SHORT TAKES : Italians Await Crystal’s Apology

Comic Billy Crystal’s problems stemming from his Italian joke at last week’s Academy Awards ceremonies are not over yet. Since he has not responded to the Italian-American organizations and members of Congress who protested his joke, the Commission for Social Justice of the Order of Sons of Italy in America has purchased a full-page advertisement in the trade publication, Variety, calling for a public apology. Crystal had joked that now that the Italians were buying MGM the lion would no longer roar but would take the Fifth Amendment.

Academy President Karl Malden, in response to the criticism, has said Crystal’s remarks were “innocuous” and “made in the context of a free-wheeling comic monologue. . . .” In his open letter to Crystal, Commission for Social Justice President Gabriel Bevilacqua said, “It appears that at least in your mind all Italians are involved in criminal activity.” Crystal remains unavailable for comment.