What a joy to read about someone who's got so much going for him and still has the kindness and thoughtful-ness Ron Howard shows (PEOPLE, June 12).
Diane Gardner
Culpeper, Va.
Some might flip over the Fonz, but I still get all twitchy over Richie.
Mae Waterhouse
Maynard, Mass.
You failed to mention that Ron Howard played the part of the little boy who lisped in The Music Man. Is he ashamed to acknowledge the part or is it merely trivia nobody remembers?
Kathleen Quinn
Oklahoma City
Neither. Ron has fond memories of that role, filmed when he was 6 years old and for which his father taught him to lisp.
—ED.
Atlanta Prison
I'm pleased you have done a story about prison life that will help enlighten society about the dangers to anyone compelled to endure it. The ridiculous overcrowding must be eliminated to change the atmosphere that exists within the Atlanta Penitentiary and other such institutions. Wise up, Feds!
Nelson C. Mikesell
Western Penitentiary
Pittsburgh
Nixon & POWs
Over five years ago, when I was 15, I bought a POW bracelet and wore it for three months without ever taking it off. At the time "my" man, Lt. Col. Robert Purcell, was an MIA, and I held little hope of his being alive. The night I watched him step off the airplane at home after eight years, I literally cried. I'm overjoyed to know he is still alive .
Terri Hoggard
Windsor, N.C.
Dr. John Laragh
As a 25-year-old with high blood pressure, I am curious about heredity as a cause. High blood pressure runs in my family.
Margie Mannheimer
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Most researchers agree that heredity is a factor in hypertension. However, as Dr. Laragh emphasizes, "We have the means to control it."
—ED.
Brantley's Sports Bra
Hooray for N. O. Brantley! Not only can running be uncomfortable, it also makes you self-conscious. It's about time someone thought about supporting those who already have it, instead of those who are trying to look that way.
Cathy Nichols
Phoenix
I have always been regarded as a natural-born athlete—excelling at all sports, except on the tennis court, where unfortunately I'm just a big bust. Where, oh where can I buy Mr. Brantley's bra in the Miami, Fla. area? I want to go on to bigger and better things, like from a 40D to 40-love.
Mrs. J. Katz
Miami
Addresses of retail outlets are available from N.O. Brantley, Frederick, Okla. 73542.
—ED.
Prowse-McCook
Finally! An article about my very favorite performer. Her Las Vegas act is not to be believed: so classy, so polished and inspired! I keep waiting for TV to give her a show of her own. How about The Prowse-McCook Hour? McCook-Prowse? Oh well, let them name it; just put it on the air!
Jane Foliano
Los Angeles
Noel Keane & Surrogate Mothers
It is a pity that older children, children in sibling groups, minority children and handicapped children are suffering a slow emotional death because no one cares enough to give them a home. Too many childless couples have forgotten that adoptions originated to provide families for homeless children, not babies for childless couples.
Patricia Irvine
Gary, Ind.
The motives for wanting a baby have to be seriously questioned if a couple is willing to go outside their marriage. Doesn't a child have a right to be conceived by two people who love each other instead of by some cold, clinical method? And imagine being told that your natural mother had no maternal feelings for you! Sad that some people think that it is their inalienable right to have a child!
Eve Holcomb
Winchester, Ont.
Simone Signoret
I don't mean to be cruel, but if there was any "Room at the Top" left now, Simone Signoret would probably be one of the last women invited up. Fifty-seven is not all that old. But for Signoret to have allowed herself to deteriorate so is certainly a letdown for her avid fans, who worshiped her in the '50s.
Lori Murphy
Wellesley, Mass.
Your photograph of Signoret, Montand and Monroe is the most poignant study of a woman in love I've ever seen. Mme. Montand is married to a fabulously attractive man. But I find it difficult to forgive a man, even one as virile and magnetic as Yves Montand, his indiscretions when they cause the pain I see in the face of Simone Signoret today. C'est dommage.
Jennifer Smith
Memphis
Star Tracks: Cher
I noticed Cher has a beautiful Rolex watch on. I also noticed what looks like a bare breast. Do my eyes deceive me?
J. Willis
Santa Barbara
Is there a reason you can get shots of Cher's chest and not Gene Simmons' face?
Maggie Browne
Fontana, Calif.
We've come to the conclusion that Cher has nothing covering her bosom except the fire-breather himself! Give us the bare facts, would you?
Mary Camblin
Jenny Bennett
San Diego
It's okay. They're good friends.—ED.
Richard Brown
After hearing much about Richard Brown's course "The Electric Mind," I signed up last fall. I am not a "star gazer," but I looked forward to hearing the guest celebrities. What a disappointment! After listening to two hours of Louise Lasser talk about Mary Hartman I left. Robert DeNiro wouldn't answer questions. Robert Duvall was equally boring. Celeste Holm went off on a tangent for 20 minutes and then couldn't remember the original question. Paul Sorvino wasn't bad, but Marvin Hamlisch was the best! He was witty, funny, talented and oozing with personality! Not worth $140 though.
Nancy Feldman
New York City
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
