Tag: People

Napoleon III and Chagall

LORELAI: Okay, then, it’s settled. We’re not staying at any place that wasn’t built for Napoleon the Third’s doctor or doesn’t have a Chagall in the bathroom.

Napoleon III, born Charles Napoléon Bonaparte (1808-1873) the first President of France from 1848 to 1852, and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew of Napoleon I, he was a popular monarch who oversaw the modernisation of the French economy and filled Paris with new boulevards and parks. One of his doctors was the surgeon Félix-Hippolyte Larrey; he owned a small castle, but I have been unable to learn if he had a house built for him.

Marc Chagall [pictured], born Moishe Shagal (1887-1985), Russian-French artist. An early modernist, he was associated with several major artistic styles and created works in a wide range of artistic formats, including painting, drawings, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries and fine art prints.

Paris and Nicky Hilton

RORY: We have travel books.
LORELAI: No, sweetie, these aren’t our kind of travel books. These are Paris and Nicky Hilton’s kind of travel books.

Paris Hilton (born 1981), media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer, and Nicholai “Nicky” Rothschild (born Nicholai Hilton in 1983), American socialite, fashion designer and model, younger sister of Paris [Nicky is on the left]. The granddaughters of Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels, they were famous for being glamorous wealthy heiresses in the 1990s and early 2000s.

I somehow feel that Paris and Nicky would not need a guide book to find a good hotel …

Adrian Zmed

LORELAI: Angel face, you need to learn that there are going to be times in your life when you have to do ridiculous things for money. If you’re Adrian Zmed, that includes everything that ever happens in your whole career.

Adrian Zmed (born 1954), actor known for playing Johnny Nogerelli in the 1982 film Grease 2; several of his other films have gone straight to video. He is best known for the role of Officer Vince Romano on police drama TV series T.J. Hooker, airing from 1982 to 1986.

Jayne Mansfield

LORELAI: The cork fell off my hook and Jayne Mansfield over here bit … Not the brightest fish in the pond, but she’s awfully pretty.

Jayne Mansfield, born Vera Palmer (1933-1967), actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and Playboy Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s, Mansfield was known for her personal life and publicity stunts. Her film career was short-lived, but she had several box-office successes and won a 1956 Theatre World Award for Will Sucess Spoil Rock Hunter?, and a 1957 Golden Globe Award for The Girl Can’t Help It [pictured].

Mansfield was married three times, including to Mickey Hargitay, previously discussed. She is the mother of actress Mariska Hargitay. When Jayne was killed in a car accident at the age of 34, Mariska was one of three children asleep in the back seat, who survived with minor injuries.

Although Lorelai has called the fish Jayne because she’s not very bright, Jayne Mansfield had a reported IQ of 149, received solid if unspectacular grades at school, attended acting classes at several universities, and spoke five languages.

Peggy Lee

[Lane retrieves some makeup from under her floorboard]
LANE: Well, I’ve got the good stuff right here, right next to the Peggy Lee.

Norma Egstrom, known professionally as Peggy Lee (1920-2002), jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman’s big band, Lee created a sophisticated persona, writing music for films, acting, and recording conceptual record albums combining poetry and music. Called the “Queen of American pop music,” Lee recorded over 1,100 records and composed over 270 songs.

Peggy Lee has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has been cited as an inspiration for the cocktail called the Margarita, the Spanish version of Margaret, which Peggy is short for. She was also the inspiration for Miss Piggy from The Muppet Show – the muppet was originally called Miss Piggy Lee.

Judas

PARIS: Daughter of Judas.

Judas Iscariot, disciple of Jesus Christ and originally one of the Twelve Apostles. According to the gospels, Judas betrayed Jesus Christ, by kissing him on the cheek and calling him “master”. This led to Jesus being easily identified in a crows, leading to his arrest and being handed over to the authorities. His name is often used synonymously with betrayal or treason.

Paris obviously sees herself as the “master” and Rory the “disciple” in their relationship as president and vice-president. Paris (wrongly) thinks that Rory has contacted the headmaster, and getting her into trouble with the “authorities”, as Judas did to Jesus Christ.

Bad Seed

RORY: Nixon’s bad seed.

Bad seed, an American expression referring to someone who is evil or unprincipled by their nature, “born bad”.

The expression gained widespread notoriety through the 1956 psychological thriller The Bad Seed, directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Patty McCormack in the title role. It is based on the 1954 play of the same name by Maxwell Anderson, which in turn was based on the 1954 novel by William March. The film is about a sociopathic little girl, and was a hit at the box office, receiving positive reviews from critics.

Rory suggests that Paris was born from the “bad seed” of disgraced president Richard Nixon, to explain why she is such a bad president herself.

Mozart

LORELAI: And what if I am a really great fisher? … And all this time I’ve been sitting here with the gift to fish and I am squandering it. It’s like if Mozart walked right by the piano store and never played a note.

The composer Mozart, previously discussed.

As a child, Mozart learned to play several instruments, began composing music at the age of five, and went on an international concert when only six. He could play the piano blindfolded and with crossed hands, but is is said that his favourite instrument was the viola.