Thailand's ex-Premier P. Pibulsonggram, 63, onetime dictatorial Thai field marshal who was booted from power in 1957, was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Bodh Gaya, India. Father of six grown children, Pibulsonggram took an oath of celibacy before a golden image of Buddha. In keeping with Buddhist doctrine, he was not required to divorce his devoted wife, Mme. La-iad, a renowned feminist.
The Chicago Sun-Times' wandering Newshen Glenna Syse spent 39 minutes with Author James Thurber, left with the conviction that he is "the funniest man alive." In an epigrammatic mood, Thurber ranged free and easy over—by count—39 subjects. Glenna's sampling included a Thurberism on age: "I'm 65 and I guess that puts me in with the geriatrics. But if there were 15 months in every year, I'd only be 48.* That's the trouble with us. We number everything. Take women, for example. I think they deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of 28 and 40." On the forthcoming election: "It's accusation time in Normalcy. And in spite of the nominations, my mother is voting for Lindbergh." On martinis: "One is all right, two is too many, three is not enough."
Indonesia's President Sukarno worked his face up into a "say prunes" expression as a Soviet gift-bearer pinned a Lenin Peace Medal on him. The ruble equivalent of the prize: $25,000. As Sukarno saw it, the honor was fitting recognition of his overflowing "love for humanity."
"I don't object to nudity," explained Musicomedienne Carol Charming. But after watching an undraped contingent of Folies-Bergère dolls at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Carol asked out of her $100,000-a-year contract with the Tropicana that called for an eight-week appearance this year and next. The nudes were "just wonderful," she insisted. "The trouble is, if I were to work in the same show —as the management wanted—I would just flop. There's no sympathy in the Folies. I can't get laughs until an audience is with me, and I can't get them with me if they have their minds on nude girls."
It was all settled: Heavyweight Boxing Champion Floyd Patterson would fight Swedish Challenger Ingemar Johansson in a third bout for the title. Date: Nov. 1. Place: Los Angeles. But last week, the man who counts most threw a haymaker at the plan. Said Champion Patterson: "I might fight Johansson before Nov. 1 or after Nov. 1, but I'll not fight him on Nov. 1." Why was he so sore? Well, for one thing, Patterson first heard the news from a gas station attendant, who heard it on the radio. Then there were the promoters, Feature Sports, Inc. and their counsel. Lawyer Roy Cohn, 33, who has come a long way from the Cohn and Schine days with the late Senator Joe McCarthy. Declared Patterson: "Cohn thinks I'm an insolent, dumb backwoodsman. Before the last fight, my lawyer asked Cohn if I shouldn't see the fight contract. And Cohn said, 'Floyd? Can he read?' "