Ford Discovers Another Fall Guy

Former President Gerald R. Ford’s timing was perfect. His extended leg tripped up comedian Chevy Chase. The staged gag occurred during the second day of a three-day Humor and the Presidency Symposium, arranged by Ford, at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich. The symposium, which ends today, was billed as a semi-serious look at the wit of the nation’s chief executives. Chase, who was among a host of politicians and humorists, including Pat Paulsen, Mark Russell, Art Buchwald and Bob Orben, had often mimicked Ford’s occasional slips and falls in skits on NBC-TV’s “Saturday Night Live.” Jim Free, historian for Washington’s satirical Gridiron Club, said 17 Presidents have displayed their skills at political humor before the club over the years. Free recalled when John F. Kennedy, under attack because his wealthy father had financed his entire campaign, produced a telegram he claimed was from his father. It read: “Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary. I’ll be damned if I’ll pay for a landslide.” Ronald Reagan once told the club that he wasn’t too worried about the deficit because “it’s big enough to take care of itself.”

--Unlike former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos, President Corazon Aquino brought only two suitcases on her eight-day trip to the United States. Marcos, whose lavish tastes have become legendary, reportedly traveled with about 200 suitcases. “I don’t know what I would do with 200 suitcases,” Aquino told a small group of reporters. She said she had five pairs of shoes with her, in contrast to Marcos, whose shoe collection numbered in the thousands. Noting news reports that Marcos had accused her of wearing shoes left behind in the palace, Aquino pointed out that Marcos wears a size 8 1/2 while she has a 6 1/2 foot.

--Good spelling and good diction usually go hand in hand, but in this case, “ . . . never the twain shall meet.” Which is good news for contestants in the First and Original Illegitimate Spelling Bee, slated for Saturday in Hartford, Conn. Sponsors of the competition said that contestants will try to “misspell” the colloquialisms of Mark Twain and his contemporary, Harriet Beecher Stowe. “I b’lieve this ridicklous spel-n bee is gwyne to be a big hit,” said Elaine Cheesman, educational director at the Mark Twain Memorial, sponsors of the spelling bee. Twain and Stowe both used dialects in much of their down-to-earth writings. And, in their books, words were often spelled as they were pronounced rather than as they appeared in a dictionary.