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Splenetic Author Philip (Tomorrow!) Wylie, 52, was tracked down by the New York Times and asked about the present state of Mom, whom Wylie branded a matriarchal reptile in his Generation of Vipers, published in 1942. Wylie, who has obviously never underestimated the power of Mom again, did some furious backpedaling: "There were 19 pages about that ... In the middle of it, I said the whole thing was a gag. I thought it was hilariously funny. When I was writing it, I'd come downstairs and read it to [my wife] Ricky, and we'd laugh 'till our sides hurt. I didn't expect to become known for the rest of my life as a woman hater. That's the first thing they'll put in my obituary—a woman hater ... I certainly was a damned odd one."