Despite the war in the Ukraine, COVID, inflation, rising oil prices, supply shortages, and an unsettling amount of civil unrest, somehow, the Kardashians managed to break through the headlines. In case you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably aware that Kim Kardashian squeezed her curves into a dress that was custom-made for Marilyn Monroe in 1962 by Jean Louis to wear on the occasion that she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy.
As you can see by the photos, this gown was designed to fit Marilyn. Not the average housewife, not soprano Maria Callas (on the left), and not Kim Kardashian.
Monroe's gown wasn’t just skin tight; it was more like a second skin and hugged every curve of the actress. Jean Louis’ creation was an engineering feat of epic proportions that accentuated every curve but also kept those curves in place. The illusion of being nude without actually being so.
Years ago, the Franklin Mint attempted to capture that evening with a 16" doll.
Not quite the same.
This post was not designed to weigh into the controversy about whether Kim should or shouldn’t have worn the historic gown, nor will it delve into what damage may or may not have occurred because she and her handlers had to tug the delicate fabric over her rear end. But before I get to the point of the post, I will share Joan Cusack’s wise words from the film “Working Girl” (1988):
Now we get to the meat of the matter…the controversy that has been kept secret for years. Any Disney fan worth their salt will remember the “Jolly Holiday” number with Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews from “Mary Poppins” (1964):
Here’s Dick Van Dyke wearing his striped suit and straw hat from the animated musical sequence:
Seven years later, the TV show “Green Acres” was airing its last season.
You remember the classic comedy about a New York city socialite (Eva Gabor)
…who gives up her penthouse apartment to live in a dilapidated house so that her husband (Eddie Albert) can become a farmer.
On January 12, 1971, the season six episode “Son of Drobney” was broadcast. The premise was that the town was waiting to greet Lisa’s Hungarian war hero who was flying into Pixley to visit her. The welcoming committee was surprised to discover that he was a duck. When watching this the other night, I saw Fred Ziffel (Hank Patterson) wearing what looked to be Dick Van Dyke's jacket from “Mary Poppins.”
If you compare the placement of the stripes, it’s a perfect match.
Here’s how the jacket looked when it came up to auction:
The ribbon on the hat does not match though; in the shots of Van Dyke from the movie, the top stripe is red; on Ziffel’s hat it’s gold. Apparently “Green Acres” used Western Costume for some of their wardrobe.
I’ll leave you with this question; why aren’t Disney fans up in arms about Fred Ziffel wearing Bert’s jacket? This information needs to be brought to the headlines!
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