The Pittsburgh Press (August 31, 1945)
Gracie Allen Reporting
By Gracie Allen
HOLLYWOOD – Dear me! I’d say it’s just as well that tall, handsome General De Gaulle ended his visit here when he did because he was beginning to upset two classes of people in this country – the men he was kissing and the women he didn’t. as a woman of the world, I realize that when one Frenchman kisses another, it’s a mark of respect, but it’s hard for Americans to get used to the idea. George respects Jack Benny, but he’s never dreamed of even holding his hand.
It’s fun to see the newsreels of the men to whom the general paid his respects. Poor General Marshall looked like he was signing the terms of surrender after we’d lost a war to Switzerland.
And did you notice the one person the general didn’t kiss when he met him was Mayor La Guardia? I guess the general was too dignified to kneel down.