he didn't.
Ann:
Why?
Mrs. Marie:
Because - uh - well - Why don't you ask him yourselves?
Ann:
OK. Hi, Daddy! (going into the room where he is)
Don:
Hi, Mr. Marie.
Mrs. Marie:
Well Lew, you have to speak to them.
Lew:
You should both be arrested. You, for writing this trash, and you for letting your delinquency be contributed to!
Ann:
You didn't like it.
Mrs. Marie:
He felt it missed.
Don:
So I gather.
I'm sorry you don't care for the book, Mr. Marie.
Lew:
Your apology is not accepted. And do not call this a book. I call it trash. ...
Donald:
With all due respect, Mr. Marie, I can't believe you understood the book.
Lew:
I understood it perfectly. I marked the trashy parts with paper clips. And before I was half-way through, I had to go out and buy another box of clips!
Lew Parker as Lew Marie
Ted Bessell as Don Hollinger
in That Girl
-30-
After Ann's boyfriend Donald Hollinger tells her he is thinking of giving up getting his novel published because he's had 12 rejection letters from 12 publishers, Ann is home in her apartment when the doorbell buzzes.
It's her dad, Lew Marie, portrayed by actor Lew Parker. (Born in Brooklyn, New York, his father was a vaudeville performer.)
Lew Marie:
I had business in town, so I stopped by to deliver the blouses.
Ann:
What blouses?
Mr. Marie:
The ones your mother hand-washed for you - the ones I picked up the last time I had business in town.
Ann:
Oh, Daddy, can't you convince Mother I can do my own blouses?
Mr. Marie:
I doubt it. Besides - then I'd have no excuse to bring you anything when I had business in town.
Ann:
You don't have to bring me anything! Can't you just come see me, when you have business in town?
Mr. Marie:
Don't be silly. I have no other business in town!
------------------------------------------------------
Donald arrives, and Mr. Marie, upon learning that the novel has been rejected by several publishers, asks, "I don't suppose you've submitted it to T. L. Harrison?"
Donald:
Who's T.L. Harrison?
Mr. Marie:
Never heard of T.L. Harrison?
Donald:
No sir. Who is he?
Mr. Marie (with a glance at his daughter) - "Some writer! T. L. Harrison happens to be one of the most prominent publishers in this country. And who also happens to be one of my dearest friends."
Ann:
Daddy! You know a prominent publisher?!
Mr. Marie:
You sound shocked! As if you thought your humble father only knew - other humble fathers!
