Bethpage-Tribune_1972-04-20

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Island Trees Serving Bethpage - Plainview - Island Trees - Plainedge - Seaford Old Bethpage
Vd.6No.24 Thursday, April 20, 1972 10c per copy
'1 Am The President"
Spoofs Seaford Resident
-Nassau County Executive Ralph G. Caso presents
proclamation designating the period April 23-28 as
Secretaries Week to Rosalie Licata, selected as
Secretary of the Year by the Long Island Chapter of the
National Secretaries Association. Taking part in
ceremony is Emily Giersberg of Bethpage (r),
president of chapter which sponsors annual salute to
secretaries who perform important roles in commerce,
business, industry and government.
Baird At NY Tech For Abortion Talk
William Baird, a nationally
known advocate of birth control
reform, will speak on "The ABC's
of Abortion" at the New York
Institute of Technology in Old
Westbury on-Monday, April 24.
The talk will begin at 8 p.m. in the
college's Gym.
Baird will discuss the legal and
social aspects sof the abortion
issue, providing information on <
New York state, city and county
rulings. He will examine the
regulations of other states and
countries and make recom­mendations
for specific changes
in the abortion laws.
Sponsored by the NYIT Student
Government Association, the talk
is part of a speakers series on
current controversial issues
arranged for the particular in­terest
of students and the local
community.
Baird, who is active in the fight
against the 'recent decision
prohibiting local welfare
departments from paying for
abortions, has been an activist in
the field of birth control and
abortion reform for some 10
years. He was instrumental in
obtaining the reversal of the
Massachusetts law prohibiting
the dissemination of con­traceptives,
and spent 34 days in
a Massachusetts jail for publicly
disobeying those laws.
He is currently involved in a
Long Island court case
challanging a husband's right to
determine if his wife may have
an abortion. Baird stresses that
he does not necessarily advocate
abortion, but instead is working
to establish a woman's right to
control her own body. He says he
is primarily acting as a catalyst
between the public need and the
legal restrictions on abortion and
birth control.
The speech is open to the public
free of charge.
Bethpage Tag Day Chmn.
Don Juceam of Bethpage, a
junior at Plainedge High School,
has been named an Honorary Co-
Chairman of Rainbow Tag Day,
the May 12-13 county-wide fund
raising endeavor by Nassau teen­agers
in behalf of United
Cerebral Palsy Association of
Nassau County and its Center for
Living, in Roosevelt.
Paul Peyser of Merrick,
County Chairman of the two-day
event, said the project involves
the volunteer services of some
5,000 young people.
Peyser praised the efforts of
previous teen-age participants,
adding that the public has
provided unsolicited praise for
"their courtesy anf pleasant
approach." Pointing to the
record $42,000 raised by the
participants in last year's Tag
Day campaign
By Ann White
Would you believe I was
married to the president?
That's President Richard M.
Dixon, folks, who I worked with
in several theatrical ventures,
playing, his wife in a number of
off-Broadway productions. To
make it perfectly clear, Dixon is,
in fact, actor James La Roe, a
Seaford resident who just looks
like Richard M. Nixon.
As a Nixon look-alike, La Roe,
who changed his name to Richard
M. Dixon, is now on his way to a
lucrative career. His tremendous
drive, perseverance and out­standing
acting ability join with
scooped out nose and widows
v peak to create a show-biz
^••phenomenon. -
I recall several occasions when
I met with La Roe. We en­countered
angry citizens who
accosted him and generally let
him have it as they gave vent to
their opposing political view.
Later, they apologized sheepishly
when they were finally convinced
that he was 'poor Richard'
(whose white house is in Seaford,
L.I., not Washington, D.C.
The situation is not without its
brighter side- lovely ladies
sometimes wait for hours to
shake his hand. This kind of
adulation can be a headache,
sometimes... but not, of course,
when he is making professional
appearances. These days
requests for personal ap­pearances
are numerous and his
schedule is, almost as hectic as
the presidents.
About two years ago, I was
instrumental in arranging try-outs
for La Roe at the Village
Gate and The Improvisation, in
New York City. After the band
played "Hail to the Chief" and
'the President' came marching
in, audiences would respond with
respectful silence and occasional
hositility. Recently. Dixon and I
were commissioned to act in a
documentary film, and it was
'perfectly clear' to me that he has
acquired along with his amazing
resemblance, many of the
presidents mannerisms, par­ticularly
in the way he uses his
hands to stress a point;— and the
crowds love it!
Richard Dixon Stresses a Point
The Faking of a President
There are other parallels too;
like the president, La Roe is a
happily married man with two
daughters. His first lady,
Madeline is charming, petite and
quietly reassuring. Maddy, as
her intimate friends call her,
untiringly types scripts, answers
the "hot-line" and personally
checks Richard's wardrobe. In
fact, she handles all the gritty
details for her over-scheduled
president-husband.
Dixon's' manager, Murray
Becker, was responsible for
booking him in to benefits and
banquets which led to several
model assignments. Harpers ,
Bazaar printed a ten page fashion
spread in the January, '72 issue;
other advertisements and T.V.
Shows followed.
Under Becker's guidance,
Dixon has portrayed Nixon in the
film "Is There Sex After Death!"
and the soon-to-be-released
movie spoof "Richard". Parade
magazine, Time and Newsweek
have given the La Roe -Dixon
metamorphosis considerable
space. Feature stories have also
appeared in The London Daily
Express and leading periodicals
throughout the world.
I recently heard that photos of
Dixon reached Peking Just
before Nixon's much heralded
trip... if Dixon could have han­dled
chop-sticks as gracefully as
the president, he undoubtedly
would have added a thoroughly
confusing note to the
proceedings.
However, it is not Dixon's in­tention
to indulge in any satirical
luxury. With his arms raised in
the victory salute, he steadfastly
refuses to talk politics. "I don't
think the president would be
offended by what I do," he said,
"and 1 don't think its in good taste
to make fun of the president."
Man of Many Talents
Although, Richard D. has
appeared in various nightclubs
throughout the country, (most
recently at Rodney Dangerfields
in N.Y.), and on popular T.V.
programs such as The Johnny
Carson and David Frost shows,
there has been no reaction, from
the 37th president-
Besides his presidential profile,
La Roe has many talents. A few
weeks ago, for example he had
the opportunity to display his
dancing and singing ability on a
T.V. pilot, -The John Cassidy
Show. La Roe came close to
joining the N.Y. Yankees in his
younger days, won medals for his
ice skating and skiing skills,
played tootball and was a
lifeguard in his college days.
Apparently, Richard M. Dixon
has the qualifications and
determination that goes into the
making of a president, and if the
real president is re-elected his
career will continue to soar. As
for Nixon...if he loses, he may do
well to double with Dixon.
WAVE GETS LEAVE
Dolores Day, Seaman Ap­prentice,
U.S. Navy, the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. James Day of
Bethpage. is home on 14 days
leave after completing basic
training at Bainbridge.
Maryland.
The 1971 Bethpage High School
graduate spent the first two
weeks of basic training getting
processed into the U S. Navy and
the last eight weeks attending
classes on Naval History, Naval
Orientation and First-Aid.
While at Bainbridge the Beth­page
Seaman became a second
class swimmer and also received
the National Defense Medal.
After her leave is over Miss
"Lori" Day will go to San Diego.
California.