BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: CRIME & PUNISHMENT

THE U.S. NAVY & CRIME BOSS LUCKY LUCIANO “… during World War II, (MEYER) Lansky helped set up a deal between Luciano (then in prison) and the United States navy to help guard New York’s docks, and weed out possible undercover enemies. In exchange, Luciano was released from prison and deported back to Italy —

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:FILM #17

ON A WOMAN CROSSING HER LEGS IN MOVIES “When you make a woman cross her legs in the films, maybe you don’t need to see how high she can cross them, but how low she can cross them and still be interesting.” Will H. Hayes, Censorship “Czar of the Movies” See Current Biography 1943 **

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:SHAKESPEARE #4

BRAM STOKER ,THE AUTHOR OF DRACULA, REVIEWS A PERFORMANCE OF HAMLET PERFORMED BY HIS DEAR FRIEND — THE NOTED 19th CENTURY ACTOR HENRY IRVING “…Irving returned for another season in Dublin, and Bram was impressed by the growth of his performance: Hamlet, as Mr. Irving now acts it, is the wild, fitful, irresolute, mystic melancholy

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: AMERICANA

“I don’t like to read books. They muss up my mind.” Henry Ford ** Lawyer: Do you know anything about the American Revolution? Henry Ford: I understand there was one in 1812. Lawyer: Any other time? Henry Ford: I don’t know of such thing. Lawyer: Did you ever hear of Benedict Arnold? Henry Ford: I

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: THEATER

Low moments in theatre criticism When Agatha Christie’s play SPIDER’S WEB opened at the Savoy Theatre in London (1954), one of the disgruntled critics told his readers which character in the play was the murderer! *** ON LIGHTING DESIGN “Great lighting onstage has an unplaceable emotional effect. You feel it in its swelling or ebbing

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:THE JOYS OF READING

By royal decree, all ships stopping at Alexandria had to surrender any books they were carrying; these books were copied, and the originals (sometimes the copies) were returned to their owners while the copies (sometimes the originals) were kept in the library. Alberto Manguel. A History of Reading (Viking Penguin, 1996) ** EXHIBIT AT THE

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: AMERICANA

NOAH WEBSTER GOES TO SCHOOL IN CONNECTICUT (Circa 1765) “As at other common schools, the books at Webster’s schools, the books at Webster’s school were limited to a King James Bible, a psalter, a catechism, and Thomas Dilworth’s New Guide to the English Tongue. First published in London in 1740, Dilworth’s was a beginners’ spelling

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: LOVE & SEX

“Quite a few women told me, one way or another, that they thought it was sex, not youth that’s wasted on the young.” Janet Harn EXAMINING THE THOUGHTS OF THOSE WE LOVE “When we come to examine the thoughts, the actions of a woman whom we love, we are as completely at a loss as

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:BASEBALL

GROUCHO MARX SEES JOE DIMAGGIO ‘P.S. I saw Joe DiMaggio last night at Chasen’s and he wasn’t wearing his baseball suit. This struck me as rather foolish. Suppose a ballgame broke out in the middle of the night? By the time he got into his suit the game would be over.” Groucho Marx in a

BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: AMERICANA

HENRY FORD REVEALS HIS LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY “I don’t like to read books. They muss up my mind.” Henry Ford ** Lawyer: Do you know anything about the American Revolution? Henry Ford: I understand there was one in 1812. Lawyer: Any other time? Henry Ford: I don’t know of such thing. Lawyer: