News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Tuesday December 23rd 2025
Lee Daniels”' The Butler
Lee Daniels”' The Butler”
*****
Weinstein Company
Biography/Drama
Cast: Forest Whitaker (Cecil Gaines), Oprah Winfrey (Gloria Gaines), Elijah Kelley (Charlie), David Oyelowo (Louis), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Carter Wilson), Terrence Howard (Howard), Lenny Kravitz (James Holloway), James Marsden (John F. Kennedy, Vanessa Redgrave (Annabeth Westfall), Alan Richman (Ronald Reagan), Liev Schreider (Lyndon B. Johnson), Robin Williams (Dwight D. Eisenhower), Ami Ameen (Cecil Gaines, age 15), Nelsen Ellis (Martin Luther King Jr.) and Clarence Williams III (Maynard.(PG-13) Running time:132 minutes. Director: Lee Daniels. Writer: Danny Strong.
Lee Daniels”' fictional character butler Cecil Gaines based on the real life butler Eugene Allen serving in that position in the White House during seven presidential administrations. Lee Daniels”' “The Butler” is essentially a love story tapestried with the civil rights movement and walking the tightrope against the matrix of racism.
Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) journey starts out in the cotton fields in Macon, Georgia, in 1926,witnesses a horrible ordeal when the white plantation owner fatally shoots his father for his “insubordination”. A few years later, Cecil leaves the cotton fields of Georgia for a “better” life and location. Hungry, tired and weary he breaks into a store only to find an older colored man (Clarence William III) who gives him wisdom and a job as a bartender and a server that will lead him to Washington D.C.… Read the rest “Lee Daniels”' The Butler”
A Wiff of Wilf
Rufus who, after “breaking wind,” is told by his owner, “Oh Rufus, pee-yew, you “stink like a Wilf”. Which begs the question: What is the origin of the phrase “stink like a Wilf”?
By Peter Molenaar
Rufus the dog belongs to girlfriend. I am pleased to say they both love me. Evidently, however, when left in the care of a family member, Rufus was misfed. A remarkable sequence of what is called “breaking wind” resulted. To which girlfriend exclaimed “Oh Rufus, pee-yew, you “stink like a Wilf”. Which begs the question: What is the origin of the phrase “stink like a Wilf”?
A superficial inquiry suggests that variations of the phrase formed while passing mouth to mouth in South Minneapolis. But as always, we must pursue a deeper historical analysis. Let”'s have a look.
Zygmunt Wilf was born in Germany on April 22, 1950. His parents are both Holocaust survivors from Nazi occupied Poland. The family immigrated to the United States and commenced the purchase of apartment buildings. After graduating, “Zygi” joined the family business to become head of an affiliate. The company grew to over a hundred properties, including several large malls and 90,000 apartment units. Some say Zygmunt is worth 1.3 billion dollars.… Read the rest “A Wiff of Wilf”
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