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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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agencies or wives of Supreme Court judges. The Empress of Iran was charming, and the luncheon was very well run. I don't think it was as successful as the luncheon she gave a year later for the wives of Japanese cabinet members. These ladies came in native costumes and they were charming. Some of themdidn't speak a word of English, but Lady Bird had asked them to get up and tell what things they were interested in doing in Japan, what their activities were. One of them was absolutely beguilingly interesting. After that she had two very good singers from a musical comedy in New York come and entertain us. The luncheon was extremely well done, very lively, and very touching, with very good toasts made by her to these ladies and the ladies replying. It was very well done, charming, so I feel sure that she was entertain very well at the White House.

Q:

But quite different from the way Mrs. Kennedy did.

Lasker:

Yes, but charmingly and with spirit.

In July of '62 I was still worrying about the fact that we'd never gotten a Presidential commission appointed for stroke or cancer or heart disease. It was something I tried to get done through the Platform Committee in the 1960 convention, and I felt that one of the reasons that you could get so little action was that no President of the United States had ever shown any interest in medical research personally and had never consulted with leaders. The one time we arranged for a consultation between





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