David Brown, half of the Zanuck-Brown film-production team (”Jaws,”
”Sting,” ”Cocoon”) and husband of Cosmopolitan`s editor, Helen Gurley Brown, has had quite a full life. Now in his early 70s, he sets down his thoughts on aging in ”Brown`s Guide to Growing Gray” (Delacorte).
Q-So many older men need a younger woman to boost their egos. How have you managed to avoid that trap?
A-By testing younger women during my relatively brief period as a bachelor 30 years ago before I married Helen. They weren`t interesting to me. I wanted someone who had the same frame of reference I had, who knew the same songs and the same movie stars.
Q-Is your view of aging closer to ”One should age gracefully” or to
”Do not go gentle into that good night”?
A-”Do not go gentle into that good night.” I think you should age disgracefully. I`m not in favor of false attempts at cosmetic alterations, but I think people should preserve their vigor by attempting new things, undertaking new adventures. It keeps you successful and sexy until you die.
Q-What`s the best part of aging?
A-The experiences you`ve accumulated. Things don`t throw you because you`ve already lived through so much. You don`t panic the way you do in youth, because you know you can handle things. You`re not intimidated by anyone;
there`s not much they can do to you that hasn`t already been done. After years of trying to please other people, it`s refreshing to please yourself for a change.
Q-What`s the worst part?
A-The occasional aches and pains, the infirmities that come with aging. But I accept these just as I accepted childhood diseases-measles, chicken pox, scarlet fever, growing pains, broken bones. There is also the very gradual deterioration of some of the senses.
Q-What advice do you have about getting older?
A-Have courage and take superb care of your body. You`re going to have to pay for everything you`ve done to abuse it in your youth. My other advice is to prepare for this part of your life. Don`t wait until you`re forced to retire to think about it. Anticipate it. Look around for a new career, a new business. Given the current statistics, we`re all going to live a long time, and we have to be prepared to support ourselves and others.
Q-What changes do you envision in society now that people over 50 have become the fastest-growing segment of the population?
Q-Movies that you can sit through without throwing up. Music that you can listen to without becoming deafened. Romance as we used to know it-elegant, slower and more intense. A graying society will be a much more civilized one.
