Tabla de contenidos para December 2022 - Issue 85 en The Rake

In episode one, season one of The Sopranos, Tony laments the egregious failings of the modern American psyche to his nonplussed therapist, the forbearing Dr. Melfi. “Let me tell ya something,” he says. “Nowadays, everybody’s gotta go to shrinks, and counsellors, and go on Sally Jessy Raphael and talk about their problems. What happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type. That was an American. He wasn’t in touch with his feelings. He just did what he had to do.” It’s no surprise that the emotionally dissolute Soprano should hold Cooper up as a taciturn all-American archetype. Although ‘Coop’ appeared in more than 100 movies, playing roles from a British subaltern in India (The Lives of a Bengal Lancer) to a white-tied socialite (Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife), it was the 1952…

“I don’t wear panties any more — this startles the Hollywood wolves so much they don’t know what to pull at, so they leave me alone.” As far as sentences that need unpacking go, it’s quite the doozy. As far as being in a position of bitterly earned authority goes, the speaker could hardly have better credentials. At 91, Mamie Van Doren is the lone survivor of the ‘M’ triumvirate that once bathed Hollywood in its platinum glow. The others were Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe. Van Doren was among the first to claim ‘blonde bombshell’ status, and she lived a life so close to a celluloid narrative that it bordered on cliché. Born in the no-horse town of Rowena, South Dakota, in 1931, with three-quarter Swedish ancestry, she became…

Opening a new stretch of road might be marked with a genteel ribbon-cutting ceremony in many countries. However, in 1950 the Mexican government chose a more interesting way to celebrate becoming the first in Latin America to complete its section of the 19,000-mile (30,000km) Pan-American Highway: it would organise a no-holds-barred race along the road, with the only eligible vehicles being five-seat sedans. The inaugural grid for La Carrera Panamericana comprised a mix of professional competition drivers, wannabe racers, cabbies and countless other amateurs, with the race run in nine stages across five days, starting close to El Paso, Texas, and heading south to the finish line at what was then called El Ocotal, Chiapas (now known as Ciudad Cuauhtémoc), on the Mexico-Guatemala border. The race attracted 132 entrants, with…

I remember it clearly: sitting on the edge of my hotel room bed, watching the final laps of the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix. Jenson Button, in his McLaren, was chasing down Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull, a superior car. The British former champion had fought from the back of the field, showing his dominance in dramatically changing weather conditions. On the last lap, Vettel spun, allowing Button to cruise to victory — after crashing twice and pitting numerous times. It was an improbable win, and one that demonstrated the talents of one of the sport’s most underrated drivers. It was the longest race in F1 history and full of ups and downs, much like Button’s career. After nearly a decade in the sport and with little to show for…

News of great joy, news of great mirth, Christmas is upon us, and our purpose across the Christian world (believer or not) is to remind one another about the possibility of a life in which magical acts of kindness, charity and togetherness can happen. Our collective amnesia for this begins around January 2, and us sons of Adam and daughters of Eve wait until we are returned to our personal Cair Paravels, behind garlanded doors and illuminated streets, come the following December. The Christmas of 2022 will be particularly pertinent for this island nation of mine, as we shall receive a Yuletide message from a new sovereign for the first time in 70 years. Let England receive her king; let every heart prepare him room and heaven and nature sing.…

Ben Bailey Smith likes to make people laugh. The actor and comedian’s alias, Doc Brown, has become a household name in the U.K., rapping humorous verses that are as witty as they are thoughtful. Bailey Smith — or Brown, rather — was picked to perform at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June. “I’m no royalist,” he says, “but I can look back and say that I did it. And, if I’m honest, when I got the call, I thought they had made a mistake.” He laughs, and adds: “I came on after Rod Stewart and before Diana Ross!” Bailey Smith is also a fixture on T.V. screens across Britain. For his next acting project, he enters the Star Wars universe as the villainous Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin in Andor, joining a…

In 25 years of writing about things expensive, I’ve come to realise that a common denominator shared by aspects of the so-called luxury lifestyle is passivity. It’s mostly about getting others to do things for you, lounging about achieving little, being made to feel stiflingly safe, or owning things that, perhaps, no one needs. And so smart-thinking marketers have devised ways of getting customers and clients to pay for being in adrenaline-tweaking situations. To wit, Panerai have pulled off what may be the ultimate ‘experience’ by charging people almost £50,000 to be shouted at, belittled and physically challenged — though they do get a watch thrown in. It’s part of a deal with Italy’s Forze Speciali, who have allowed the brand to create two special editions of their submersible dive…

KURT ISWARIENKO Kurt, a photographer born in the blue-collar creative breeding ground of Akron, Ohio, and raised in Argentina and Mexico, was influenced by the eclectic cultural and geographical contrasts he experienced as he travelled as a young boy. He picked up a camera for the first time while working as a lighting technician on film sets in Hollywood, and his cinematically driven eye found its creative niche working within the static frame. Known for drawing emotionally charged narrative performances from his subjects, and a visually sculpted lighting style, he has photographed everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Brad Pitt, and created media campaigns with a number of diverse brands. Kurt captured Kumail Nanjiani, the star of The Big Sick and Eternals, for this issue’s cover and the accompanying interview (page…

A widely held misconception about my breed is that our designation derives from our physical resemblance to the British monarch who reigned from 1660 to 1685. Yes, the extent to which our elongated ears and their abundant, face-framing feathering resemble the dashing King Charles II’s abundant, Brian May-esque follicles is uncanny, though thankfully that’s all it is. I write “thankfully” because, while the frizzy-locked cove who came to the throne in the year of the Restoration is one of the most popular kings in English history, a plausible rumour has it that his wig was made of the pubic hair of his favourite mistresses, hence its abundance (Charles acknowledged at least 12 illegitimate children). The happier reality is that we are so named because Charles II was as devoted to…

From 2001 to 2007, much of my energy was focused on joining the army. You may ask what made me eschew military life in favour of writing about Goodyear welts and saddle stitching on lapels, but that is a story for another time. Those years were somewhat atypical for a teenaged boy born in the eighties, in that it was one long test of manliness. We were all vying for the attention of the opposite sex: the rugby players were considered dumb but had the most social cachet because they were gruff, manly, strong, heroic and violent. Being a potential officer in the army wasn’t too far off — a lot of downing of pints was involved, as well as general high-octane obnoxiousness and nudity in public. Alas, it was…

By now, the grief at the passing of the Queen has begun to subside, and her regnal cypher, which in the U.K. we see as standard on police officers’ helmets, Royal Mail vans and various quotidian objects, serves as a reminder of what was, rather than what is or what shall be. That was her magic: we never had to refer to her in the past tense, and she remained when others left, which we were reminded of just two days before her death in September, when there was another change of prime minister. The great Cambrian Huw Edwards struck the sentimental and symbolic blow when the BBC presenter delivered the news that the Queen had passed away. A statement from Buckingham Palace read, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral…

There are moments in every watch lover’s journey when they catch themselves overthinking things. Should I go gold? Is that in-house? Is it Patek time (or not)? I know because it happens to me. I often find myself surveying my humble line-up and being overly critical. I sometimes lose sleep over it. Sad, some would say. I’d agree. With time (sorry, I had to) comes the realisation that it is O.K. to love what you love; to not question where it might fit into a collection or how others may respond to it. This is where Bell & Ross come in. I’ve always had a soft spot for their brand, which has its roots in aviation. But it’s also one that has an identity others would kill for: instantly recognisable…