Bonus video! Did these Hollywood-types really eat spaghetti with their hands?
Did director Joe Pasternak and actor Anthony Perkins REALLY eat spaghetti with their hands? In this week's bonus video, we're tackling an extremely bizarre Hollywood mystery. In a documentary about MGM, Esther Williams (the synchronized swimming lady) tosses an off-hand comment about Pasternak putting on quite a show in the commissary; and it's oddly close to an accusation about Perkins that appeared in a variety of gossip magazines. My theory is that Pasternak was a prankster and Perkins was the victim of a hostile publicity department, but I am willing to entertain further theories!
Backup link to the video: https://youtu.be/jccRFX6tAgo
Comments (5)
Well, anything Esther Williams says I believe. I ran into her once at Jan's diner in LA in the early 2000s. She was stunning in a bright red pantsuit and boy did she mean business! Obviously swimming is a very good exercise for strength and longevity.
My only evidence for your theory about Perkins is that it sounds like the kind of thing they did all the time to other celebrities in that time period.
No publicity is bad publicity...
The photo suggests that the paesani are eating Blanco (pasta with cheese and butter) which was cheapest, you would pay more for tomato gravy and often a whole family would eat from the same dish. The attitude towards Naples by rich folks in the 20th Century was exactly as you described and Patricia Highsmith provides a glimpse in The Talented Mister Ripley. Thanks for another stunning bonus!
Oh that's fascinating! I've been meaning to read Talented Mr. Ripley for so long, isn't it funny that this is the thing that reminds me to put it on my library list.