The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 2

A2 The Pittsburgh Press Tuesday, February 9. 1988 STAIUMRJG OUT OPENING UP Humor nourished her 35-year career By Jean Bryant In trying to meet, stay away from cute The Pittsburgh Press Esther Lapiduss was so much fun her Taylor Allderdiee High School classmates voted her the "Girl With the Best Sense of Humor." They didn't know she was using humor to hide self-consciousness about being 5 feet, 10 inches tall. But she capitalized on her jovial nature and over a 35-year stretch has built a career making people laugh in plays in local theatre and in a one-woman show that sells from Los Angeles to Boston. "I felt awkward about my height. So I told jokes," said Mrs.

Lapiduss, recalling those days when she was Esther Schwartz. "I was born With the ability to see the funny side of things. I was invited to a lot of parties because I was funny. So I was always the center of attention." Watching the Squirrel Hill resident perform makes it hard to believe she ever felt unsure about herself: "My name is Esther Hello, How are ya, I'm gonna sing some songs just for you is her show opener. If humor was helpful in getting through awkward high school years, it was a definite plus as she balanced her career with marriage she's been married to Saul Lapiduss for 39 years and motherhood she has two daughters, Sally, 31, and Maxine, 26.

Mrs. Lapiduss said her own jocularity combined with her husband's wittiness made for a fun atmosphere at home. "Our girls were raised in a house with a lot of laughter." It's not surprising then that Sally and Maxine have become comedy writers. They are under contract to a new TV production company formed by Grant Tinker and the Gannett Co. Mrs.

Lapiduss said they are now writing material for a new Dick Van Dyke Show. Before the sisters teamed up, Sally, a graduate of Lake Forest College in Chicago, worked four years with Katharine Hepburn as a "girl Friday." Maxine, a graduate of Carnegie Meilon University's Theatre Arts Department, was a regular at Improvisation, a New York comedy club. "They've become big-time," said Mrs. Lapiduss. "They are comparatively young- to have such an opportunity.

We're really proud of them." Mrs. Lapiduss said her own career took off in the early 1950s when, after graduating from high school, she successfully auditioned for the Pittsburgh Playhouse. She's appeared in five plays there, the last being "Cabaret" in 1985. Early in her career, she appeared in "Dance for Joy," with Shirley Jones, an aspiring entertainer from Smithton, Westmoreland County, who went on to become a popular actress. They remain friends.

"I always joke that Shirley was Miss Pittsburgh and I was Miss Homestead Works. The Playhouse was a springboard for a lot ot talent." Later in her career, Mrs. Lapiduss formed the Ecumenical Trio with Playhouse alumni Joe Negri and Bob McCully. "Joe is an Italian Catholic, Bob is Protestant and I'm Jewish," she said, explaining the group's unusual name. "We still work together occasionally." Eventually, however, Mrs.

Lapiduss progressed to her current one-woman show, with pianists Bobby Cardillo and Bill Chrystal as accompanists. "Nobody goes through life just laughing," she said. "But the ability to see the humor in a situation and to be optimistic really helps to handle a situation." jf- 4ik NEW YORK (AP) After years of searching for the perfect opening line, social science, in the person of a University of Alaska psychologist, has settled on the best conversational gambit with a stranger of the opposite sex: "Hi!" In a poll of 650 men and 831 women, that simple yet effective greeting trounced the likes of "Come here often," "Is that really your hair," and "Didn't we meet in a previous life?" Dr. Chris Kleinke of the University of Alaska asked his subjects, most of them members of the university community in Anchorage, to rate 200 opening lines on a scale of 1 to 7, 1 being excellent. The buoyant "Hi!" shared the highest median rating slightly above 5 with more elaborate openers such as "I feel a little embarrassed about this, but I'd like to meet you" and "I don't have anybody to introduce me, but I'd really like to get to know you." Despite all the anguish that has been put into the conjuring up of clever opening lines, Kleinke found that some of the best are the simplest, including, "That's a very pretty (fill in the blank)." Let the 10 worst step up to the bar and speak for themselves.

First, men to women: "Is that really your hair?" "You remind me of a worn- an I used to date." "Your place or mine?" "I'm easy, are you?" "Isn't it cold? Let's make some body heat." Now, women to men: "Didn't we meet in a previous life?" "It's been a long time since I've had a boyfriend." "Hey, baby, you've got a gorgeous chassis. Mind if I look under the hood?" "I'm easy, are you?" "What's your sign?" The Alaskans also do not warm to cliches, such as "Live around here," "Haven't I seen you before," and the truly pathetic "What time is it?" Kleinke broke openers into three categories: cute-flippant, innocuous and direct. He found men responded best to the direct approach seem different from everyone and women preferred an innocuous or mildly direct opener, such as "This is awkward, but I'd like to meet you." Although neither sex liked cute-flippant lines, women disliked them more than men. And, "We found that in general, men underestimate how much women disliked most of the cute-flippant openers." No line is foolproof, and even the best must be adapted to the situation. One would not use the normally effective "I like your earrings" on some- one wearing a motorcycle helmet.

The key, he said, "is to recognize opening lines for what they are: a negotiation." David SpencerThe Pittsburgh Press Esther Lapiduss still uses the bonnet in her act, but the chicken is old hat COMING IN SHOWING UP Czarnecki, who served with the Marines in South Vietnam's northern highlands, said his cousin died in battle about 1,000 feet from where he was. The song has a special meaning for him. "It was just wanting to give a message: 20 years later, don't forget the veterans of any war, but especially don't forget the Vietnam vets. It's easy to forget," he said. U.S.

Rep. Claudine Schneider, will be the keynote speaker in a panel discussion on Women in Politics at 7 p.m. Friday in the University of Pittsburgh Law School's Teplitz Moot Courtroom. The panel discussion, which also includes state Rep. Ba-bette Josephs, D-Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh City Council President Sophie Masloff, is part of the fourth annual Mar-jorie Matson Law Seminar, sponsored by the school's women's law caucus.

The seminar continues at 1 1 a.m. Saturday with a discussion on infertility and in vitro fertilization. After lunch, the seminar will resume at 1 p.m. with a discussion on surrogacy. The events are free and open to the public.

City workers praised Mayor Richard Caliguiri has commended the city's work force for its response to last month's oil spill in the Monongahela and Ohio rivers. "I was impressed by the teamwork displayed by all involved city departments," the mayor said during a ceremony in his office yesterday. "I realize that it required many city employees to work long hours and under sub-freezing conditions." About 30 representatives from five depart-'ments water, public works, engineering and construction, general services and public safety attended yesterday's ceremony. Vietnam remembered Music is only one of the things shared by members of an Ohio rock group called VETTZ. All of the members share a history of time in Vietnam, a fact they've commemorated in a song aimed at helping other Vietnam war veterans.

The group made a record and music video based on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Drummer Ron Czar-necki of Springboro said 10 percent of the record's profits will go toward helping Vietnam veterans in Ohio. "When you see some of the things these guys (veterans) go through, we just felt that if we could get something going, naturally we could raise a lot of money," he said. Czarnecki said he and Wayne Barker Jr. of Franklin, a guitarist and the band's lead singer, were playing together about three years ago when they decided to do something to help Vietnam veterans.

They met bass player George Combs of Cincinnati and later added Woody Nease of Carlisle on guitar and Mic Murphy of Miamisburg on keyboards. With encouragement from the Ohio State Council of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Barker wrote "The Wall," a rock ballad with a heavy guitar line. Barker served off Vietnam on the aircraft carrier USS Kennedy. Achievers George D. Gatewood, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh and administrator of the school's observatory, has received an award from NASA for outstanding contributions in the space and science fields Lawrence P.

Rager Jr. has been named to succeed Andrew J. Wasko as executive director of the Easter Seal Society of Allegheny County. Compiled by Noreen Seebacher The weather front today Ut0" i-X? Extended forecast Thursday, Feb. 11.

Saturday, Feb. 13 Western Pennsylvania Cloudy and cold with flurries Thursday. Partly cloudy and cold Friday. Lows from 5 below to 5 above zero and highs in the teens both days. Partly sunny and not as cold Saturday.

Lows from 5 to 15 and highs in the 20s. National forecast Showers are predicted for today In Washington, parts of Oregon, Texas and parts of the Carolinas. Snow Is predicted from eastern Washington to northern Kansas and Missouri and In New York and Vermont. Flurries are expected from northern Michigan to Maine. 0 66 PtfcT- IVi0 Airport temperature data for yeatardey Local forecast Cloudy today with a 40 percent chance of light snow.

Highs In the low 30s. Mostly cloudy tonight, with a chance of flurries. Lows in the teens. Partly cloudy tomorrow, with temperatures near 30. Tempereturee in Pgh fof 24-hour pviod ending asty codir Highest 27 lovwat 16 Mean 21.

High, low. precip a year ago. 27, 13. 0 01. Highest temperature this date since 1874, 68 in 1925.

lowest temperature this date since 1874. 1 1 in 1934. Latest barometer reading 30 20, steady. Latest humidity reading 93 percent. Latest river stage 16 2 pool Sunset 5 48 m.

Sunrise 7 20 a m. Normal precip since Feb 1 Excess in precip. since Feb. Total precip since Jan. 1 Normal precip since Jan 1 Excess in precip.

since Jan. Normal temperature tor the day Deficiency temp, lor the day Oehcieney in tamp, since Feb. 1 Deficiency In temp, since Jan. 1 27 4 6 3 Recondition. fn, Rivers in the Pittsburgh District will remain steady "I Clou.

lfe. 1 Airport precipitation data lor yesterdey Total precip. since Feb. 1 .2 78 over the next 24 hours. 7Wiow "vry Nation high, low The highest temperature reported yesterday, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, was 83 degrees at Rovia and San Gabriel, Calif.

Yesterday's low was 30 degrees below zero at Hlbbing, Minn. International weather 45 32 cldy Oslo 36 19 cldy 59 57 cldy Psis 46 41 clear 57 45 clear Hio 82 64 rain 54 45 cldy Rome 64 55 cldy 73 61 clear San Juan 62 66cleer 34 32 rain Seoul 34 16 clear 57 45 clear Singapore 88 75 cldy 46 37 cldy Stockholm 36 32 clear 48 36 clear Sydney 72 55 clear 90 70 clear Tel Aviv 64 54 cldy 72 43 clear Tokyo 48 30 clear 14-15 cldy Toronto 19 3snow 36 30 rain Vienna 46 35 clear 73 62 cldy Warsaw 41 28 cldy 86 50 clear Geneve Hong Kong Istanbul Jerusalem Johannesburg Kiev Lisbon London Madrid Manila Mexico City Montreal Moscow Nssssu New Delhi Sky 32 rain 46 cldy 61 rain 79 clear 19clesr 46 clear 34 clear 51 cldy 34 cldy 41 clear 50 clear 36 cldy 32 clear 34 snow Amsterdam 41 Athens 64 Auckland 79 Bangkok 01 6eiing 39 Beirut 63 Berlin 41 Bermuda 62 Brussels 45 Budapest 47 Cairo 68 Copenhagen 39 Dublin 39 Frankfurt 46 Tomorrow's highs, lows VV 75' SSitlJ Hill 7t Sky 28 20 cldy 56 26 cldy 40 22 cldy 34 20 Cldy 58 35 cldy 44 24 clear 39 24 cldy 28 5 clear 56 34 cldy 5-16 clear 45 32 cldy 35 25 cldy IS 15 cldy 56 36 cldy 54 30 clear 19 5 cldy 26 19 clear 21 15 snow 25 18 clear 50 40 cldy 25 ill cldy Des Moines Detroit Dulutn El Psso Helena Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jackson, Miss. Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Louisville Memphis Miami Beach Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City 7 4 cldy 18 8 cldy 2 -22 deer 60 30 clear 32 18 cldy 82 68 clear 61 45 cldy 26 19 cldy 56 33 cldy 60 42 clear 18 15 cldy 66 39 clear 43 38 cldy 75 52 clear 36 21 cldy 40 31 cldy 75 58 clear 14 3 cldy 6 -12 clear 42 27 cldy 62 42 cldy 37 26 cldy Albany Albuquerque Ameriilo Anchorege Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Bismarck Boise Boston Buffalo Charlton. SC Charlotte, N.C Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dallas Denver Norfolk 44 31 cldy Oklahoma City 41 33 cldy Omaha 10 4 cldy Orlando 70 51 clear Phoenn 75 46 clear Portland. Me 30 11 snow Portland.

Ore. 55 45 rain Providence 36 23 cldy Rapid City 21 5 cldy Richmond 47 30 cldy St. Louis 24 20 cldy St Petersburg 69 49 clear Salt Lake City 43 27 cldy San Oiego 72 49 clear San Francisco 68 46 cleer Seattle 52 43 rain Spokane 39 30 rain Syracuse 24 15 snow Topefca 22 20snow Tulsa 40 33 cldy Washington 42 28 cldy Wichita 23 23 cldy Air pollution Air quaJlty In Allegheny County Is good to moderate with no unhealthful areas. Source: Alleoheny Co. Air Pollution Control Bureau.

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