Peking has known him as "the Great Helmsman" and "the Reddest Sun in the Hearts of the People." But even in the heart of the Forbidden City no one really pictured well-upholstered Mao Tse-tung as much of a clotheshorse. From afar, he looks different; London's influential Tailor and Cutter magazine has declared Mao one of the world's 100 best-dressed men and notes that the Mao jacket made him "the only statesman since Churchill to have created a fashion trend throughout the world." To compound the anti-imperialist's triumph in the ancient seat of empire, Gerald Scarfe, the British artist- satirist, unveiled a leather chair constructed in Mao's image. The Chairman thus becomes the chair man as well.
Barry Goldwater a sex expert? It seemed an unlikely role. He was, in the book-review section of the Phoenix (Ariz.) Republic, praising a book called Bediquette for the "pure humor" that readers "will find between the covers. The covers of the book, I mean." Then, on a TV show, he spent a good deal of his time telling interviewers Barbara Howar and Joyce Susslcind just about everything they wanted to know about sex but hadn't thought of asking a conservative U.S. Senator. Sample: "I think any man in business would be foolish to fool around with his secretary. If it's somebody's else's secretary, fine."
Being wed to Actress Samantha Eggar has its obvious pleasures. It turns out that being divorced from her has advantages too. In Los Angeles last week, Samantha, 31, was granted a divorce from Actor-Producer Tom Stern, 36.
Alimony? Only $1 a year for five years, and she will support their two children. Nor was there cause for grief in their division of property: when they separated in June 1969, Samantha gave Tom $25,000.
"Can a King go to a discotheque?" the lady reporter wanted to know. "Good Lord!" replied Crown Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden, "I don't see why not. I've known some who did." Despite Gustaf's current status, the question was not academic. On April 30 he will be 25, legally eligible to succeed his 88-year-old grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf. And the Prince enjoys doing the shake in Stockholm and London nightspots. Of more interest to the Swedes is the woman Carl Gustaf will pick to shake through life with. The gossips have been betting on Marie-Christine, daughter of Belgium's ex-King Leopold and his second wife, a commoner. "Do you think you'll wait to be King before you marry?" Carl Gustaf was asked. "It's a question of finding someone," he replied. It is also a question of royal prerogative. As Crown Prince, he needs palace approval of his selection. As King, the choice will be completely his.