Q. I understand that be-fore Brian DePalma became a hotshot director of big-budget films, he shot an absolutely awful version of Phantom of the Opera here in Dallas. Is that true? C.W., Dallas.
A. Phantom of the Para-dise was the name of the horror movie spoof directed by DePalma (Carrie, Dressed to Kill) and shot on location in Dallas in 1973. But, according to Philip Wuntch, film critic of The Dallas Morning News, Phantom “actually is an enjoyable movie, if you put your tongue firmly in cheek.” The film, a great deal of which was filmed inside the Majestic Theater, features an interesting cast. The only “name” star is songster Paul Williams. Other cast members include Jessica Harper and William Finley. Phantom wasn’t a commercial success at the time of its release on Christmas 1974. It has since recouped its investment as a midnight cult film, similar to The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Q. In a recent issue (“The Invisible Man,” June), you reported that the average life expectancy for whites in the city is 67, while it’s 55 for blacks. You never said what it is for Mexican-Americans. Does the county keep that type of data? R.N., Dallas.
A . Yes. The average life expectancy for His-panics in Dallas is a rather shocking 44 years.
Q. I have always thought of Eddie Chiles as the one and only owner of the Texas Rangers. (And Brad Corbett before that and Bob Short before that.) However, in your April issue, Mike Shropshire refers to “Chiles and his partners.” Who are these partners, what do they do in real life, and what percentage of the club do they own? R.B., Dallas.
A. Like any corporate en-tity, the Rangers have stockholders. Chiles happens to own the most shares of stock. Other stockholders include Dee J. Kelly, a Fort Worth attorney; Mack Ran-kin, a Dallas oil man; Amon Carter, Jr., a Fort Worth publishing executive and scion of that city’s most famous family; William H. Seay, a Dallas insurance executive; and Charles S. Sharp, a Dallas philanthropist. The Rangers won’t reveal the number of shares each man holds, but they assure us Chiles is the man in charge.
Q. I’ve lived here for 15 years, and I believe this is the wettest spring that I’ve ever seen. Does all this rain mean that we’re going to have a cooler than usual summer? D.K., Richardson.
A. Answer Page hates to tackle questions like this. Just as soon as we say that the summer is going to be cooler than usual, we know there will be a back-breaking heat wave, and you’ll read our ludicrous answer on a day when it’s 110 degrees outside. The National Weather Service doesn’t like to answer that sort of question, either, but their forecasters in Washington have timidly predicted that the temperatures in July and August will be higher than normal. As far as this spring being unusually wet, well, you’re wrong there. May was a wet month in which 6.24 inches of rain fell in a series of almost nightly thunder boomers. The average rainfall in May is only 4.47 inches, the NWS says. But for the year, rainfall is down about an inch from normal. Cross your fingers that the summer months will bring the total up, but we warned you.
Q. With the Miss Texas pageant coming up this month, my girl friend and I are having an argument. I say that Phyllis George was Miss Texas twice, and that she became Miss America the second time she went to Atlantic City. My friend says Phyllis was just Miss Dallas twice. Who’s right? S.C., Dallas.
A. Neither of you, actually. Phyllis George was only Miss Texas once, in 1970, when she was crowned Miss America of 1971. However, the year she won the Miss Texas crown was her third trip to the pageant in Fort Worth. She had been first runner-up the previous year as Miss Denton. She was Miss Dallas the year she became Miss Texas and Miss America. By the way, of the 10 women who have been named Miss Texas since Phyllis, only one of them represented a city outside the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by jealous representatives from other parts of the state.
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