Leave it to Lena Horne to see the similarities between haute cuisine and soul food. The well-traveled singer has made a remarkable discovery: ”Black dishes are directly comparable to the famous delicacies of Europe. Rabbit, fricasseed, for instance, was standard Sunday fare at my Uncle Frank`s home, and it did not taste appreciably different at Lapin Agile, where I had it in Paris.” In ”Lena” (Limelight), which she wrote with Richard Schickel, she continues, ”By the same token, grits taste to me almost exactly like farina in Rio or polenta in Italy, and a great French cassoulet calls to mind the taste of turkey neckbones and fatback and dump-
lings all cooked together in Macon, Ga.”
Half of the Western world–the feminine half–would swoon should they bump into Don Johnson. But has the superstud of ”Miami Vice” ever felt the same way about anyone? His answer is in the January Playboy: ”The only time in my life I can ever remember being star-struck–and I`ve met everybody at this point–was when I walked into The Candy Store in Beverly Hills one night. I was probably 20. I always went into that joint, drinking and picking up women, and Dean Martin was lounging on a couch. I walked in there and literally stopped in my tracks, like, `That`s Dean Martin.` I have no idea why it hit me like that. Pretty wacky.”
It`s the old story: The singer wants to act, the actor wants to write, the writer wants to skydive–and Bette Midler wants to be taken seriously. After two comedies, ”Down and Out in Beverly Hills” and ”Ruthless People,” the divine Miss M, whose screen debut was in ”The Rose,” has decided to go dramatic again. ”I have to pay my dues,” says Midler, ”then I can do my Lady Macbeth.” But Midler wants to hedge her bets: ”Actually, we`re going to call her `Lady MacBecky.` ”
REPLAYS
”I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive.” Henry Miller
”We can never have enough of that which we really do not want.” Eric Hoffer
”The world at large does not judge us by who we are and what we know; it judges us by what we have.” Joyce Brothers
