The Brussels Post, 1956-03-25, Page 6HIT .SONG WAS
A 1.114$5-.KuuR
as a faVeweli message on a
sheet ef
"Oleomy Sunday".
The publishers agreed to
withdraw the song, but after the
ban bootleg copies were 'fur..
tively hawked in the streete and
found eager buyers. The trail of
death continued,* Perhaps some
Hungarians were over-impres-
sionable, but the 110,0C140 on the
song was soon world news,
From Spain and Italy came fur-
thee fatalities.
In America, when Hal Kemp
made the first recording, even•
members of, the band were af-
fected, Two musicians refused
to take part in the recording
session, There were so many
failures that no fewer than ,
twenty-one nmaster records had
to be made before one was
good enough to go into pro-
duction.
Columnists immediately made
much of the fact that the
twenty spoiled recordings coin-
cided , with the song's surrent
death-roll of twenty.
Apart from the plaintive mel-
ody, it was thought that 'noth-
ing in the words or music of
the song would disturb hard-
boiled New Yorkers. But after
listening to the Hal Kemp ren-
dering on the radio, a young
chemistry .student hanged him-
self. .
Soon the, United State: was
bewailing 'five victims:
The poverfnl . Musicians'
Union decided that its members
should lend no further support
to the song. The 'radio net-
works arid"r e evrel companies
strengthened' this ,conspiracy of
silence. — .
Thecomposer, complained, "I
m stand in the, I'd s t of this
deathly' success as an accused,
This fatal fame hurts me . . . I
cried all the disappointments
of my heart into this song and
people .-veltie, feelings akin fotind
their osene.burt in it • "
The leleg,edecided it could be
broadcast,as, .a ballad. They
changed, teir mind when' it
found its "first victim in Lan-
don. `
A Brixton policeman heard
the dirge yepeatedly corning
from a window on his 'beat. At
last he investigated and found
a repeat mechanism playing
the elisc. over my. over in the
grey dawn' while, near-by, a
wOrnari' lay 'dead,"
"Glociinye Sunday" was "ban-
ned, without further prompt-
ing, by n'tti6lihers; band's, sing-
ers and' .,record comphnies. The
strangest trail of disaster in
musical histor3t came to zn end.
at last. .
In a popular cafe in Budapest
lete in 1935 a gipsy violinist
was playing from Muted strings
the plaintive melody of a poptt-,
ler new tune.
A handsome young carpenter
seated before a glass of wine
shouted for an encore, Then he
drew a revolver from his pocket
end shot himself through the
heart,
He left behind him a letter
telling of a pathetic love affair,
end, ending, "I want to die lis-
tening to 'Gloomy Sunday,' "
elloomy Sunday ! A young
shop-girl hanged herself and
beneath her feet lay a marked
copy of the tune of death. A
pretty typist buried her lace oh
a pillow in a gas-oven—and in
a last letter pleaded that the
tune should be played at her
funeral.
A man sang the dirge-like
refrain at a smoking concert.
Then he, too, shot himself.
Like the Pied Piper's strain
the strange rhythm crept into
the hearts of men and women,
sending them headling to self=
annihilation,
The BBC banned the song.
American recording companies
suppressed it. Perhaps it epito-
mized the despair that was so
prevalent during the rise of
Hitler in the 1930's, Now the
affair, probably the only in-
stance of a 'curse bound up with
a popular :tune, has become a
classic for psychologists and
students of theesupernatural.
From. newspaper libraries
come such.headlines as "Sui-
clde Song's 19th Victim" and
"Heartbreak SOng Kills Again."
With its morbid words; the song
spread from conntry, .country.
Learned professors considered
the' evil effects of danee music.
• Lawyers debated whether the
composer and lyric writer could
be prosecuted for complicity in
the wave of deaths.
Disappointment in love could
not alone be held responsible.:
One man who leapt out of a
window while 'the tune was be-
ing played was seventy years
old. Another victim was a fit
teen-year-old girl. She drowned
herself, leaving behind her an
underscored copy of the song.
Strangest of all was a Buda;
pest errand-boy who had ridden
half-way across one of the
Danube bridges when he 'heard
a ebeggar singing the song of
lament. The boy stopped, lis-
tened, emptied his pockets for
the beggar—and then climbed
the bridge rail and jumped.
Perhaps the old gipsy belief
is true—that there are some
tunes it is not good to hear.
Or was it mass hysteria?
Whatever the explanation, the
police called on the composer,
Reszo Setess, and demanded
that the piece should be with-
drawn. Then was revealed the
composer's own amazing story,
Created in an evil moment,,
the song's strange destiny had,
also affected him, Two year's
previoesly the girl whom lee%
had loved and planned to mare§
had thrown him over for a rich
banking director.
One dreary Sunday, when the
unhealed ache of the past re-
turned and his heart Was heavy,
Seress sat down and worked
out the tune. It, is not suraei
ing that for months it could not'
find a publisher. It could hard-
ly add to the piety of an even-
ing When, a crooner sang:
"Bye hestened back to my,
lonely room
ThOugh I knew I Would not
find eydu there, . " •
Then the song began to be
plaYed-Land shortly aftetWards
the news Of his former sweet
heart's death reached
She had poisoned ,heesele, arid
left only two woeds...scrawled
fr
TRICOLORED, — West 'Berlin it
being treated to this pageboy
hair style Nkhich is tinted it
three slia-des,rehglne froth
light crown- to dark *roll alone
neck and cheek line. Modifiec
pompadour above the brow'sof•
tens severity of the styling.
"f VA1.14ALLA*-§efirenterit is literally "ihe berries''' fat', this veti00
erdble table eeir, "Vefeeah:,Of service fra-ticidto's work
famous et:life-ea system. Together several of its sisters, the
44:11" will battle o
•
hd Clang, airing', a retite Servitier K.,eote'e Berry
Pattie,• where mementoes of The tradiftenal v.est compete_ With.
berry products
. .
►
ui
KISS FOR A YOUNG HEROINE-Kathleen Van Slyke is a h,..roirte,anaFehel* Pnly;:siX weeks , old.
You see, her cries awoke her father during the night. Heeediscoyerea ehree,,feet pf. water in
their home, so he awoke the whole family. They were abile to flee beforeetheirehome became
engulfed by swirling floodwaters. Kathleen's brother, Jimmy, gives' her a ,13i9 ,kissi for her in-
advertent herorsen. ,.;
old John Riley was so exas-
perated when his young sister
switched off a programme that
he stabbed her fatally with a
bread knife.
At. Falibrook, California, a boy
of twelye was accused of beat-
ing a two-year-old girl to death
because she cried while TV was
on.
Men can become television
addicts, too. Last December, in
a Los Angles court, a woman
described herself as a "tele-
vision widow." 'Repeatedly she
had begged. her husband to pay
some attention to her, but his
only interest was TV.
Toe the jedge, the said,. '"He
spent- eo much time' watching
television that he had, ,no time
to change his clothes. He even
fell asleep watching Tete:lel was
as if his life; deliended =on it.
He even liked the commetefali."
,Another mat's love Or TV
led to himself and family being
evicted ,: froen a' council hoese
in Connecticut. TO reech , other
rooms, the children ran between
him, and the TV tee' SO;,..to 'avoid
this, he kicked a- hole, its the
kitchen well. e f,
It's only rarely that an Americ-
an hates, TV; but When he doe's
he takevedraetie 'fietioree 7Pollee
were called to a house at West
Palm Beach, aftere neighbours
had heard the sound' of a 'shot.
The occupier said he'd fired at
his television set because he
had taken a violent dislike to
the programme.
:Pastry
teaeee
for single
dry mustard; o. h
crust
Cut olives from pits into large
Pieces. Blend Mill, seasonings
and onion into slightly beaten
eggs.. Stir in, olives and cheese,
Pour into pastry-lined pie pan,
Bake at 450 degrees F. for 15
minutes,, reduce heat to 3Q0 de-
grees F, and bake 30-49 minutes
or until egg in ixtUr e is set,
Serves 6-8. *
Here is an unusual way to
cook and, serve shrimp. Each
serving is in its own foil bag
which is placed on the plate
and opened by the individual
diner.
SHRIMP SARAPICO
(Individual Serving)
2 ounces Roquefort cheese
2 ounces cream, cheese
I. chopped pimiento
let pound' cleaned shrimp
2 pieces lemon.
Make a paste of the two
cheeses and the chopped pimi-
ento, Spread paste in center of
aluminum foil 12-inch square.
Place shrimp on paste and top
With lemon. Close aluminum bag
by pinching top together. Bake
30 minutes at' 400 degrees F. *
Here is a good chafing dish
recipe; its old-fashioned name
is "Ringtum Diddy." Serve this
combination of tomatoes and
cheese either on fluffy, cooked
rice on crackers or on toast
points.
RINGTUM DIDDY
1 cup shredded cheese
food or aged, cheese
le cup, butter
ee cup flour'
1 cup hot milk
3' teaspoon soda
1 cup cooked' tomatoes
le teaspoon each,, dry
mustard, paprika and salt
Dash cayenne
5 slices buttered toast or
cooked rice or crackers
Melt butter in heavy skillet;
add cheese; sprinkle flour over
cheese, Cover the skillet and
cook very slowly until cheese
melts and bubbles up through
flour. Stir in milk slowly. Blend
thoroughly. Add soda to toma-
toes and stir into cheese mix-
ture. Season. Simmer a few min-
utes to blend. Do not overcook.
When storing ebeeee at borne,.
keep it in the refrigeretor.
Cover cut serfacee tightly with
Waxed Paine Or foil, Or Store in
* covered. dish. Cook cbeeee
dishes at medium to low tent-
jperatore, Cooked too quickly,
theese gets tough ,and, stringy,
yOu are in a hurry, break,
grate, slice, or, shave the cheese
before beginning your cooking',
* *
Here is a male-course cheese
+dish that may be served either,
with or without a tomato sauce.
CORN CHIPS ZIPPY CHEESE
cups milk
2 eggs, slightly' beaten.
11/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1% teaspoons salt
le teaspoon cayenne
1 cup thopped onion
2 cups grated Canadian
Cheese
1 cup crushed corn chips
(measure after crushing)
Heat milk and add to slightly
beaten eggs and seasonings. Mix
emions, cheese and corn chip
end pour into greased baking
dish. Pour milk-egg mixture
this. Bake at 325 .degrees P. for
20 minutes. • *
If you'd like a meat substitute
Lb a t looks like a pie and is
iserved like one, try this olive-
theese pie.
OLIVE-CHEESE PIE
3,/t cup ripe olives
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Ye teaspoon Worcestershire
sauce.
Dash each, black pepper
and eayenne
1 tablespoon grated onion '
2 cups grated cheese
(packed)
What Television
Addicts Do!
MEET MISS ITALY - She's
shapely Brunelle Tocce, The
lovely titleholder is competing
with other European beauties
for the "Miss Europe" honors.
She posed for this picture in
Paris, Prancer;'.
►
ilionoring.'Chein:ist Who' .
Key To Rainbow 100 Years Ago
gt; 110".,A,Iiid4V:ZOS;e4
Autograph Bugs
'DO You ColleCt autographs?
If so, 'do `you'know - that -there
is a society which claims to be
the first and only one of its
kind in the world, and which
caters specially for fans like
yourself?
The Society of Autograph
Collectere was formed about
three years ago by a London
autograph collector who realized
the need for a friendly,organ-
ized body which would be able
to bring together keen col-
lectors from Aden to 'Auckland
and from Zermatt to Zanzibar.
Members write to each"other
-and to celebrities who, they
hope, will be impressed- on
specially printed society note-
paper, and they wear badges
made of black perspex engraved
in gold on the face with a quill
pen.
The society's president, who
says he has a personal collec-
tion of over 10,000 ' autographs
is starting a campaign against
fake and rubber - stamp
graphs.
• Bulletins i ssu e d by the
society contain , interesting in-
formation about celebrities and
collectors.
General Gruenther, the Allied
Supreme Commander in Eur-
ope, is frequently asked by wo-
men autograph collectors to sign
his name across the* palm of
their white glove.
A London hotel porter says
he has collected a goodly num-
ber of famous military, royal
and foreign rulers' signatures
by blotting tie Visitors' book-
but of cotirSe*you need a mirror
toeread them!
The society reports a surpris-
ing fluctqation in the ,exchange
. value of eefographs. Melba's is
gill' 'Werth'- about 432,00:- while
in Vr schoolbey ecireles, ;,41,,01,04ent
valuations are on e thee lines* of
one Neeelle Duke or Donald
Campbell foe *three either
Randolpli Theesife Sir An-
thony fe
Na New Marvel
In Canada TV is sometimes
blamed, for -weaning children
from their hiornewerk. In the
United States it seems it can
be far more of a menace.
Last October, Larlene Carl-
son, aged 22, told a Chicago
divorce judge that she prefer-
red "TV to her husband, whom
she accused of cruelty.
Richard Carlson had left
home a fortnight earlier, after
hitting his wife. He offered to
return if she would turn the' TV
off at midnight. But, she told
the judge, she would choose
TV.
Television certainly means a
lot to American women. An
Ohio husband won a divorce
after saying that his wile
watched television every night
until the last station had
signed a. He wasn't allowed
to talk to her, except during
commercials.
In a New England divorce
action a wife accused her hus-
band of cruelty because he
switched off at a dramatic mo-
meant in. a play.
This sort of behaviour enrages
teenatgers, too. Fourteen-year-
MONUMENTAL - This leather
golf bag, fashioned in the
*hope of the Washington Mon-
ument, was recently sent to
President Eisenhower by Mr. and
Mrs. Ples R. Swan. On it are
fooled pictures of the. Capitol,
Ontoirr Memorial, Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier and the White
House, names of all the predi-
;lents and members of the cur-
rent Cabinet. Some 200 hours
of work went into its execution.
The gentleman who tolde the
Industerial Cafeteria .Managers
convention that some new mar-
vel of science will make it pos-
sible in the 'future for dirty
dishes to be -Washed by sound'
and dried by ,air should be
brieight ep to ,date on the facts
tof family life.
Diehes have been washed
and, dried that Way in Millions
of households for generations..
All he has to do is cock his ear
around any kitchen door Where
a couple of members of the
younger generatien are doing,
the farriily eleerea.
The argument over wile's
going to wash and who's going
to wipe the dishes ie not, only
sound, It's a ruckus end a din,
If there's a lull in that discus-
sion, it's only for a Moment.
The sound and fury are bound
to be resumed ih a' moment
°eel' who cleared the table,
who carried out the garbagd
and, who put away the pots
arid pail's the last time.
The dishes finally are WaSli-
to and believe us it's done by
sound; Maybe riot all of it; but
nine-tenths of it.
Then let this gentleman Wien
talked to the cafeteria peoPle
just sneak around after things
quiet down in the kitchen arid
enti a finger akottrid the betteini
Of a plate or peek into the fry-
ing pan, He Will be convinced
that if theee articles tutii. UP
drY 'before 'the head Meal; they
will heed been dried by' air.
Maybe he. was talking, Aida
genie less nerve wracking way'
Of Washing dishes by edited
MI drying then by air, but •
he's away behind the' tin* if
he thinks it hes never Wit
dente befcieeeDee Moines' Re-
giSter,
present prices, which usually
run from about $1 to $2 a pound.
Today most natural dyes are too
expensive to justify their.. use
on a commercial basis.
Following Perkin's success,
chemists all over the world
brought forth colors until the
range of aniline or coal-tar dyes
now numbers, over 2,000 and
outrivals nature's own in every
respect. The flood of research
unleashed by this single, simple
color also led to. the discovery
of countless other seemingly .un-
related products. They include
pharmaceuticals such as sulpha
drugs, perfumes, flavorings, plas-
tics, insecticides, textile fibres
and explosives,
One of the first applications
of Perkin's mauve was the print-
ing of postage stamps. Known
as "penny violets," their color-
fast properties were so limited
that the delicate tint frequently
ran on the first contact with
'Moisture. In time; however, re-
search emphasis was directed at
the 'production of dyes with im-
proved coloreastnese and Vat
dyes were developed: Next to
Perkin's discovery this is re-
garded as the most important
accomplishment in dyes,
Acquiring their name from
the equipment in which they
evete originally applied, vat
dyes possess the best all-rouhd
fastness qualities, They are te-
tistant to the most severe de
teriorating influences"such ee
Washirig, sunlight, perspitation
end rubbing, Since they are in-
geli:31e in water., 'they do riot
bleed or run like the "penny
violets" of a century ago. At
peeeerits vat colors' are used
chiefly oil cottons, reetirie, liethe
and. other vegetable fibres.
Prete. aricierit times We have
Stich names as "royal, blues" and
'torn to' the Purple" to remind
us that dyed fabrice were once
luxuries Only royalty ecittid
afford. Compare the dreary
browns of the Victorian Paeloir
and the drab pudes erect Wipes
of nineteenth century these with
the singing colors around You,
The Weald would be a much
• dullef ,Place if 'Perkin had net
ttutxlblod upon the th Ordeal, keir
to the keinbevid
Probably never before has
the world strutted in so much
• color. Color streaks along the
highways, vibrates from the ex-
teriors of homes and all through
the house. Fashion, too, has
gone more colorful than ever
this season and is saturating
herself in the brilliance and
vibrancy of oriental huesl.
A demure shade more fre-
quently associated with the
sombre Victorian era than the
vivid, Orient is responsible for
much of the mid-twentieth cen-
tury's preoccupation with color.
It is mauve—the first synthetic
dye. The discoverer was a 19-
year-old chemist, William Henry
Perkin, Who made his find ex-
actly 100 years ago, His single
discovery terminated rxiares de-
pendence on such natural prod-
ucts as heather and bark, in-
sects and indigo, and provided
the 'means to a richer, more
beautiful life.
Special acclaien is 'being given
this. shade during the year by
chemical, tee/lineal and scien-
tific aSsociations as well as
fashion authorities, who are
gathering to honor Perkin ,and
ceininietioeete' the occasion.
• Like ,many other scientific
.fiiide, Petkin's discovery was
eetheeeestelt of an experiment that
He had been trying to
• prochice, quinine from a coal=
tar 'derivative in a makeshift
lierne 'elo.boiattirk When he nine
tip with a •.blaek molasses-like
Mass. On disSolVitig it hi alcblidl,
he found it gave a 'violet liquid
Which had the power to dye silk
,,aird Wool. ,Quick_ to turn failure
eueceseePerkiii patented his
epeenceese established the, first
iYhthefic dye factory` in the
iorld cand ...called' color
-"iriatitteine," or mauve after ;the
fiidlef colored inalloW fieWer,
his Method was simple, con-
sisting of order foUr7 etept, in
contrast with the invOlited
chemical procedure ecirieetinee."e
nimibering as many es 25 eete.
irate steps in the mentifactilte
of synthetic dyes today: ,
At that tithe the yield * ice
"metzereirie *as Only flee
pounds Per toneof doe]. It was
expensile, tad, tieing for abbot
X300 000 a Patield as &Antlered With
LUCKY FELLOW-6)frdeeditit Marilyn' Monroe hcingS. onto the
arm ,a ban Murray, who has been Framed to play opposite her
le "but sfe0:6 Murray will play the pert of d.eowbey Whe
griceiepe het' in the'filtrik He has pre04ousty Worked on Broadway
kiffsed to -M .6(1W/ "Rose Tctft66;"` and ''Ski's of Our Teethli
INS
TABLE TALKS
dam ATN.dp.ew$:,
•