His Dealing Leads to Wheeling

--These days, a kid has to appeal to the governor if he wants a skateboard. At least, that’s the way it worked for Christopher Lackowitz, 10, of Trenton, N.J. The fifth-grader wrote Gov. Thomas H. Kean in November and related a conversation he had with his father. In the letter, written in pencil, Christopher said: “I always wanted a skateboard. One Sunday morning I said, ‘Dad please get me a skateboard.’ My father said that the only way I could get one is if I had a baby bear in my room. I said that that was too hard.” The youngster reported he rejected other conditions until his father said that he could have a skateboard if he could get the governor to come over. Guess who’s coming for a visit? Kean is scheduled to arrive at 10 a.m. Monday. “I made a sign that says, ‘Welcome, Governor Kean.’ It’s big. My mother is making cookies and tea for Governor Kean,” said Christopher, who added he was cleaning his room and doing “anything else I can think of.”

--An Arizona man paid $3,900 for a copy of a rare recording of two Beatles songs, making the record the most valuable Beatles 45 rpm in the United States. The Vee Jay Records recording, bought by Neal Umphred of Scottsdale, who works for a publisher of record price guides, is one of three known in existence, said Christopher Chatman of Beyond Records. The record includes the songs “Anna” and “Ask Me Why.” The next highest price paid for a Beatles 45 was $3,500 for a copy of a rare variation of “My Bonnie,” on Decca Records by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison were the Beat Brothers, Sheridan’s backup band, before they formed the Beatles, Chatman said.

--Donna Reed, star of “The Donna Reed Show,” from 1958 to 1966 who later appeared as Miss Ellie in “Dallas,” is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer, her publicist said. The actress was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, said hospital spokeswoman Peggy Shaff. Reed, 64, was being treated at the medical center for a recurrence of bleeding ulcers when the pancreatic cancer was discovered, said press agent Harry Flynn. Doctors planned to release Reed from the hospital in time for Christmas. Reed won an Oscar in 1953 for best supporting actress in “From Here to Eternity.”

--Emporia (Kan.) State University Saturday presented an honorary doctorate in fine arts to actor Karl Malden, who taught summer theater classes at the school in the early 1960s. Malden has taught acting at seven colleges and universities across the country. His wife, former actress Mona Greenberg Malden, is an Emporia native.