Paul RUDD? — People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2021? Really? That’s what 51A in today’s puzzle says, and who am I to quibble?
He looks a bit like former Dallas QB Tony Romo, no?
Wait — who’s this guy?
Rudd’s 54 now and has been married to screenwriter/producer Julie Yeager for 20 years. They have two kids. Hi Julie! — you know about this sexiest man business?
Like most sexy men, Rudd is from New Jersey (born in Passaic), and he’s Jewish. His grandfather changed Rudnitsky to Rudd. His mom was a Goldstein. He was bar-mitzvahed in Ontario Canada. The family moved to Kansas when Paul was ten and he went to HS there and the U. of Kansas. He still roots for the Royals, Chiefs, and Jayhawks. After college, he studied acting and took odd jobs. He was a DJ at bar mitzvahs, and glazed hams at the Holiday Ham Company in Overland Park KS. The Ladies Home Journal and others named it the best mail-order ham in the country. This is a half ham that will cost you about $90.
But I digress.
When Paul was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015 he said “I remember being a kid and walking this boulevard and reading the names and thinking about what so many other millions of people thought about, which is, you know, ‘Who’s that?’”
Rudd is a supporter of the Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young people who stutter. He became an advocate for stuttering awareness after portraying a character who stuttered.
Sounds like a mensch. Good to see you in the grid, Paul. And you are way sexier than those other two – no question.
You familiar with ASMR? Here’s the clue: “Initialism for a pleasant tingling on the scalp or back of the neck.” It’s an Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, defined by Miriam Webster as a pleasant tingling sensation that originates on the back of the scalp and often spreads to the neck and upper spine, that occurs in some people in response to a stimulus (such as a particular kind of sound or movement), and that tends to have a calming effect.
During Super Bowl LIII in 2019, Anheuser-Busch broadcast an ASMR-themed commercial in which Zoë Kravitz uses ASMR techniques including whispering and tapping on a beer bottle into two microphones. Rolling Stone described the commercial as an example of ASMR “going mainstream.”
OC friend Delaware Pam added to our discussion of the late Peter Schickele. She said, “I had a record of PDQ Bach’s greatest flops. In the category of never-laughed-so-hard, the recording features an aria—quite a long one. The soprano hits a very high note at the end of side one, and the flip side begins with her on the same note for another couple of minutes.” She adjured him to rest in peace — something we forgot to do yesterday (d’oh!). So, thanks Pam!
Trump attacked Nikki Haley Friday night, accusing her of turning down 10,000 troops on Jan. 6 and saying she was in charge of security. In addition to the troop business being a total lie, it was a lie related to Nancy Pelosi. Haley had nothing to do with Jan. 6. Trump was confusing Haley with Pelosi. It’s understandable: they both have dark hair. Haley responded by questioning whether Trump is mentally fit for the job. Of course he’s not — if he wins, that’s our only hope,
The girl group era didn’t last long in the 60s, but the Shangri-las made the most of it, and left an impression. Sadly, lead singer Mary Weiss died yesterday at the age of 75. Remember “Leader of the Pack?” (I met him at the candy store . . . .) The song was honored by the Rock and Roll HOF, in its singles category. Weiss is the pretty blonde girl drooling over Jimmy.
Love the specs!! Rest in peace, Mary.
That smile could light up the East Coast. We’ll let it send us off tonight. See you tomorrow, folks.
The Wellington Files 