Page B4-The Chronicle, Thursday.
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Essence Editor Susan L. Taylor: i
tim of America's hypocrisy.
Ask Yolonda
Her husban
he fathered
By YOLONDA GAYLES
Syndicated Columnist
Dear Yolonda: For the last 11 years,
marriage that 1 thought was fulfillin
ing for both me and my husband
beautiful home, and two beautiful t
Recently, however, my husband ca
confessed to me that he had been ha'
for a year and a half, and the young
ten pregnant and refused to have an
ko/t a littlo ftirl njkrt r ????i
1UU U IllllV ?111, YTIIVJ IS IIVJW lllltt I I 1 V.
husband didn't want to tell me, bu
though the young lady's mother is
him for paternity, so he figured that
me before someone else does.
I'm sure you can imagine the pain
band's little admissions caused me.
giving everything to this marriage, Is
Even worse, since this is out in t
husband is acting kind of proud of h
have seen a picture of the little girl
and he has told me that he plans to i
. d?
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They're Back
The Brothers Johnson have rele
songs in three years on their n
The LP features a hit single, "Y
a trio of .producers, including
and Dave Wolinski.
August 23, 1984
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Aft
Vanessa Williams was a vie
id's proud of
during extra
port even if no <
told me that wh
to have her cor
1 ve,J)een in a This is tearii
g and satisfy- an(j j reai]y d0]
. We have a {Q to abou
)oys- knew, would te
me home and sure that I'm pi
ving an affair to think about;
lady had got- What should
abortion. She
>nths old. My
it it seems as
going to sue
he should tell
Dear Kitty: I tl
that my hus- l*on: Since yo\
I have been y?u're not Pre
Jow what? tion is to wait
your marriage
,?peu' m5I Meanwhile,
is daughter. I wouW fee jn
in his wallet,
>ay child supa
19H
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ased their first set of all-new
ew album, "Out of Control."
ou Keep Coming Back," and
Leon Sylvers, Keg Johnson
I
-4
Weekend
The Arts, Leisure, Music, Columns
\
Commentary
Vanessa: This societ
Essence magazine Editor-in-Chief Susan L. Taylor suggests that
Vanessa Williams, who resigned earlier this month as Miss
America, was the victim of a hypocritical society, "one that is
obsessed with and exploits female sexuality. "
She makes the remarks in an open letter to Ms. Williams in the
October edition of the 15-year-old magazine for black women.
The comn/etp text nf Ms Tnvlnr\ rrklutnrt /VW//1U)C
1 ~J - -/ *" " jv.yy rro.
^ByS'USAN L. TAYLOR'" ~ ~
Guest Columnist _____________
Often in our effort to move our lives forward we stumble. Most
of us, thougfiTare lucky to falter in private. I doubt that any one of
us would want to be held accountable for everything we ever said or
did, far less for any indiscretion. Unfortunately for you, your
misstep was documented in pictures for all the world to see.
Okay, by now the world knows you were photographed nude
with another woman in sexually explicit poses. Wrong move for
sure. But it was your desire to succeed as a model in a marketplace
of limited legitimate opportunities that made you vulnerable to this
particular kind of sexual exploitation. The men who brought to
light the photographs of you understand that vulnerability too. |
They prey on it. Make their livings pimping off of attractive young
women. So many young women ? men too -- with their sights set
on a career in modeling or show business are lured into leaving their
good sense and moral upbringing behind in their enthusiasm for
stardom.
You were pressured to resign as Miss America 1984. You made a * j
mistake and you paid for it. Dearly. But you did not violate this
the daughter
i-marital fling ?
one takes him to court. He has also
en his daughter gets older, he plans
ne to visit.
ng up my insides: 1 feel betrayed, f'TV'*">j
n't know what to do. I have no one i *#-w *m - ' m flM
t this. My family members, if they > t . '"
rll me to leave him, but I'm not so T~
epared to do that. I have two boys - ji
besides, I still love my husband. ' "
1 do?
Kitty ^ ?
jmrnrnrnammmmmmmm \\jm
"link you answered your own ques- Prime Chuck
j say that you still love him, and
pared to leave him, the only solu- Chuck Mangione, Emmy and G
a little while to see what new turns Cood, Chase the Clouds
takes Evening With The Chuck Mane
base your future moves on what University in Winston-Salem. T
>ur own personal self-interest. Forest College Union, and tick
721-1945 weekdays for inform,
Please see page B5 I?
Broadway Is My Beat
Lena Home willjoin %
By JOEY SASSO
Syndicated Columnist
Observations in covering the Night Beat:
Lena Home ? one of the great ladies of showbiz ? is about to
; join the ca&t of "Dynasty" as Diahann Carroll's witchy mother.
gorgeous actress, 65, would b^^rwhat 4*Dyn^ty^^heedsTon5^^far"*'
out "Dallas" and "Falcon Crest" once and for all as TV's No. I
prime-time soap.
"I think it would be fun to play Diahann's mother ? or grandmother
? on the show," the sultry black singer tolcl me. "I could
teacn ner an tnose reany oaa tnings. i can oe more evil than
anybody."
Hollywood insiders agree. Says one observer: "Lena Home on
'Dynasty' ? fantastic.
"Who could beat that show with a female cast of Joan Collins,
Linda Evans, Diahann Carroll and Lena Home? Lena could be the
tough matriarch the show needs ? just like Jane Wyman is on
'Falcon Crest."'
But another insider predicts that sparks would likely fly between
all the vixen on the hit prime-time soap opera.
"Joan Collins is no pushover," reveals the insider. "She's not
going to take a back seat to Diahann Carroll's character, Domini-'
que Devereaux. But Diahann's also got a strong personality, so
there will be some real tension between them to see who will be the
arch-temptress oMhe Carrington clan. Add to that the outspoken,
tough approach of Lena Home and, believe me, the fur will fly on
'Dynasty.'"
Indeed, Lena's half-century in show business has prepared her
for the role of a fighter since it's been a battle almost from the
start....
Dethroned Miss America Vanessa Williams could pop up as one
of the supporting female leads in Joseph Papp's New York
Shakespeare Festival production of "La Boheme," in which Linda
Ronstadt will star in October.
Vanessa auditioned for the role just a short time before her
- - ut
I
v's ethics violated von I
society's ethics. This society's ethics violated you. Vanessa, there is
something gravely wrong in America. Something seriously wrong
in the world today. We've created a system of values in which
material worth takes precedence over human worth. The controversy
surrounding you serves as a potent reminder that a double standard
of morality is at work in America. We expect our young to
flower in a twisted society that degrades sex, the act that sparks life.
srxnal lyrtrs m pntwitwr TOjiri^ B
that invade our living rooms on prime-time sit-coms and the sex"Okay,
by now the world knows you were photographed
nude with another woman in sexually explicit poses.
Wrone move for sure. But it was vnur desire to succeed
in a marketplace of limited legitimate opportunities that
made you vulnerable to this particular kind of sexual exploitation.
"
ploitation and violent treatment of women in films and rock videos
are a very real part of the culture that you, all of our children and
we, too, are shaped by. You were treated like a criminal, lambasted
for posing nude. Yet pornography is an acceptable and lucrative
business in this country. It grosses upwards of $7 billion a year,
with child pornography commanding the biggest bucks because it's
underground.
Your gender and your beauty have been exploited.
Ours is a hypocritical society. One that purports to love and
Please see page B5
E^rI ^HJbC
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irammy award-winner and composer of such hit tunes as "Feels
Away" and "Give It All You Got," will appear in concert in "An
jione Quintet" on Friday, Nov. 2, at Wait Chapel at Wake Forest
he concert is co-sponsored by the Stevens Center and the Wake
cets can be ordered from the Stevens Center Box Office. Phone
ation.
)ynasty, 'say rumors
graphic nude Penthouse layout became public. And she has been
scheduled to return for a second audition, though Williams is not
saying whether she will show up.
In fact, since the press conference in which she announced she
would return her Miss America crown, she hasn't been saying much
of anything: for the, recopd^w Ll .
singing star soon. She has been appearing on stage with Lou Rawls
and had some headlining dates in Atlantic City lined up before she
assumed the title.
She's also recently cut an album. No recording label was involved,
but you can be sure she'll have a much easier time finding one
now....
BUI Cosby, who went to the South of France with wife Camille to
relax for a while before production on his new NBC series, ended
'7 think it would be fun tcrplay Diahann's mother ? or I
grandmother - on the show. I could teach her all those
really bad things. I can be more evil than anybody. "
? Lena Home
up spending much of his time signing autographs, chatting with
fans and coaching youngsters on some of the finer points of track
and field.
Meanwhile, requests for interviews have been piling up, not only
for him, but for Camille ~ from writers who want to talk to her
about the series that will tell the tale of a gynecologist and his
attorney-wife and their four children, but is drawing heavily on the
experiences of the Cosbys and their five children....
Chubby Checker, who made The Twist the dance craze of the
early '60s, said in a recent interview that he had had a greater impact
on popular music than Elvis Presley, The Beatles or Michael
Jackson.
"Everything that anyone has done since I came along has been
because of me," he says, "The Beatles, Michael, everybody.
Whenever there's been a beat in the music, and everyone starts to
dance, it's because of me."...