1963

Last month I promised to tell you why PeterIsraelson thinks he's a "kinky kind of director." And I always keep a promise.

Actually, I'm not sure that Pete thinks he is a kinky director; he simply says that in the field of producing television commercials he has that reputation. Apparently he also has been typed as a youth-oriented, outdoorsy director who is good at framing young maidens cavorting on the beach amidst exploding constellations of water (in slo-mo) and sunlight. I'm making a certain presumption here, but my information is that his Coca Cola spots have won the much-sought Clio Award. And a trade journal claims that his Avis, Doublemint, and other commercials have "earned him the admiration of the industry."

All of this is somewhat hard for me to grasp. After all, just a few years ago Pete was making training films in the Air Force Reserve. One of his masterpieces was "You and Your Chute." Fortunately, he had an opportunity to work with Bert Stern, learned to operate a movie camera, and became so possessive about that art that he still insists on being his own camera man, which evidently gets him in trouble sometimes with the union.

Getting back to being typed: Pete says he's not especially comfortable with being labeled youth-oriented, although he concedes that there is some value in having a specialty in a crowded profession.

"The things that came easiest to me were visual things," he says. "I would do beautiful sunsets, horses running, beautiful things that were cheap to begin with ...

"I'm a very energetic and athletic person, so I can do all the hopping, skipping, laughing com- mercials with young people (Pete, how old are we?). I'm sure people would say - although I shudder to think about it - 'Well, he can direct horses and girls running on the beach. But how would he be with a ketchup bottle on a table, or somebody talking about Preparation H?'

"It still upsets me to think anybody could categorize me. I'm sure I'll move into a dialogue period, and then people will look at my reel and say, 'I wonder if he can direct girls running on the beach?' "

Pete says he has been asked to direct feature films. But he is wary about accepting such an assignment based simply on his reputation for being kinky and young at heart.

"A lot of youth market producers are willing to gamble with anything today," he thinks, "because they have no idea what the youth market wants. ... I'm not intrinsically against youth market pictures, but I want to do something I feel is more unique."

What can be "more unique" than being young?

Now in the real world that we all know and love:

Phil Fisher was married August 24 to Laura Mavis Gordon in a ceremony performed at Eliot House on the Harvard campus. Laura is a Smith graduate and an instructor in Slavic languages and literature at Harvard, where she is working on her doctorate. Phil, who has a degree from the London School of Economics and Stanford Law School, is an associate with the New York law firm of Holtzmann, Wise and Shepard.

A late flash from Red Bank, N.J., says that Class Treasurer Charlie Parton has been elected vice president of Colonial First National Bank. He had formerly been vice president and assistant head of the mortgage department of Fidelity Union Trust. In addition to taking care of 1963's money, Charlie is treasurer of the Dartmouth Club of Essex and Morris. Fie is also chairman of the membership committee of the Mortgage Banker's Association of New Jersey and is on the mortgage committee of the American Bankers Association.

Steve Lewinstein has been named chairman of the 1974 Providence (R.I.) Cancer Crusade. Steve is vice president of UST Corp., a Boston-based bank holding company. He also is author of two children's books.

Two additions to the class foreign legion this month. Dick Sandman is lecturing at the Center for Educational Studies at the University Sains Malaysia in Minden, Penang, Malaysia. And John Farnsworth has migrated to London where he's vice president at a branch of the New York Chemical Bank.

Who else would have an address like Box 57, Pittsburgh, but Heinz Corp. A canned release tells me that Heinz has just appointed HowieWilliams as general manager for the "organization division." It also tells me that Howie is a member of the American Psychological Association, the International Association of Applied Behavioral Scientists, and the National Institute for Applied Behavior Science. Which must help immensely in determining just how thick we like our ketchup.

Secretary, 11 Nelson St. Keene, N.H. 03431

Treasurer, 63 Blackburn Place Summit, N.J. 07901