Skip to main content

Countdown to Christmas 7- Fruitcake Lady


from Facebook Page /The Fruitcake Lady 
There are not many people who can say they showed Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise how to make fruitcake on TV. Marie Rudisill (1911-2006), known as the Fruitcake Lady was an author, a celebrated cook and a minor TV personality. She was well known on US television as a 90+year old who appeared regularly on "The Tonight Show" hosting an" agony aunt" segment, giving advice on all kinds of life's issues.  Her forthright answers and wicked sense of humour endeared her to audiences although she was outspokenly intolerant and irrationally biased.
The Fruitcake Lady's other claim to fame was that she was the aunt of Truman Capote, highly acclaimed author, and this connection was used in her own writing. Her published works included:

  • Truman Capote , The Story of  His Bizarre and Exotic Childhood by an Aunt Who Helped to Raise Him (1983) 
  • Sook's Cookbook : Memories and Traditional Recipes from the Deep South (1989) 
  • Critters, Cafes and Frog Tea: Tales and Treats from the Emerald River (1994) 
  • Fruitcake :Memories of Trumna Capote & Sook (2000) 
  • The Southern Haunting of Truman Capote (2000) 
  • Ask the Fruitcake Lady Everything You Would Already Know If You had Any Sense (2006) 
from Wikipedia. 



Marie Rudisill became the Fruitcake Lady after she appeared on the Jay Leno show , showing Jay and Mel Gibson how to make a fruitcake in 2000. The family's connection with fruitcake is recalled by Marie in her description of Truman Capote and his older cousin Sook. Together each Christmas, they would bake fruitcakes and send them to various people on their list - not family or close friends, but people they admired, for example Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"I tell you the most fantastic thing about Sook's cooking was her fruitcakes. Really I am not kidding! I mean really!"
from http://bittersoutherner.com/sweet-as-sugar-rude-as-hell/#.VnOHQRV97IU
However, her recollections about Truman Capote's life were not without controversy.  Even Harper Lee questioned the veracity of her accounts of their hometown, Monroeville in Alabama. Capote was not so much  upset by Rudisill's revelations about his life, but the cruel treatment of his mother, her older sister, in her books. Described as "Sweet as Sugar and Rude as Hell" , the Fruitcake Lady's finest legacy is probably Sook's  Cookbook as  a contribution to the history of  Deep South and its food traditions. Yet her family continued to dominate her writing and thinking ....  Rudisill said: "Somebody said to me one time: "Has being Truman Capote's aunt affected your life?'"My God, it sapped my life.
"It's a weird family, I kid you not. But it's a fabulous family. We took care of our own, there's no question about that." And I think this quote just about sums up the wit of the Fruitcake Lady...
 PS: I found a funny coincidence when researching this story. Marie Rudisill's trusted co writing companion was a Jim Simmons ( my husband's name!)  he co wrote at least 2 of her books. 
Tomorrow - we are going on a trip with fruitcake. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

May I Present Mrs Chalumeau...

Finally Mrs Chalumeau takes a bow …She is a Pearly Queen … 695 buttons on the doll and 10 on the journal.(I think – could be more). I would like to thank Paula from Antiques and Collectables here in Hamilton, Newcastle and Raku Buttons ETSY seller for supplying me with about 500 of the vintage mother of pearl buttons, and the rest I had in my stash. I think they look great on my pearly queen, but I am truly tired of sewing on buttons. It made me think however, how many buttons must be on the elaborate clothes of the real pearly Kings and Queens! I drew my inspiration from the lovely lady pictured here, and the following description from Wikipedia. ... A Pearly King ( feminine form Pearly Queen) is a person dressed in a traditional Cockney costume covered in mother-of-pearl buttons. These costumes were treasured heirlooms, hand made and sometimes representing much of a family's wealth. .... This doll is all cloth – a little different from most of my other dolls which generally h

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons   The work for the "Stitched Up " Project  continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood  Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours.  Trimmed and cut if necessary  Ends sealed with matte sealing solution.  Drying  - solution goes on white but dries clear.  First wrapping - foil to create a body shape  Second wrapping - stretch fabric.  Third wrapping - fabric strips  Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to come.  Follow thi

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

 Background Information:  Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start  with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound  silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap.  2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2