Jay R. Brooks on Beer
Monday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1941. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features American Hall of Fame jockey and thoroughbred horse trainer Earl Sande. In this ad, Sande says he’s ridden winners but now he prefers pouring one, like Rheingold Extra Dry.
Tuesday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1960. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features African American film and theatre actress, singer, and dancer Dorothy Dandridge. “She is perhaps best known for being the first African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1954 film Carmen Jones. Dandridge performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. During her early career, she performed as a part of The Wonder Children, later The Dandridge Sisters, and appeared in a succession of films, usually in uncredited roles.” In this ad, Dandridge says we should count her in among the total number of people who love Rheingold Extra Dry.
Monday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1959. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress, and film star Larry Steele. There’s not much I could find about him, but he apparently produced a well-known traveling show from 1946-1971 called “Smart Affairs.” In this ad, Steele is holding a glass of Rheingold Extra Dry and giving us tips on show business.
Sunday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1940. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress, and film star Carmen Miranda. “Nicknamed “The Brazilian Bombshell”, Miranda is noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in her American films. As a young woman, she designed hats in a boutique before making her first recordings with composer Josué de Barros in 1929. Miranda’s 1930 recording of “Taí” (“Pra Você Gostar de Mim”), written by Joubert de Carvalho, catapulted her to stardom in Brazil as the foremost interpreter of samba.” In this ad, Miranda claims people associate her with South America, but she associates good beer with North America, and especially Rheingold Extra Dry.
Saturday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1959. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features American actress Claudia McNeil. She was best known “for premiering the role of matriarch Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of A Raisin in the Sun. She later appeared in a 1981 production of the musical version of the play, Raisin presented by Equity Library Theater. She was twice nominated for a Tony Award, first for her onstage performance in A Raisin in the Sun (1959), and again for the play Tiger Tiger Burning Bright in 1962. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for the screen version of A Raisin in the Sun in 1961.” In this ad, McNeil simply stands in the street, on Broadway below her marquee for “A Raisin in the Sun” and says, like her show, Rheingold Extra Dry gets a “top-billing.”
Friday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1947. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features American professional baseball player and professional golfer Sam Byrd. In this ad, Byrd compares baseball and golf, and says you need to stay calm playing either one, but it’s best to just think of something else and not worry about. And to that purpose, he suggests Rheingold Extra Dry.
Thursday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1942. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features American journalist and author Alice-Leone Moats. In this ad, Moats, who traveled the world as a journalist, tells a story of being in Africa and being delighted to find a cool, refreshing Rheingold Extra Dry.
Wednesday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1946. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features American sports writer Stanley Woodward. “Sportswriting legend Stanley Woodward had a 43-year career [as a] sportswriter and editor.” In this ad, Woodward confesses that he’s gotten many, many sports predictions wrong, but then suggests one prediction he won’t get wrong is that you’ll like Rheingold Extra Dry.
Tuesday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1942. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features American singer and actress Rosemary Lane. She was one of the Lane Sisters, a family musical group. “Lola, Rosemary, and Priscilla co-starred in four films together: Four Daughters (1938), Daughters Courageous (1939), Four Wives (1939) and Four Mothers (1941). Leota did not find the same success as her sisters and left Hollywood for New York City before the sisters’ breakthrough.” In this ad, Rosemary talks about how strenuous and tiring rehearsing can be, and how she likes to combat her fatigue by drinking Rheingold Extra Dry.
Sunday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1946. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features American theatrical producer, director and founder of the Tony Awards Brock Pemberton. “He was the professional partner of Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, and he was also a member of the Algonquin Round Table.” In this ad, Pemberton explains that producing plays in an unpredictable and inconsistent business, the polar opposite of brewing Rheingold Extra Dry.
