As you break out the tartan jacket and red socks to hit the holiday party circuit, take a tip from Tony Randall and watch out for these fellow guests.
In 1957 Randall did a photo shoot in which he portrayed various pests typically encountered at cocktail parties. Pictured above is The Jokester, who amuses himself by pouring beer in people’s martinis. Below is The Non-Drinker, who puts a damper on the conviviality by imbibing milk:
Finally we have that most dreaded party pest: The Trad. Consider yourself warned. — CC
Great pictures. Thanks for posting.
Better lock up the booze and turn off the hi-fi, otherwise that Harvard kid will never leave.
This is brilliant! Thanks for posting!
Unless my memory fails me, Tony Randall used to appear in public
on TV 99% of the time in a navy blazer and gray flannels.
Once, on the Johnny Carson Show, Johnny asked him if he didn’t have any other jacket and trousers. Tony replied with something like: “Yes, at home I’ve got a wardrobe full of 50 more navy blazers and 50 more pairs of gray flannel trousers”.
Does anybody else remember this?
Laughed myself silly when I got to that third photo. Party pest, indeed. Great post.
Probably from Esquire Magazine
LIFE, as I recall.
These Tony Randall shots was just part of a wonderful photographic essay on The Cocktail Party, a vital ingredient of the Heyday lifestyle. It appeared in the December 2, 1957 issue of Life Magazine, beginning on page 134. The entire piece is well worth your time and makes for a perfect holiday read:
https://books.google.com/books?id=j1YEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&rview=1&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
@oldtimer – There is a similar story about Claiborne Pell and his seersucker suits.
As they say, the better you dress the worse you can behave. Merry Christmas, fellow trads!
Christmas Eve dinner, I wore a coat and bow tie, the only person remotely dressed. The jacket, a heavy winter light beige plaid, was one of the jackets I got from an older golf buddy a month or so ago.. My nephew remarks how old the jacket is, mentions the heavy weight fabric and how nothing is made like that today.
I tell him he’s right, a pal gave it to me, and it probably dates from the mid 1970’s. Looking up the coat on the Internet a minute ago, it’s an Oakton, Ltd, from Sears. Imagine, old Sears stuff better than today’s finest.
Happy Holidays!
I do remember someone on TV questioning Tony Randall about his navy blazer collection, which by that time had grown to more than 70. And he claimed to be able to tell them all apart.