THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

Mourning the good doctor Brandt; Wolcott's done with farewells; Ed Coaster says hello

hank you for the sensitive article about Dr. Fredric Brandt [“Darkness Invisible,” by Lili Anolik, September]. I was shocked and saddened by Dr. Brandt’s suicide. I worked M with him when he was a clinical-trial investigator. Despite his unusual appearance and flamboyant lifestyle, Dr. Brandt was friendly, professional, accessible, and a solid investigator. I saw a glimpse of his sensitive side, and the loneliness to which the article refers, when his dog was diagnosed with cancer. His eyes welled up with tears as we had breakfast at a dermatology conference. His dogs were family to him.

May Dr. Brandt rest in peace.

JULIE N. BRODERICK Winchester, Massachusetts

ili Anolik names every reason for lampooning Dr. Brandt except the

_J most obvious one: that by creating

an artificial look, he took part in a process that incriminates aging, natural fading, the general course life takes. You know that whole movement to have fuller-figured models and less-touched-up photos? It’s the same impulse behind a comic shaming of a doctor who promotes fakery: to imbue our culture with more natural images so no one feels a need to achieve unnatural or unhealthy appearances.

G. REUBEN

New York, New York

Lili Anolik’s story of the life and death of Dr. Fred Brandt seemed to continue the parodies that were made at Brandt’s expense, rather than give to his life story the gravity it deserves. Perhaps it had more of a cosmetic rendering than it should have.

The good doctor was sought after, and seemingly worshipped for all his genius. No matter how much beauty or fame is heaped upon a person, it does not essentially change who they arc.

We who live with suicidal thoughts know how slippery is the slope. In those last days of his life, he could not contain his despair. No Bo or Fill could disguise it. Perhaps in the end, Dr. Brandt’s legacy is to look not without so much as within.

LESLIE ROBIN KASSALBaltimore, Maryland

Tn 1977, I was a newly graduated R.N. living on 21 st Street in New York City and working at Beth Israel hospital. My two best friends, Sal, a doctor, and his wife, Wilma, had a pal named Fred. We actually called him Freddie. I agreed to a date with him: uptown to see a movie. We took the Third Avenue bus because we were both poor.

Freddie was from New Jersey. He was doing research at the Rockefeller University after graduating from medical school, and he essentially had no family—his parents had died young and he supposedly had a distant relationship with his only brother. He was a quiet, slight fellow—pleasant but very shy. I definitely remember him as being nerdy. There was always a sadness about him even if he was in a group.

Years later, I heard he was a very successful dermatologist in both Miami and New York City, but it took me a long time to realize he was Dr. Fredric Brandt. The transformation seemed completely impossible. When I read about his suicide, I thought about who he was long ago. I guess that, despite his amazing re-invention and success, he remained a lonely boy from New Jersey.

KAREN MCDONALDAquebogue, New York

IT'S OVER!

very good-bye has been treasured, but I hate the end in sight [“The Long Goodbyes,” by James Wolcott, August], Frankly, I don’t know what I am going to do without Dave and Jon. [That’s Letterman and Stewart.] Just the headline of James Wolcott’s article sent me into paroxysms of dread.

CONSTANCE WIGGINS

New York, New York

Mr. Wolcott, right on! You get it. Thank you for the cool angle on TV, fiction, and culture through the lens of long good-byes. And a special thanks for acknowledging American animation. The Simpsons is the acme of great TV: great writing, acting, design, and animation. It will go on forever because the Simpsons artists champion ideals that reach us all. Fiction, in the form of TV, rocks.

DIANE HELLERNewbury, New Hampshire

FOR THE LOVE OF ED

Oh, Mi-. Coaster, how I have missed thee! Why have we in the antipodes been forced to endure a drought of your very expensive words? What an absolute delight it was to read my issue of Vanity Fair and to hnd you there again. Please don’t tell me that the inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere are the only regular recipients of your golden words!

Do you think the kind folks at V.F. will

one day put your finely chiseled black-andwhite features on the cover?

MARGARET COOKPerth, Australia

Thank you for dusting off dear old Edwin Coaster. Although his words are indeed expensive, they arc worth every penny.

VIRGINIA RAULT

Chene-Bougeries, Switzerland

CORRECTION: On page 292 of the October issue (“The Longest Summer, ” by Bryan Burrough), we mischaracterized the purpose of a demonstration that Mayor Bill de Blasio attended in Albany in the spring of 2014. It was a rally to support universal pre-kindergarten.

Letters to the editor should be sent electronically with the writer's name, address, and daytime phone number to letters@vf.com. All requests for back issues should be sent to subscriptions@vf.com. All other queries should be sent to vfmail@vf.com. The magazine reserves the right to edit submissions, which may be published or otherwise used in any medium. All submissions become the property of Vanity Fair.

More from the

VF

MAILBAG

What would V.F. do without helpful readers offering story suggestions? Helga Lewisohn Zipser, of Tampa, Florida, "a member of 'the Forgotten Generation' ... ignored in magazines, newspapers, and television—I am talking of ladies aged 70 to 100," is herself 90, a widow, "and still working full-time. I travel, go out to dinner and the theater. Please, please dedicate an issue to us; our numbers are growing. And the beautiful, young women in your magazine someday will be our age."

Jason Aaron Baca is a romance-cover model who "just recently got on my 400th novel. It would be a lot of fun to do an interview ... and explain what it's like to be one ... what I think about during a shoot, what I do to prepare for it both mentally and physically." In a remarkable coincidence, Kim Calderon, of San Antonio, Texas, writes to say, "You should interview this guy [Jason] for your magazine. He explains all the body washes he uses and masks and creams." People and Marie Claire, it seems, have already written about him. (Magazines just love to do stories on subjects other magazines have recently done stories on.)

Finally, Sean Din, of Brooklyn, New York, wonders whether we'd be interested in having him mail us a potato. "It's just a russet potato with stamps on it. The feedback we have been getting is great." Guess what: his little business "could make an interesting story." And with that, this Mailbag edition comes full circle.