Posters have been used to promote everything from Jane Avril to Zanzibar, but Pop Artist Robert Rauschenberg, 42, believes that salesmanship begins at home. A new 17-ft. by 4½-ft. Rauschenberg poster at Manhattan's Whitney Museum advertises the artist himself. Entitled Autobiography, the gaudy billboard includes a life history in telegraphese, his horoscope, and a skeletal portrait of himself composed from 13 X rays. With the backing of a group headed by Poster-Art Enthusiast Marion Javits, wife of the U.S. Senator, 2,000 copies of the work will be reproduced and sold to hard-core Rauschenberg admirers at $150 a throw.
First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of the Fashion Foundation of America. That would be General William Westmoreland, 53, U.S. commander in Viet Nam and the leading figure on this year's list of best-dressed men. Westmoreland was chosen, said the Fashion Foundation's Charles Richman, because "when you see a military man in a really trim uniform, a thrill goes through you—that's what uniforms are for." The general has yet to be told of his latest victory. "After all," Richman explained, "there's a war on."
For the past six years, Jacqueline Kennedy, 38, has occasionally been wearing a magnificent leopard coat made from $30,000 worth of rare skins given her by the Somali government when she was First Lady. Last month the generous Somalis presented a similar token of their esteem to Muriel Humphrey, 55, during her African jaunt with the Vice President. Alas! The intervening years have seen the passage of a law prohibiting Government officials from accepting any gift of more than "minimal value," and Muriel had to turn the furs over to the State Department. There is a possibility, said State, that Humphrey might be allowed to carpet his office in leopard, but the skins are the Government's property and will stay after the Humphreys leave.
Daddy thought it would be nice to give his only daughter a christening present—a painting, say, like the 16th century Madonna and Child by Lucas Cranach. And since Daddy was Nazi Reichsmarshal Hermann Goring, the city of Cologne thought it prudent to turn over the priceless painting. Daughter Edda Göring, now 29, has more or less owned the Madonna ever since, though last week she lost another round in her court fight to keep from returning the painting. Edda's lawyers have already slipped and dodged for 18 years, and she has two appeals left.
SING IT, RUDY, BUT CUT THE JOKES ran the headline over a column in the Phoenix Gazette, which went on to suggest that antique Entertainer Rudy Vallee, 66, could improve his nightclub appearances measurably by canning the comedy. The reproof brought a straight-faced letter of rebuttal from Rudy, who insisted that his singing now makes audiences rebel, and that he is making his living primarily as a gagster. One recent singing LP sold only 10,000 copies, Vallee reported, while his comedy album has sold 400,000. As for nightclub fans: "When I began to sing, they invariably began to talk. I have been convulsing them with stories."