Mandy Rice-Davies
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Mandy Rice-Davies, born October 1, 1944, is famous mainly for her minor role in the Profumo affair which discredited the Conservative government of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1963.
Born Marilyn Rice-Davies in Pontyates near Llanelli, Wales, before moving to Shirley in Birmingham. As a teenager, she appeared much older than her actual years and as such, at age 15, she got a job as clothes model at Marshall & Snelgrove, a department store in Birmingham. Rice-Davies came to London, where she met Christine Keeler and Stephen Ward. As a result of her involvement in Ward's social set, she became intimate with many powerful people, including the then Viscount Astor.
While giving evidence at the trial of Stephen Ward, Rice-Davies made the quip for which she is most remembered and which is frequently used by politicians in BritainTemplate:Ref. When the prosecuting counsel pointed out that Lord Astor denied having an affair or having even met her, she replied, "Well, he would, wouldn't he?". She traded on the notoriety the trial brought her, married an Israeli businessman, Rafi Shauli, and went on to open a string of successful nightclubs and restaurants in Tel Aviv. The restaurants and nightclubs, which bore her name, were called Mandy's Candy Store and Mandy's Singing Bamboo. Rice-Davies also parlayed her minor fame into a series of unsuccessful pop singles for the Ember label in the mid-'60s, including Close Your Eyes and You Got What It Takes.
In 1980, with Shirley Flack she co-wrote her autobiography, Mandy. In 1989, she wrote a novel titled The Scarlet Thread. In the 1989 film about the Profumo affair titled Scandal, actress Bridget Fonda portrayed Rice-Davies.
Notes
- Template:Note This quote later became a common saying in British politics, often altered to "He would say that, wouldn't he?" Examples include:
- Scottish Parliament committee news release 22 February, 2001 "So perhaps there is a slight Mandy Rice Davies feel to this backing with a hint of 'well he would, wouldn't he?'."
- Lords Hansard text for 6 Feb 2002 "I pause to anticipate the interjection—'He would say that, wouldn't he?'" spoken by Lord McIntosh of Haringey.
- Well he would say that, wouldn't he? by Bronwen Maddox in The Times January 11, 2006
In her (presumably ghostwritten)16,000-word autobiography 'The Mandy Report' (published 1 January 1964) Rice-Davies states she was born in Mere, Wiltshire
External links
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