I was thinking, what WAS that character’s name in S.J. Perelman’s The Beauty Part?
My parents saw Bert Lahr play multiple roles in it in 1962, and loved it so much they bought the published script when it came out. Lahr cut across gender lines; among his incarnations in Perelman’s contemporary-culture satire was “Hyacinth Beddoes Laffoon,” doyenne of a pulp fiction rag periodical.
I was reminded of this last week when I caught the show-stopping hilarity of Sen. Paul’s performance in the Senate, once again falling on his face as he tried–with the ridiculous pursed lips expressions so typical of the right wing–once again to get Dr. Fauci, trying to pretend in front of a medical specialist that he has any medical ethics, knowledge of epidemiology or public health concern whatsoever.
Halfway through his inquisition, the baggy-pants clown from Kentucky realized that despite the howls of laughter nationwide that greeted his televised performance, he wasn’t getting anywhere with Dr. Fauci. We then saw a debate go on in his head about what line of questions or attack he could still muster.
Answer: None.