Reader Michele Rice takes issue with Lee Pfeiffer's recent article criticizing Julia Roberts for using foul language at the Lincoln Center tribute to Tom Hanks:
Without making any comment on the acceptance of crass language at an Lincoln
Center Event, I just want to quote the wonderful man & legendary talk show
host
Mike Douglas who said,
"The color of a woman's speech isn't what makes her a lady. It's how she lives
her life and what she stands for."Â He was talking about "a lady named Carole
Lombard".
He continues: "Everybody I've ever spoken to who knew her
agrees she was a great comedienne. But I also gathered that there were many who
would not call an actress with a working vocabulary like Carole's, a 'lady'. She
could have given a language course in Advanced Obscenity to the crew of the ship
that bore her name. The color of a woman's speech isn't what makes her a lady.
It's how she lives her life and what she stands for. How she does her job and
how she relates to her fellow workers. It's integrity! Gallantry!"
People
either accept foul language or are offended by it. That's their prerogative. But
we can't look back on the past with rose-colored glasses and dismiss everything
about today as crap. So while I definitely couldn't imagine
Princess
Grace making such foul remarks to Cary Grant, I do realize that the idea of
a homogenized Hollywood "Class" of the Golden Age is probably more image than
reality and that a potty mouth isn't necessarily an important factor in judging
someone's character.
~Michele Rice
Retro Responds: You raise a valid point, Michele and certainly state it convincingly. For the record, I'm not casting any criticism at what people do in private, nor am I a hypocrite. Cinema Retro rarely passes up an opportunity to run a provocative photo. I also count among my friends women whose ability to tell a dirty joke would make a longshoreman blush. However, my point was about the place and context in which public figures use such language. Actors are no different than anyone else- we all generally say things in private that we wouldn't say in polite company. However, the line has been blurred in recent years, not just among actors, but with virtually all celebrities. I've noticed a trend even among notable writers and columnists to prove they are hip by including an abundance of crass language in their columns. I believe that when Mike Douglas referred to Carole Lombard, he was obviously referring to her behavior among friends and colleagues - not at the Academy Awards. The dumbing down and slumming down of society extends to everyday people as well, which is why one must endure drunks and boors at baseball games, concerts and every other conceivable public event. My criticism of Julia Roberts has nothing to do with her worth as a person. I don't know her personally (much to my chagrin), and her language would be perfectly appropriate in places I frequent such as the Friar's Club where no one claims to have virgin ears. However, I still think it crosses the line to engage in such behavior at a venue like Lincoln Center. Thus, out of principle, I am publicly declaring my refusal to co-star with Julia Roberts as her leading man at any point in the future. Please, no letter-writing campaigns - my mind is made up! - Lee Pfeiffer