unlikely pairs
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Category Archives: celebrities
no wonder i loved wonder woman
Legend has it that I became the youngest fan of Wonder Woman when at the age of 24 hours my eyes were glued to the tv in the hospital room whenever Diana, Princess of the Amazon appeared. I must have known she was a kindred biracial spirit. Only I didn’t know she was biracial until my 31st birthday when I was taken to see Lynda Carter’s cabaret show at Feinstein’s at the Regency in NYC. It was great! She talked about her Mexican mom. She sang. Really well. I loved it! Cornel West was there. He loved it too.
Carter was born Linda Jean Córdova Carter in Phoenix, Arizona. Her father, Colby Carter is an Irish American, and her mother, Juana Córdova, is of Mexican ancestry.
HOLLYWOOD (By Sandra Marquez) August 23, 2007 —
Born to a Mexican-American mother and an Anglo father in Miami, Arizona, Linda Jean Córdova Carter grew up to become one of America’s most iconic figures: Wonder Woman. In many ways, the actress who became known as Lynda Carter on the hit 1970s entertainment series was a mirror. To young Latinas in the know—such as Constance Marie of The George López Show — she was a role model. Many others had no idea that Carter was Mexican American. But she became a universal figure for her portrayal of Wonder Woman as an everyday woman with superhuman powers….
Tell me about your family history.
My mother grew up in a place called Globe, Arizona. My grandmother came to Arizona when she was a baby. They emigrated from Chihuahua, Mexico. Probably my best memories of childhood were in Globe. My grandmother would make her big stack of tortillas and we’d make menudo and it was all about eating.
Did you grow up hearing Spanish?
My father did not speak Spanish, so we didn’t grow up with it on a daily basis, but around my mother’s family I pretty much understood everything.
Raquel Welch has spoken about how, growing up, her Bolivian father would not speak Spanish in the home because he was afraid that she would be discriminated against. Did you ever experience that growing up?
No, but my mother I think did. If anything, I experienced a reverse discrimination in that I am not really Hispanic because my last name is Carter, and because I don’t look it. That I am not really Hispanic because I don’t talk about it 24/7 and my skin is not dark enough.
In your lifetime and career, have you seen a change in how Hispanics are regarded and the roles that are available?
People are surprised when they learn that I am half Latina even though all through my career from the very, very first, I spoke of it. And I speak of it proudly.
Constance Marie of The George López Show keeps a poster of you in her dressing room. She says you are her hero.
I know, I signed a poster for her. She was doing Good Morning America and they surprised her by having me call her. It was just wonderful to have had a positive effect on a person who has gone on to do such wonderful things. And she is so sweet. The one thing about Latinas, there is passion in our lives. We love passionately.
http://latina.ms/linda_jean_cordova_carter.htm
biracial jones sisters of no relation to me
http://rashidajones.blogspot.com/2009/04/magazines-glamour-scans-2005.html
Big thanks to Karen of Reel Artsy (http://www.reelartsy.com) for bringing this article to my attention! The things discussed in it are some of what I find to be the most fascinating aspects of the biracial experience. As an only child I’m left to imagine what it would have been like to have a biracial sibling. Would he/she have been darker or lighter than me? What would that have been like? I always imagine that no matter the phenotype we’d be really close, but that wasn’t always the case for these Jones girls. Their story reminds me of Danzy Senna’s Caucasia, what with the darker sister living with the black father after the divorce and the lighter sister going with the white mother. Bel-Air to Brentwood is not so drastic a distance though as Boston to Brazil. Anyway, I really enjoyed the interview. It’s so honest, painfully so at times, and I really appreciate that.
My daughters have learned an invaluable lesson from being multiracial: You can’t let an exterior force define you; you have to define yourself. Each did that, in her own way. I’m so proud of them for that.- Quincy Jones
jim henson quotes
The most sophisticated people I know – inside they are all children.
When I was a kid, I never saw a puppet show. I never played with puppets or had any interest in them.
My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there.
I believe that life is basically a process of growth – that we go through many lives, choosing situations and problems that we will learn through.
Despite this discussion of things spiritual – I still think of myself as a very ‘human’ being. I have the full complement of weaknesses, fears, problems, ego, and sensuality. But I think this is why we’re here – to work our way through all this, and, hopefully, come out a bit wiser and better for having gone through it all.
I believe that we form our own lives, that we create our own reality, and that everything works out for the best. I know I drive some people crazy with what seems to be ridiculous optimism, but it has always worked out for me.
I spend a few minutes in meditation and prayer each morning. I find that this really helps me to start the day with a good frame of reference. As part of my prayers, I thank whoever is helping me – I’m sure that somebody or something is – I express gratitude for all my blessings and try to forgive the people that I’m feeling negative toward. I try hard not to judge anyone, and I try to bless everyone who is part of my life, particularly anyone with whom I am having any problems.
If our ‘message’ is anything, it’s a positive approach to life. That life is basically good. People are basically good.
Life’s like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.
the fantastic miss piggy show
Nobody creates a fad. It just happens. People love going along with the idea of a beautiful pig. It’s like a conspiracy.- Jim Henson.
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show aired on ABC on September 17, 1982.
In this one-hour special, the glamorous Miss Piggy stars in her own variety show, with special guests John Ritter,George Hamilton, and Andy Kaufman (as “Tony Clifton”).
Under the direction of Kermit the Frog, the Muppets work in the studio control room and, amidst chaos, manage to keep the show on the air. Throughout the show, a romantic triangle develops among Miss Piggy, Ritter (who is smitten with the pig) and Hamilton (who is deeply uncomfortable with the star’s romantic inclinations).
Highlights include:
- Miss Piggy demonstrates her aerobic “Snackcercise routine”.
- Hamilton and Miss Piggy appear as King and Queen of The Luau at a Polynesian-style ceremony.
- Ritter assists consumer advocate Miss Piggy in the segment “Don’t Take It Lying Down Sucker”.
- Vegas-style entertainer Clifton sings a medley of pop songs and show tunes.
- Kermit becomes jealous when Miss Piggy performs a love scene with Hamilton as Cary Grant.
- Miss Piggy sings a solo rendition of “You Light Up My Life” and leads a musical salute to the year.
- Hamilton sings “Three Times a Lady” to her, and joins her for a medley of standards and love songs.
As the program concludes, Miss Piggy throws a tantrum and walks off the show after arguing with the network vice president about whether her show is a special or the pilot for a series. She laments, “I’m too delicate for show business.”
he gave us this too
I love this movie, but don’t really think of Jim Henson first. Usually David Bowie, then Jennifer Connelly, then the Bog of Eternal Stench, followed by Hoggle. But of course all of that brilliance comes thanks in part to Mr. Henson.
audrey
- Audrey was fluent in Dutch, English, Flemish, French, Italian and Spanish.
- Under the difficult circumstances of World War II, Audrey ate tulip bulbs and tried to bake grass into bread.
- In fact, Audrey turned down the lead role in George Stevens’ Diary of Anne Frank because, as a young girl in Holland during the war, she witnessed Nazi soldiers publicly executing people and herding Jews onto railroad cars to be sent to death camps. Audrey identified with Anne’s story of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam so much that she claimed her participation in the 1959 film would have been much too realistic and painful in memories.
- During World War II, 16-year-old Audrey was a volunteer nurse in a Dutch hospital. During the battle of Arnhem, her hospital received many wounded Allied soldiers. One of the injured soldiers that young Audrey helped nurse back to health was a young British paratrooper and future director named Terence Young. More than 20 years later, Young directed Hepburn in his thriller, Wait Until Dark (1967).
- Audrey was a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF Fund for helping children in Latin America and Africa, from 1988 to 1993
- She herself was involved in an underground communication ring in Nazi-occupied Holland. It is believed that part of the reason she was such a small woman was because of the hunger and poor conditions she lived under at that time. She was a recipient of some of hte first UNICEF food supplies to ever be delivered. This is why she was such a supporter of UNICEF.
breakfast
for real!?
Is this for real guys? I’m not judging it as good or bad, I’m just asking because the whole time I was reading this I was waiting for “just kidding.” It is a funny article. I think. One could argue that it would be equally as “off” to have a “monoracial” black man play Obama. In fact, it sounds like something that I would argue. But NAAMP!? I don’t think that exists. I googled. It doesn’t. I just don’t know how I feel about this…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-matthews/robert-downey-jr-to-play_b_194003.html
Robert Downey Jr. to Play Obama in Biopic
Bill Matthews
(BROOKLYN) Fresh off an Oscar nomination for his comedic turn as a white man wearing black face in Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr. will again cross racial barriers when he portrays Barack Obama in a star-studded movie.
“Playing the president is a challenge, but I know I can pull it off, especially if I can master that cool stride he has–you know, that ‘swagga,’ as CNN might say,” said Downey, who in his next film, Sherlock Holmes, actually plays a white man who doesn’t wear brown makeup.
The Obama biopic is an adaptation of the president’s 1995 bestseller, Dreams of My Father. Ron Howard is directing and Gabrielle Union has signed to star as Michelle Obama…
…Howard was torn casting Downey. Since Obama has a mixed heritage–his father was a black Kenyan and his mother was a white American–Howard knew he was going to upset someone no matter who he chose.
“When I announced that Sam Jackson was going to play Obama, the National Association for the Advancement of Mulattos really tore me a new one,” Howard said. “After he dropped out, I looked hard for someone of mixed race, but let’s face it: Shemar Moore can’t act.”
Hollywood has a history of being unconcerned with skin color when casting African American roles–witness the brown-skinned Diana Ross and Cicely Tyson playing the light-skinned Billie Holiday and Coretta Scott King, respectively. And Angelina Jolie, who is white, played a woman of mixed race, Mariane Pearl, in A Mighty Heart.
Downey’s complexion, however, isn’t that far from Obama’s.
“Honestly,” said Howard, “after Tropic Thunder, when you think of African American men, you think Robert Downey Jr.”
It’s totally a joke! Filed under ‘comedy news.’ Kinda thought provoking though. And I can sorta see it…
mulatto diaries 