Monkey Business sinks a senator
Q: Gary Hart, former U.S. senator from Colorado at one time was vying for the Democratic presidential nomination. His political future ended when it was revealed he had a romantic relationship with model and actress Donna Rice. The couple had been photographed aboard a yacht. As I recall, the name of the yacht was prophetic. Do you know its name? In what year did this occur? ‘ G.L., Jackson, Mich.
A: Gary Hart ran for the 1984 presidential nomination and was again vying for the 1988 bid. In April 1987, his liaison with the 29-year-old model was exposed. The couple had been together several times, including on the yacht Monkey Business. You are right: It’s a prophetic name.
Q: Actor Yul Brynner achieved international acclaim for his Academy Award-winning role in the movie ‘The King and I.’ He, of course, continued to play the role onstage in theaters across the country. What was the name of the role he played? ‘ L.N.N., Anderson, Ind.
A: Yul Brynner (1915-1985) played the part of King Mongkut of Siam. He won an Oscar for Best Actor in the 1956 film.
Q: I was going through a trunk of attic treasures from my grandparents’ home. In the collection, there were several pictures of employees standing in front of a Minnesota Valley Canning Co. building. What happened to the company? ‘ K.N., Miami, Ariz.
A: The Minnesota Valley Canning Co. opened in 1903. Twenty-two years later, it introduced the name Green Giant to sell peas. The character became so popular that in the 1950s, the firm became the Green Giant Co.
Q: Wendy was the name of the fictional heroine in the Peter Pan stories by J.M. Barrie. What was Wendy’s full name? What nationality was Barrie? ‘ A.L., Oxnard, Calif.
A: Wendy Moira Angela Darling was the female protagonist in the stories. A Scottish novelist and dramatist, Sir James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) is also credited with popularizing the name Wendy, which was uncommon before this time.
Q: Every so often, I read an article about firemen; they are often referred to as ‘Jakes.’ How did this nickname come about? ‘ B.O., Hull, Mass.
A: ‘Jake’ is an affectionate name for firefighters used almost exclusively in New England. To be called a ‘Good Jake’ is said to be the highest form of praise to a Boston-area firefighter. There are several theories, but most authorities agree that the origin of the term is unknown.
Q: A book I’m reading, from the perspective of Native Americans, is set in the mid-1700s in Colonial America. Two members of a tribe go to a school called Moor’s Charity School. Is there or was there ever such a place? ‘ K.J., Moss Point, Miss.
A: The Rev. Eleazar Wheelock founded Moor’s Indian Charity School in Lebanon, Conn., in 1755. In 1769, the reverend received a charter from King George III to establish a college in 1769. He moved his school to New Hampshire and renamed it Dartmouth.
Q: Many years ago, I was traveling in Europe and stopped in the Swiss Alps to visit the Matterhorn. This is the most impressive mountain I have ever seen. Depending on the country in which you live, the Matterhorn is known by a different name. Do you know what the other names are? ‘ B.L., Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
A: Matterhorn is German and means ‘meadow peak.’ In Italian, its name is Cervino, while the French call it Mont Cervin. The Matterhorn towers above the Swiss village of Zermatt.
Oops … In a recent question about singer/actor Rose Marie, I said she appeared on television in the 1920s. ‘Baby Rose Marie,’ as she was known in her earlier days, first achieved stardom on NBC radio and in several films. Rose Marie would find fame once again on television, but that was much later in her career.
(Send your questions to Mr. Know-It-All, c/o United Feature Syndicate, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016.)