Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Oh, you meant that Ayn Rand
Long ago, when she was visiting Toronto, my boss, Nathan Cohen, entertainment editor of the Toronto Star and Canada's leading theatre critic, sent me out to interview her.
For some reason, I thought I was going to talk to Sally Ann Rand, the famous stripper. I assiduously studied how she was able to take off her clothes in a giant, plastic martini glass. Then, I walked into a hotel room to discover the other Rand.
Ayn Rand was a tiny, thin-faced woman with severely cut, straight black hair and huge dark eyes that fixed you with a cobra's stare. She was dressed in black, with a dollar-sign brooch on her lapel.
All I knew about her was that in my young, mushy world, she was the meanest woman alive.
"Excuse me," I said, "I have to go into the other room and call my editor." It was the first of several calls.
"Nathan," I told him. "I thought I was going to interview Sally Ann Rand, but I'm here with Ayn Rand. What do I ask her?"
I could hear Cohen's deep-throated laughter. I didn't know it at the time, but I, a naïf, was about to become the ball in a tennis match between two adversaries, who had never met each another.
Looking back on the incident and with the benefit of Cohen's teaching that there's something behind everything, I now realize I was caught between Rand, a Russian Jew who witnessed the Russian revolution and its aftermath and Cohen, a Jewish native of Sydney N.S. coal-mining country who once worked for a newspaper published by a union.
I knew about Cohen's union cred because he and I and a small, quiet woman from the social department formed one of the picket lines at a writer's strike at the Star. Cohen, a bear of a man, loved the line. He swirled his cape, waved his ivory-tipped cane, and in stentorian tones criticized the scabs with snippets from Shakespeare.
Cohen, however, was kind to new actors and reporters. He told me on the phone: "Rand loves setting up chapters dedicated to her in various cities. Why don't you ask her to set one up in Toronto?" A lifeline. What I didn't know was that she treated these chapters like scum.
Two new books on Rand -- Ayn Rand and the World She Made (Anne Heller) and Goddess of the Right (Jennifer Burns) -- detail her relationships with her followers. She forced her husband to wear a bell so she could hear his movements. She badgered her leading acolyte, Nathaniel Branden, to have sex with her twice a week -- and informed her husband and Mrs. Branden that this was rational.
She dismissed her inner sanctum as the "collective" and hated dissent among its members.
I didn't know any of this when I was interviewing her. The "opening new chapters" theme was all I had, so I pursued it assertively. Even Rand was impressed.
"Perhaps, I should set up a chapter in Toronto with you at its head," she said.
Later, I sheepishly reported to Cohen how I had mucked up the interview. He seemed most interested in whether or not I had agreed to set up a Rand chapter in Toronto. I was tempted, I said, because I was desperate for a lede, but I didn't do it because I couldn't stomach her cause.
"Good," he said, chortling. "Don't be too crestfallen," he added. "Someday this will all make a good story for you."
"Never," I told him. "Never. Never."
Tom Ford is managing editor of The Issues Network.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 9, 2009 A15
-
WFP Hockey
Download our new hockey app for the iPhone for Winnipeg Jets updates
-
Editor's Bulletin
Sign up for daily bulletins from editor Margo Goodhand
-
Winnipeg Jets
All things NHL on our Jets landing page
-
Twitter
Follow our reporters and our news feeds on Twitter
-
News Cafe
Check out the menu, read our blog posts or get info on coming events
-
Facebook Fanpage
Follow our Facebook Fanpage for story links, contests and special events
Ads by Google
- Back to Top
- Return to The View from the West
Poll
Most Popular
- Two Mounties shot and wounded in rural area southeast of Edmonton
- Jury on Stobbe trial down to 13 members
- Police say it's a miracle anyone survived crash that killed 10 migrant workers
- Madonna 'not impressed' over M.I.A Super Bowl finger
- Jets defeat Leafs 2-1
- M.I.A. splits from fiance
- LeAnn Rimes in pain following 'minor surgery'
- Jets forwards among cellar-dwellers in payroll, goals scored
- Stobbe said slaying during shopping trip 'strange': sister-in-law
- Eleven people killed after truck hits van in southwestern Ontario
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Three winning tickets sold for Friday's $50 million Lotto Max jackpot
- Woman's car stolen at gunpoint at St. Vital mall, police say
- Woman sexually assaulted during noon-hour in Exchange District
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Smith injured after transit fare protest
- Two armed men rob store at Grant Park Shopping Centre
- Eleven people killed after truck hits van in southwestern Ontario
- Nick Carter's sister dies
- Do you smoke marijuana?
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- George Clooney's prank could end Pitt's career
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Tina Maze strips down to her sports bra to send out underwear message: 'Not your business'
- Group's speed-limit sign removed from Pembina Highway
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Two children, two women die in fire
- Kate Beckinsale's weight fears over Underworld catsuit
- Obama torn by conflicting allies
- Golf course pressured on outstanding payments
- Trapped bear commits vehicular mauling, also manages to open garage door
- All the single ladies: 'Bachelor Canada' launches tour to find contestants
- Conservatives cut short House of Commons long-gun registry debate
- Power outage over
- Two Mounties shot and wounded in rural area southeast of Edmonton
- Spanking hurts more than helps, studies find
- Ottawa hits ex-rural pharmacist with $3.1-M suit over suspect claims
- Casting tour for The Bachelor Canada stopping in city Feb. 23
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- Northern fishing lodge destroyed by fire
- Police target drivers talking on cellphones, texting
- Woman's car stolen at gunpoint at St. Vital mall, police say
- Obama torn by conflicting allies
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Time, it appears, is on Assad's side
- Baird says Canada is a better friend of Israel than United States is
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Paddler Starkell was modern-day voyageur
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Local shooting spoofed on SNL
- Winnipeg mother watches as car stolen with child inside
- Canadian woman 'badly injured' in Mexico, local media report apparent beating
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- 4 dead in northern Ontario plane crash


You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.