BEASTY BOY

Letters

Jack of Hearts

Jack Nicholson ["Wolf, Man, Jack," April] is by far the most intriguing actor in Hollywood. Anjelica Huston was a fool for not marrying him when she had the chance, and Rebecca Broussard was a fool for leaving him. Thank you, Nancy Collins, for a little insight into the sexiest man in the film industry today.

M. E. KONICKI New York, New York

There is a mistake in your recent article regarding Jack Nicholson. Jack's son Raymond is his younger son and youngest child. Our son, Caleb, is Jack's older son and second-oldest child, second to his sister, Jennifer.

I have asked Jack about this oversight, and his response to me is that he doesn't really want to talk about his children in interviews. He feels that it's not his responsibility if the reporter neglects to mention one or two of his children.

Since Jack and Caleb have a very warm relationship, and because Jack loves Caleb, I'm sure he would want me to have you make this correction to your article.

SUSAN ANSPACH Venice, California

Someone should tell Jack that wolves are monogamous.

MARCHELLE HAMMACK Long Beach, California

Well Dunne

Already the era's finest social chronicler, Dominick Dunne now adds bravery to honest eye and elegant irony ["Menendez Withdrawal," April]. Bravo to him for the investigative, introspective, and critical coverage of the Menendez brothers and for simply refusing to allow the trial(s) to become some postmodern serial which threatens to turn parricide into a New Age philosophy.

By the way, the photo of Swifty Lazar, Peter Viertel, John Huston, and David Niven, illustrating page 159 of the Lazar article ["Swifty's A-List Life," April], could not have been taken during the filming of The African Queen in 1950, which is obvious by the age of all concerned. It was most likely snapped in London in 1966 during the filming of Casino Roy ale, which starred Niven and was co-directed by Huston.

ROBERT DASSANOWSKY-HARRIS Colorado Springs, Colorado

EDITOR'S NOTE: The picture Mr Dassanowsky-Harris refers to is from the personal collection of Irving Lazar, and was given to Vanity Fair,along with the incorrect date, by Mr Lazar shortly before his death.

Bad Times

As a white (Caucasian?) single (not "unmarried") woman (female? nonmale?) of Armenian ancestry (Indo-European?) and a lifelong Los Angeleno (centralHollywoodian, actually) I have watched, for some years, with growing horror the deterioration of the Los Angeles Times's writing style, its temperament, and its journalistic ethics. So, when I read Christopher Hitchens's article "Sensitive to a Fault" [April], all I could think was "Right on!" In its attempt to be all things to all people, the Los Angeles Times is merely reduced to mediocrity.

ANAHID AGEMIAN Pasadena, California

Reno Justice

Jeffrey Rosen's chats with Janet Reno ["The Trials of Janet Reno," April] overlook her nonchalant supervision of Justice's investigation of Congressman Dan Rostenkowski. First, as part of "Reno's March Massacre" in 1993, she fired the U.S. attorney in charge, who told The Washington Post he was a month away from "a critical decision with regard to the resolution" of the probe. My inquiry to the F.B.I. as to the subsequent status produced a fax, proclaiming, "No comment." There has been no substantial response to additional inquiries.

Last fall Ms. Reno's Justice Department allowed the grand jury to expire. A year has passed and the investigation has resumed with a new grand jury but will require some time to get everyone back up to speed. If Ed Meese's Republican-administered Justice Department had conducted its business in this fashion, would it have been construed as obstruction of justice?

WILLIAM W. STEVENSON Charlottesville, Virginia

'If Fit

In her article "Paging the 'It' Girls" [April], Lynn Hirschberg failed to mention the original "It" girl of the 20th century: Clara Bow. She didn't come from affluent or famous parents, but after she starred in the 1927 movie Wings, Clara Bow was dubbed the "It" girl, and personified the term.

THELMA KUMMEROW Menifee, California

What Price Aretha?

What a pleasant surprise it was to read the Aretha Franklin story in your March issue ["Soul of the Queen," by James T. Jones IV]. I was pleased because so rarely do readers get to see and hear Aretha speak for herself. The view of this talented grande dame of R&B was worth the price of the magazine.

LESLEY L. PITTS New York, New York

Mailbag

They may not have used precisely that word, but umbrage is what many readers took at the Roseanne Arnold cover and story ("Really Roseanne," by Kevin Sessums, February). "No more of Roseanne Arnold: she is disgusting or I will cancel my subscription." Um—is that multiple-choice? "You must have been hard up for a cover," wrote a Milwaukee woman. "If that occurs again, please call. Age 85, hair gray, five feet, 115 pounds. Wrinkled all over. 36-C pointed south. No money expected." On the other hand: "I'm a Colombian student... in Pennsylvania [and] I was really proud to see that Botero's paintings inspired the cover and the following shots of your February issue. I'm glad that once in a while Colombians get recognition for something besides cocaine."

A Michigan reader writes: "Bret Easton Ellis certainly savaged Caleb Carr in his review of The Alienist ["Victorian Vice," April].... [This] prompts me to give Mr. Carr's book a try." On a card: "Robert Risko has caught the androgynous Oliver North to perfection ["LJntrue North," by Christopher Hitchens, March]! We kneiv it all along." Several readers loved the Aretha Franklin profile, and wondered why she couldn't be on the cover instead of all those Trumps.

"When Mike Medavoy was at Orion Pictures ["Sony's Hollywood Headache," by Kim Masters, April], my agent submitted a script for a reading " offers a New York reader. "Medavoy responded cordially with suggestions for a rnvrite....At TriStar, Medavoy again took the time to respond with comments....So I can't figure out which is the 'lazy guy'—the one who ran a multimilliondollar enterprise or the one who took the time to screen the work of an unknown."

— GEORGE KAL0GERAK1S

Letters to the editor should be sent with the writer's name, address, and daytime phone number to: The Editor,Vanity Fair,350 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017. The letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity.