Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter Los Angeles, California: dr seuss

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Monday, March 6, 2017

Audrey Stone Dimond the "other woman" of Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel, true story by Mary Cummins

Audrey Stone, Audrey Dimond, Audrey Grace Stone, other woman, Dr Seuss, Theodor Suess Geisel, Ted Geisel, Helen Marion Palmer, suicide, drugs, barbituates, La Jolla, San Diego, California, scandal

Because of the fiasco that is President Donald Trump people have been looking at Dr. Seuss real name Theodor Suess Geisel's old political cartoons. Geisel made these satirical political cartoons and war bond propaganda posters during WWII. While the political cartoons were satirical and against racism the propaganda posters went beyond that depicting the ruler of Japan as a grotesque racist caricature. Geisel stated in his later years that he regretted making the posters for the government. This deeper look at Geisel's work and life caused people to take another look at Geisel's second wife Audrey Grace Stone Dimond Geisel.

Audrey Grace Florine Stone was born August 14, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was Norman Alfred Stone who was born 1887 in Ravenswood, Illinois. He was a travelling salesman selling laboratory supplies. His parents James A Stone, Esther Scott were born in England. Norman first married Margaret Francis Deiner February 17, 1909. Together they had a daughter Marie Catherine Stone born 1914. Margaret then died in 1917 leaving Norman with a three year old child to raise. The child was given to another family member. Norman then married Ruth Benson in 1919 in Indiana. Their child Audrey Stone was born in 1921 in Chicago, Illinois.

By 1930 the family was living in Queens, New York on 42nd Street. Norman was a salesman selling school equipment. His wife Ruth was a nurse. By 1940 Norman was the sales manager of a men's clothing store. Ruth was a nurse at a hospital and Audrey was a clerk. Soon after Audrey moved to Indiana to attend nursing school at Indiana University. She graduated in 1944. Below is her school photo from 1944.

While at the medical school Audrey met her future husband Dr Edmunds Grey Dimond. They were married March 14, 1945 in Marion, Indiana. Below is from a newspaper clipping of the nuptials.

Audrey and Edmunds had two daughters Lark Grey Dimond in 1953 and Lea Grey Dimond. Eventually they moved to San Diego, California where Geisel and his wife Helen Marion Palmer Geisel were also living.

Geisel met Helen Palmer an author while they were both at Oxford University in England. "Helen had a profound influence on his life, starting with her suggestion that he should be an artist rather than an English professor. She later stated, 'Ted's notebooks were always filled with these fabulous animals. So I set to work diverting him; here was a man who could draw such pictures; he should be earning a living doing that.'"

Geisel and Helen married in 1927. Helen could not have children so they had none. Helen supported and helped Geisel's career immensely. Geisel and Helen were neighbors and good friends of Edmunds and Audrey Dimond. Helen eventually became ill over a few years. It was during this time that Geisel had an affair with Audrey. Helen could not stand losing Geisel so she committed suicide on October 23, 1967 by over dosing on barbituates. Her suicide note below.

""Dear Ted, What has happened to us? I don't know. I feel myself in a spiral, going down down down, into a black hole from which there is no escape, no brightness. And loud in my ears from every side I hear, 'failure, failure, failure...' I love you so much ... I am too old and enmeshed in everything you do and are, that I cannot conceive of life without you ... My going will leave quite a rumor but you can say I was overworked and overwrought. Your reputation with your friends and fans will not be harmed ... Sometimes think of the fun we had all thru the years ..."

After Helen's suicide Audrey filed for a quickie divorce from her husband Edmunds in Nevada on August 5, 1968. Geisel and Audrey who was 18 years his junior were married soon after. Audrey then sent her two daughters ages nine and 14 away to school. Audrey stated ''They wouldn't have been happy with Ted, and Ted wouldn't have been happy with them. He's the man who said of children, 'You have 'em and I'll entertain 'em.' ''

Geisel and Audrey lived together for 23 years until Geisel's death in 1991. Currently Audrey busies herself with the business that is Dr. Seuss Enterprises. She also avails herself to philanthropic causes.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

The confusion over Dr. Seuss' alleged discriminatory political cartoons against Japanese explained - Mary Cummins

Dr Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel, author, cartoonist, political cartoon japan japanese wwii war bonds propaganda Hitler

I recently saw numerous articles about Dr Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel, being a racist against Japanese. As I'd seen his older political cartoons which were against racism I found it hard to believe. Someone even said that he is quoted as saying he regretted some things he drew, wrote about Japanese. I did some digging to help clear up the matter.

As WWII began in 1939 Seuss worked for a liberal New York newspaper named PM making political cartoons. The cartoons were against racism and isolationism. The one above made in 1942 depicts the view some Americans had about Japanese. Seuss is making fun of racist people who think all Japanese Americans want to bomb the country. The "honorable fifth column" is a group of non-native born people who want to attack a country from within. The people are caricatures of Japanese. This cartoon is satire.

Below is another cartoon about Japanese. Seuss is again making fun of people who considered the Japanese a major threat of war. They weren't a major threat of war. They were just a jack-in-the-box toy which merely startles. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor we destroyed 67 cities with regular bombs then detonated nuclear bombs on Hiroshim and Nagasaki in 1945 killing 129,000 people. The Japanese surrendered.

Dr Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel, author, cartoonist, political cartoon japan japanese wwii war bonds propaganda Hitler

In late 1942 Seuss was commissioned to make the art for posters to sell US saving bonds to fund the war efforts. These posters were discriminatory and offensive against Japanese and Hitler. Below are those offensive posters. This is the work that Seuss regretted. He is making fun of the leader of Japan who ordered the military to bomb Pearl Harbor. My grandfather died overseas in WWII.

Dr Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel, author, cartoonist, political cartoon japan japanese wwii war bonds propaganda Hitler

Here is another political cartoon which he made to show that racism and discrimination is wrong. This is from early 1942.

Dr Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel, author, cartoonist, political cartoon japan japanese wwii war bonds propaganda Hitler

In Richard Minear's book "Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss" it is allegedly stated that Seuss made this statement per Minear,

"... right now, when the Japs are planting their hatchets in our skulls, it seems like a hell of a time for us to smile and warble: "Brothers!" It is a rather flabby battle cry. If we want to win, we’ve got to kill Japs, whether it depresses John Haynes Holmes or not. We can get palsy-walsy afterward with those that are left."

So far I can't find physical evidence that proves Seuss made that statement. I will continue to look. I can understand how Americans felt after Pearl Harbor. They probably wanted to kill Japanese. Unfortunately our government and citizens started attacking legal Japanese Americans. They were rounded up and sent to internment camps which was horrible.

Below is from filmmaker Ron Lamothe who is quoting Minear again,

"The only evidence I have comes from his biographers, who told me that years later—although still recognizing its necessity due to the war—he was regretful about some of his cartoons for PM and some of the propaganda work he did for the Army Signal Corps. I do think the fact he dedicated Horton Hears a Who—a parable about the American postwar occupation of Japan—to “My Great Friend, Mitsugi Nakamura of Kyoto, Japan,” says something of his changing attitudes toward the Japanese (this following a trip he made there in 1953). Though, as Richard Minear has pointed out, Horton Hears a Who still smacks of American chauvinism, and it makes no reference to Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

So far all of Seuss' Japanese cartoons from PM were anti-discrimination. The posters he made for Army Signal Corps were indeed racist against Japanese. Seuss depicted the rule of Japan as an ugly caricature. I can believe that he regretted the war bond posters. I will update this article if I find anything new.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

Monday, March 6, 2017

Audrey Stone Dimond the "other woman" of Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel, true story by Mary Cummins

The confusion over Dr. Seuss' alleged discriminatory political cartoons against Japanese explained - Mary Cummins

The Disappeared Los Desaparecidos Art Installation in Los Angeles, California by Mary Cummins

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