PEOPLE

"She has a clear idea of the great challenge which California faces in providing recreation opportunities for its growing population," said Governor Pat Brown, as he appointed blonde, bouncy and beautiful Actress Janet Leigh to the state recreation commission. And why not? Janet plays a fair game of tennis. Her mother was once a receptionist at the Soda Springs ski resort. And, as the man in the TV commercials suggests, blondes have more fun whatever they do.

The weight of half a century was back on their shoulders and once more they were only grizzled and humdrum Senators, lawyers, bankers and surgeons. But for a moment they had been collegians again and the loudest cheers given any crew at England's famed Henley regatta were still ringing in the ears of Bow Oar Leverett Saltonstall (U.S. Senator from Massachusetts), No. 2 Oar James Talcott (retired board chairman), No. 3 Henry Meyer (lawyer, of Boston), Nos. 4 and 5 Henry Middendorf and his twin brother John (investment bankers, of Boston), No. 6 David Morgan (chemical engineer, of New York), No. 7 Louis Curtis (banker), Stroke Charles Lund (surgeon) and Coxswain Henry L. F. Kreger (lawyer, of Cleveland), the Harvard varsity crew (below) that won at Henley in 1914 and went back intact this year to show the youngsters how they did it.

"I have no reservations about a man going two ways in professional sports if he's 7 feet 1 and weighs 290 pounds," said Kansas City Chief Football Coach Hank Stram discussing a possible new recruit to the game. The recruit? Wilt Chamberlain, of course. "Imagine the advantage he would have over the defensive backs in the AFL," added Stram, licking his chops. "Fred Williamson of Oakland is the tallest and he's only 6 feet 2." "O.K.," countered Boston Patriots' co-owner Dom Di Maggio. "If the Chiefs get Chamberlain as a pass-catching end, we'll get Bill Russell as a defensive back."

The wake of the Queen Mary sent a table crashing into her knee, the fried chicken was greasy, the Hudson River smelled, the sun melted her vanilla ice cream and Actor Dave Burns's cigar smoke was enough to make anybody seasick, but everybody's favorite Dolly, Carol Channing, just loved it. "I'm so happy to be on the water I can't think," said irrepressible Carol, yachting happily around New York Harbor in a Bertram 38 Cruiser rechristened the Hello, Dolly! in her honor. "I grew up near the water in San Francisco and I've always loved it," she said. "And this is the best way in the world to relax."

A sportsman of many parts, Britain's Prince Philip spent his Icelandic vacation cruising on the yacht Britannia, fishing in the Nordhura River, flying an airplane around Reykjavik and bird-watching by Myvatn lake. Icelanders spent Philip's vacation prince-watching.

With a 54-inch waist, a five-foot chest and a two-foot neck. Weight Lifter Paul Anderson, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1956, is conceivably the world's strongest man. But speaking at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting in Atlanta, Paul claimed that he could run 100 yards in less than 12 seconds as well. If so, the 370-pound strong man is not only the huskiest but quite possibly the fastest man in the world—per ton, that is.

"If I can keep you out, you won't go in, and if you can drag me in, I'll stay there." On this catch-as-catch-can ultimatum from 200-pound Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina to 170-pound Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas, the two 61-year-old members of a governmental body which likes to think of itself as august, began rolling around on the marble floor outside a senatorial committee room like a couple of wayward schoolboys, while reporters and senatorial colleagues watched in wonder. The wrestling was rotten. The politics was worse.

"I adore swimming second only to tennis," said buxom Jayne Mansfield, as she soaked up the sun last week in a skimpy Oleg Cassini bikini on a Boston beach. "I find it easy to get as much sun as I need in a bikini," explained the actress, when questioned about her choice of a Cassini top instead of a Gernreich topless. "And frankly I would be embarrassed to wear a topless suit," she added, rolling her 42-23-38 figure over to catch the rays. "You know, no matter what I wear people always look, and I think it would offend more people than it would please."

A wandering Philadelphian named Donald LeVine dropped by the royal palace in Monaco to say hello to his sister-in-law, the former Grace Kelly. He had scarcely got a brotherly kiss planted on the princess' cheek before he was rushed out to the local golf course for a command performance with the prince. Rainier, who shoots in the high 80s, was just starting to play when he heard that Grace's brother-in-law, who shoots considerably lower, was in town. Seemed a pity to waste such talent.

The running backs of the National Football League can relax, a little bit anyway, even if Dallas Owner Clint Murchison Jr. and the guerrillas of the Viet Cong cannot. When the 1964 pro football season gets under way, 6-foot 5-inch Cowboy Tackle Don Talbert will be 10,000 miles away in Vietnam, as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

The first thing French Movie Star Jean-Paul Belmondo turns to every day is the boxing page. A former amateur fighter, he works out weekly and spends every Monday night at a local Paris gym. "I am," he said between takes at a Paris studio last week, "mordu de la boxe." Naturellement!

Potboiling Author Leon Uris (Armageddon, Exodus, Battle Cry) is too busy at his Acapulco retreat water skiing behind a $5,000 speedboat, skin diving with Scuba Champion Fred Baldasare, sailing a 35-foot yacht or swimming in his pool to think about knocking out another bestseller. "My coffers," he says, "haven't sunk low enough yet."

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