Irish Political News

I have been re-reading a book by Alistair Cooke: Memories of the Great and the Good (aff), a set of essays about figures in US life and culture from the 1930s to the 1990s. George Abbott was a Broadway Theatre Producer, was involved in his first broadway production in 1926, and his last in 1989. This is Cooke on George Abbott and his pacemaker, writing in 1995: “He lost his second wife in 1951, and for thirty-two years he was mostly alone. But twelve years ago, when he was ninety-six, he decided to marry again, a youngster in her early fifties. Last year he came into New York from his house up the river and pattered down the aisle at a revival of his Damn Yankees, just to be sure they were pronouncing the final t’s. Last week, he was busy at this favourite occupation, tinkering with, rewriting and revising a revival of Pyjama Game. This week, he died in his sleep at a hundred and seven. A dozen years ago, he had to have a pacemaker. He had a lifelong suspicion of doctors and their wizardry, and he wanted to know if “there was any snag to this thing”. Only, replied the doctor with well-rehearsed facetiousness, “that you’ll have to have a new battery after ten years”. “Hot damn!” said Mr Abbott. Ten years later, when he was a hundred and five, sure enough he had to have a new battery. “Hot damn!” said Mr Abbott, his chronic suspicion of doctors confirmed yet again. One day, in his late nineties, he was playing golf with his wife and for the first time, and who knows, perhaps the last, fell down on the fairway. In alarm his wife ran over to him, saw the long lean figure still prostrate and shouted: “George! George! Get up, please. Don’t just lay there.” He opened an eye. “Lie there!” he said.” (*) aff indicates an affiliate link. Tags: pen portraits, george abbott, damn yankees, pyjama game, alistair cooke