Oss

'OSS 117 – Lost in Rio' MPAA rating: Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. French with English subtitles Playing: Landmark's Nuart Theatre, West L.A.

A Covert Affair Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS Jennet Conant Simon & Schuster: 397 pp., $28

Based on a long-running French spy character who actually predates James Bond, "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" is a loving spoof of Cold War espionage thrillers, done with a spot-on re-creation of the look, sound and feel of a genuine 1950s Technicolor production. Men wear sharp suits, the women wear slinky dresses and everyone can dance the mambo reasonably well. The film, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, counts as its No. 1 asset an impeccable sense of where to draw the line, always letting its eyebrow arch only just enough.

Julia Child's wartime spell in the Office of Strategic Services has always seemed the most intriguing chapter in the story of her evolution from the cocoon of her staid, soft-shoe Pasadena upbringing into the iconic French chef who revolutionized American cooking. Serving in that precursor of the CIA not only took her away from her native shores for the first time but also plunged her into two cultures about as different from what she was accustomed to as any you might find. Surely, it was no coincidence that India and China also boasted two of the world's greatest cuisines, so that amid all the culture shock there was also exposure to a panoply of spices and new ways of cooking.

Contemporary history is seldom as relevant and engaging as Douglas Waller's new biography, "Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage," which is ? by turns ? fascinatingly instructive and thoroughly entertaining. Waller, a former Time correspondent and the author of an excellent biography of Gen. Billy Mitchell, has a great ally in his subject, who was a larger-than-life personality in an American Century favored with more than its share of outsized figures.

A Covert Affair Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS Jennet Conant Simon & Schuster: 397 pp., $28

Wild Bill Donovan The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage Douglas Waller Free Press: 467 pp., $30

Julia Child's wartime spell in the Office of Strategic Services has always seemed the most intriguing chapter in the story of her evolution from the cocoon of her staid, soft-shoe Pasadena upbringing into the iconic French chef who revolutionized American cooking. Serving in that precursor of the CIA not only took her away from her native shores for the first time but also plunged her into two cultures about as different from what she was accustomed to as any you might find. Surely, it was no coincidence that India and China also boasted two of the world's greatest cuisines, so that amid all the culture shock there was also exposure to a panoply of spices and new ways of cooking.

Some sportscasters have started calling the Houston baseball team the 'Stros in an effort to save time. I feel that they should extend this practice to other teams. Certainly, it takes more time to say Dodgers than 'Gers. Even more time could be saved if the practice were extended to city names. We could hear the scores of games involving the 'Ork 'Ets and the 'Burgh 'Ates. In fact, why not use this method with the names of individuals. Think of the time that would be saved if we turned on our radios and heard, "Hello everybody, this is 'In 'Cully, along with 'Oss 'Orter and 'On 'Dale, bringing you tonight's games between the 'Os 'Les 'Gers and the 'Nati 'Eds.

Look closely at the 40-year-old tape of U.S. Rep. Douglas Stringfellow's appearance on the TV program "This Is Your Life," and you will see the look of a trapped animal in his eyes. Watch as his exploits as an OSS spy in World War II are extolled, as his friends and family are introduced by the ever-smiling host, Ralph Edwards. "At that moment I would have bartered my life to have prevented the telecast," Stringfellow later wrote. "Outwardly calm, I was shaken to my very depths within.

Wild Bill Donovan The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage Douglas Waller Free Press: 467 pp., $30

Contemporary history is seldom as relevant and engaging as Douglas Waller's new biography, "Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage," which is ? by turns ? fascinatingly instructive and thoroughly entertaining. Waller, a former Time correspondent and the author of an excellent biography of Gen. Billy Mitchell, has a great ally in his subject, who was a larger-than-life personality in an American Century favored with more than its share of outsized figures.

'OSS 117 – Lost in Rio' MPAA rating: Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. French with English subtitles Playing: Landmark's Nuart Theatre, West L.A.

France's super secret agent man is back in "OSS 117 — Lost in Rio," and he's better, and worse, than ever with a lot of bang, bang, bang, stumble, bumble, fumble in flashy '60s era suits of impeccably poor taste. The latest edition of the French spoof again stars Jean Dujardin as Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, an idiot suave-ant of secret agents with brilliantine hair and a specialty for sailing through politically incorrect pronouncements with the same aplomb he does shoot-outs with bad guys.

Barbara Lauwers Podoski, who launched one of the most successful psychological campaigns of World War II, which resulted in the surrender of more than 600 Czechoslovakian soldiers fighting for the Germans, died of cardiovascular disease Aug. 16 at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Washington, D.C. She was 95. One of the few female operatives in the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime predecessor to the CIA, she found creative ways to undermine...

Based on a long-running French spy character who actually predates James Bond, "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" is a loving spoof of Cold War espionage thrillers, done with a spot-on re-creation of the look, sound and feel of a genuine 1950s Technicolor production. Men wear sharp suits, the women wear slinky dresses and everyone can dance the mambo reasonably well. The film, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, counts as its No. 1 asset an impeccable sense of where to draw the line, always letting its eyebrow arch only just enough.

Maverick actor Sterling Hayden, the one-time Hollywood leading man whose restlessness led him through careers as a sea captain, OSS agent and gun-runner to ultimate success as an author and respected character actor, died Friday at his home in Sausalito. Hayden, 70, had been undergoing treatment for cancer for several months. "It was a quiet passing," said his son-in-law, George Ruckert. "He more or less went in his sleep."

Interpore International said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its dental implant business to Steri-Oss Inc. of Yorba Linda. Steri-Oss will make a cash payment of $1.5 million when the deal closes, as well as an additional deferred cash payment of up to $1.5 million due in January 1998. Interpore manufactures dental implants and accessories.

Retired Army Col. Aaron Bank, who led a number of daring missions during World War II but was best known for his postwar role in organizing and serving as the first commander of the Army's elite Special Forces, has died. He was 101. Bank, who was known as "the father of the Green Berets," died Thursday of natural causes at his home in an assisted-living facility in Dana Point, said his son-in-law, Bruce Ballantine.