A Seuss On the Loose
ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) -- The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. Besides, we had a job on this cold, cold, wet day. Mrs. Seuss was in town. Audrey Geisel's her name. She was here to see Grinchmas and we could, if we wanted, tag along -- were we game? Does the cat wear a hat? Do green eggs go with ham? Eager to meet the woman who runs the Seuss empire? We am! So off to Universal's Islands of Adventure, where they're celebrating Grinchmas. Which is not to be confused with Christmas -- although Geisel admits that she herself gets the holidays a bit muddled. "I have to keep reminding myself it's Grinchmas," she says. "I do better when I see the cards I send out -- they say 'Merry Grinchmas and Happy Who Year.' Then I'm all right." Geisel is 82. She is petite and blond, and her eyes are blue. She pairs knee-high black boots with a sweater embroidered with Cindy-Lou Who. There have been many Seuss moments since Audrey Dimond and Theodor Seuss Geisel met in 1960 at a party. She was a mother of two and a cardiologist's wife. He was married, as well, and the two couples were good friends. How Mrs. Dimond became Mrs. Geisel in 1968 is detailed in the acclaimed 1996 biography Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel. Critics say she revitalized his work. In those years he produced The Butter Battle Book and Oh, the Places You'll Go, among others, and he won a Pulitzer Prize. But he's gone now. He died in 1991, leaving his wife, who trained for a career in nursing, with a multimillion-dollar empire in her hands. She has been a faithful steward, by all accounts, of Dr. Seuss Enterprises and its philanthropic arm, The Dr. Seuss Foundation. Geisel has given millions to hospitals, libraries, art organizations and civic causes, many in California. She has a soft spot for literacy efforts and has lent Seuss images to national reading campaigns. Seuss was opposed to many merchandising efforts in his lifetime. But his widow says she had to become involved after too many unscrupulous dealers tried to swoop in after the author's death, with T-shirts and other goods that were unauthorized and sometimes lewd. She still scrutinizes all proposed deals for suitability. She held out for years before allowing producers to make the Jim Carrey film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and even then read and re-read the script and had them take out all their potty humor. Next year's Cat in the Hat movie promises to be a big hit. But Geisel admits: She did not like Mike Myers for the role. Not one little bit. But others convinced her that Austin Powers could turn into a cat -- just maybe. "They said 'Don't give up on Mike Myers. He's quite gifted. He can be anything he wants to be.' I think he will be well-received." Her protection of all things Seussy is what brought her to Orlando last week. In three years she had not yet seen Grinchmas at Seuss Landing. It needed a peek. "What I just saw was superb," she declares. "It had all the Grinchillian emotions and movements. It had it all." She has just watched a stage show, based on Grinch lore, where all the Whos down in Whoville join hands and sing. Geisel watches the pug-nosed performers with a keen expression, all sharp eyes and closed lips. But it's just her boss face coming out. She says she approves of the whole show. "They have their own Whobilation down here," she says. "I am just delighted. It's great for this time of year."
ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) -- The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. Besides, we had a job on this cold, cold, wet day. Mrs. Seuss was in town. Audrey Geisel's her name. She was here to see Grinchmas and we could, if we wanted, tag along -- were we game? Does the cat wear a hat? Do green eggs go with ham? Eager to meet the woman who runs the Seuss empire? We am! So off to Universal's Islands of Adventure, where they're celebrating Grinchmas. Which is not to be confused with Christmas -- although Geisel admits that she herself gets the holidays a bit muddled. "I have to keep reminding myself it's Grinchmas," she says. "I do better when I see the cards I send out -- they say 'Merry Grinchmas and Happy Who Year.' Then I'm all right." Geisel is 82. She is petite and blond, and her eyes are blue. She pairs knee-high black boots with a sweater embroidered with Cindy-Lou Who. There have been many Seuss moments since Audrey Dimond and Theodor Seuss Geisel met in 1960 at a party. She was a mother of two and a cardiologist's wife. He was married, as well, and the two couples were good friends. How Mrs. Dimond became Mrs. Geisel in 1968 is detailed in the acclaimed 1996 biography Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel. Critics say she revitalized his work. In those years he produced The Butter Battle Book and Oh, the Places You'll Go, among others, and he won a Pulitzer Prize. But he's gone now. He died in 1991, leaving his wife, who trained for a career in nursing, with a multimillion-dollar empire in her hands. She has been a faithful steward, by all accounts, of Dr. Seuss Enterprises and its philanthropic arm, The Dr. Seuss Foundation. Geisel has given millions to hospitals, libraries, art organizations and civic causes, many in California. She has a soft spot for literacy efforts and has lent Seuss images to national reading campaigns. Seuss was opposed to many merchandising efforts in his lifetime. But his widow says she had to become involved after too many unscrupulous dealers tried to swoop in after the author's death, with T-shirts and other goods that were unauthorized and sometimes lewd. She still scrutinizes all proposed deals for suitability. She held out for years before allowing producers to make the Jim Carrey film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and even then read and re-read the script and had them take out all their potty humor. Next year's Cat in the Hat movie promises to be a big hit. But Geisel admits: She did not like Mike Myers for the role. Not one little bit. But others convinced her that Austin Powers could turn into a cat -- just maybe. "They said 'Don't give up on Mike Myers. He's quite gifted. He can be anything he wants to be.' I think he will be well-received." Her protection of all things Seussy is what brought her to Orlando last week. In three years she had not yet seen Grinchmas at Seuss Landing. It needed a peek. "What I just saw was superb," she declares. "It had all the Grinchillian emotions and movements. It had it all." She has just watched a stage show, based on Grinch lore, where all the Whos down in Whoville join hands and sing. Geisel watches the pug-nosed performers with a keen expression, all sharp eyes and closed lips. But it's just her boss face coming out. She says she approves of the whole show. "They have their own Whobilation down here," she says. "I am just delighted. It's great for this time of year."