Hairy Hunch

When a Cuban Revolution hit the headlines a month ago actor Paul Fierro craftily played a hunch. Sooner or later, he reasoned, someone would make a movie about Fidel Castro. So he let his whiskers grow. It was perhaps the first instance of an actor raising a beard on spec.

He was stared at suspiciously by policemen and authentic beatniks. Women in supermarkets drew away from him. However, he rated very high with his creditors. An actor with a sincere beaver usually has just finished or is about to begin a picture.

Paul’s hunch was right. Well, partially. Edward Small is producing “The Havana Story” and Paul has been assigned a role, that of a police sergeant. For the part, however, he has been instructed to shave off the beard. They’re letting him keep the mustache, though. Continue reading →

Mishmash of Muse

When she appeared at the state employment office for her weekly dole, a lady I know reported she’d sold an article for $15.

The clerk looked at her file and frowned, “You do free-lance writing? It isn’t documented.”

The jobless lady, accustomed to being flayed for not having found a job,
thought the clerk wanted to see the check. She reached into her purse.

“No, I mean your records here,” she said. “There’s nothing about free-lance writing.”

The lady on the dole explained she didn’t think it was necessary as she wrote only in her spare time. This, she said, was the biggest sale she’d made. Continue reading →