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Ooh, la la. The man behind matching nail and lip colors.
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Q: I know that truth is stranger
than fiction, but this has to be the
most bizarre thing I have ever heard.
I recently read somewhere that
British singer David Bowie has a Jew-
ish connection. I say, "No way!" but
naturally I turn to the brilliant Tell
Me Why to confirm my suspicions.
A: There is a connection, all
right, but it has to do with
Bowie's half-brother, not the
singer himself.
David Robert Jones (aka
David Bowie) was born in 1947,
the son of Margaret Mary
Burns and Haywood Stenton
Jones. Margaret, or Peggy as
she was known, had quite a few
children by quite a few sweet-
hearts. Her first love interest,
to whom she was never wed,
was Wolf Rosemberg. They had
one son, Terence Guy Adair
Burns (1937-1985).
Peggy met Wolf, or "Jack" as
he preferred to be called (didn't
anyone in this family use his
given name?) at a hotel. Jack
was "the son of a prosperous
Paris fir dealer, who had come
to England in a youthful search
for adventure," according to Pe-
ter and Leni Gillman, authors
of Alias David Bowie. He had
"Latin good looks and a
debonair manner that Peggy
found enthralling She fell pas-
sionately in love with him and
said later that he had been the
only true love of her life."
When Peggy became preg-
nant in 1937, Rosemberg first
agreed to marry her. Then he
vanished, and Peggy was left to
raise Terry alone.
Terry was a beautiful blonde
baby (and would later be a
handsome, dark-haired man),
popular with everyone in the
family. Rosemberg's parents
wanted Terry to come live with
them, and the father himself
would suddenly appear during
World War II and insist he
wanted his son. But Peggy and
her family always said no. Then
Rosemberg disappeared and
lost all contact with the boy.
When Terry was a young
man, Rosemberg tried again to
establish relations with him.
This time, it was Terry who
wasn't interested.
Terry, did, however, have a
deep affection and admiration
for his half-brother, David
Bowie, throughout his life. He
loved hearing David's music,
and remained certain David
would come save him when his
life took a tragic turn.
After numerous breakdowns,
Terry in 1969 was sent to live
in a mental institution where
he was miserable. His only com-
fort was listening to records; he
loved Nat "King" Cole and
Frank Sinatra.
Terry tried twice to end his
life by lying down on tracks in
front of an oncoming train. The
second time, in 1985, he was
successful.
Terry Burns was buried at
Elmers End Cemetery in Beck-
enham, England. Most of those
present at the service were oth-
er patients from the mental in-
stitution. David Bowie was not
among the mourners.
Q: I know that, over the years,
Jews have made many contribu-
tions to the world. I know there
have been Jewish leaders in the
medical field, in politics, in art and
other areas.
But let's talk about something
really important, like nail polish
and lipstick.
What — if any
—vital contribu-
tions have Jews
made in this
arena?
A: If
you've
ever
paint-
ed your
nails bright red,
or your tops a
lovely pink,
you can thank your lucky
stars for a young entrepreneur
named Charles Haskell Rev-
son.
Born in Boston in 1906, Rev-
son was employed in sales with
a nail polish firm in 1923 when
he decided to quit and start his
own business. Working with his
brother, Joseph, and chemist
Charles Lachman, they formed
a company called Revlon Inc.
One of Revson's first cre-
ations was a nail enamel of
bright color (until then, the pol-
ishes had been only clear). Then
in 1939 he came through with
a major coup: coordinating lip-
sticks and nail colors. Revlon's
future was secured, and to this
day it remains one of the lead-
ing cosmetics companies in the
world.
Incidentally, in addition to
being a giant in the make-up
world, Revson was a leading
philanthropist with Jewish and
secular organizations. He was
a founder of the Albert Einstein
School of Medicine at Yeshiva (
University, and chaired drives
for the United Jewish Appeal
and United Cerebral Palsy.
Q: Tell me I'm not crazy. Years
ago, my husband and I saw one of
the funniest movies we've ever
seen, The Mad Adventures of Rab-
bi Jacob. We've been looking for
the movie ever since — but it
seems that absolutely no one in the
world except my husband and I ever
heard of it. The video shops tell us
it's not out on video, and we don't
know where to turn. We mustsee
it again, and so must all of our
friends who have been hearing us
talk about it for years and are be-
ginning to think that we imagined
the whole thing.
From reader J. G. in Bloomfield
Township
A: You are not crazy — I
promise.
The Mad Adventures of
Rabbi Jacob is a
French film, pro-
duced in 1974
and directed by
Gerard Oury.
Movie critic
Leonard
Maltin gave
it three out of
four stars and de-
*- scribed it as a
"broad slapstick
comedy about a hot-
. headed, bigoted busi-
*nessman who — for ;--/
complicated reasons — is
forced to disguise himself as a
rabbi." It starred Louis De Fu-
nes, Suzy Delair, Marcel Dalio
and Claude Giraud.
I can only hope this column
will serve as proof enough for
your doubting-Thomas friends.
Unfortunately, The Mad Ad-
ventures of Rabbi Jacob is not
out on video, so you'll probably
have to wait for it to make its ap-
pearance at some small art the-
ater — the kind of place where
they don't sell malted milk balls
and Coke, only espresso. 0
111
,„
Send questions to Tell Me Why,
The Jewish News, 27676
Franklin Road, Southfield, MI
48034, or fax to (810) 354-6069.
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and city of residence.