THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020657
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Shame on Richard Gere!
That suave young actor of aristocratic bearing jilted - to resort to an ancient word - his wife (another near obsolete term) Cindy Crawford because she pronounced the word ``epitome'' as ``epitoam.''
Her way, from the looks of the word ``epitome,'' makes a lot of sense, especially if you learned to read through phonetics.
Given another decade under the sway of TV emcees, we'll all be saying ``epitoam'' instead of e-pit-o-me.
Why, offered two possible ways to pronounce a word, I'll pick unerringly the wrong one.
In a magazine, supermodel Crawford explained their breakup by saying she doesn't like to say words wrong, but ``the one that always gets me is `epitome.' I once made a fool of myself in front of Richard.
``We were out in the country somewhere, and we're standing in front of this little real estate office. I'm, like, reading the descriptions of the houses, and I go, `Oh, this one is the very epitoam of Westchester living!' And he goes, `(Jeez), what did you just say?' He actually thinks I'm somewhat ignorant. I said, `You know, epitoam, it means epitome.' And he goes . . . `That doesn't mean epitome. That IS epitome!' ''
Why, I find what she said endearing. She may have known better and yoked the two - ``epitoam means epitome'' - for fun.
And if she did it, defensively, to confuse that stuffed shirt of an escort, it borders on brilliance.
The skill with which she told the story evinces her intelligence.
And if she stumbled into it, naturally, then that's a gift that he should have cherished. And encouraged.
Gere must be a serious thud not to see the humor of it.
You'd have thought he would be capable of appreciating her worth from his role in the movie ``Pretty Woman'' with Julia Roberts.
Gere, as a young business tycoon, falls in love with a call girl he has hired to accompany him to events through the weekend.
In the close, on the way to the airport after telling her goodbye, he has the cabbie turn the cab around. As it drives down her street, he stands through the sunroof and shouts. She comes to the balcony and he climbs the latticework.
In a Laurel and Hardy movie, Hardy would have slipped and fallen in a fish pond; but Gere reaches her arms and everybody leaves the movie smiling.
Now, having played a role in which he recognizes the worth of a young woman despite her equivocal lifestyle, the churl turns around in real life and misjudges another because she mispronounces a word.
It reminds me of another blonde in ``Born Yesterday,'' wherein Judy Holiday's spacy personality masks an acute mind. There's an interesting mix of real and reel life here.
My guess is that the model is well rid of the mannequin. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
Cindy Crawford
by CNB