Page Six reports on a new book where the mommies of various famous folks reveal how they raised their offspring.
If the rumors that Brett Ratner is a jerk are true, we may have his mother to blame. Momma Marcia Ratner apparently "coddled, pampered and ultimately embarrassed her son Brett." (Just in case Brett is hiring for "X-Men 4," I would like to point out that I'm not saying he's a jerk. Just that other people say he's a jerk.) Derek Jeter's mom Dot forced him to get good grades if he wanted to play baseball, and Steven Spielberg's mommy thought he would maybe work in a supermarket when he grew up.
The book is "Mother Nuture: Life Lessons from the Mothers of America's Best and Brightest," and while author Stephanie Hirsch did land some good interviews with moms, there are other good stories out there. On the Howard Stern Show, Richard Lewis talked about the time he called his mother to tell her some exciting news: he was going to be on The Tonight Show. Her response? "Who else is on?" Shocking that he's a bit neurotic.
Howard Stern's own relationship with his mother is well documented, including that she raised him "like a veal." Stern's father famously yelled at him in a recording studio when he was 7, something that Howard has turned into a bit on his radio show.
Then there's Eliot Spitzer's dad Bernard, who reportedly used Monopoly to teach life lessons to the future Tainted Gov: during a game of Monopoly, Bernard ordered Eliot, then 7 or 8, to sell
him a piece of property, then reduced his son to tears when Eliot
couldn’t pay the rent. The lesson he was teaching? “Never defer to
authority,” Bernard said. Nice.
I'd actually rather hear from people like Bill and Hillary, since Chelsea seems to have turned out so well. As long as we never have to hear parenting advice from the Spearses.
