Where To Watch
Alan Alda met his wife in the most Alan Alda way
They ate cake off the floor together.
Alan Alda and his wife, Arlene, recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. They met in New York City in the 1950s. Alan was attending Fordham University in the Bronx while Arlene studied at Hunter College in Manhattan. Their very first encounter was quick, if not a bit blunt.
They were both invited to a party at a mutual friends apartment. Arlene brought her clarinet and played a piece by Mozart. Alan found her after the performance but didn’t exactly wow her with his loquaciousness. According to a recent profile in The Washington Post, all he said was, "Hi. You were good."
Their second meeting, while much less conventional, was really when sparks began to fly.
They were both invited to another gathering at the same mutual friend’s apartment. Their hostess baked a lovely rum cake for the occasion. Little did she know, only two of her guests would get to eat it.
The cake was cooling on top of the refrigerator when it suddenly crashed to the floor. It was an unfortunate event that meant there would be no dessert, at least for most of the attendees. While everyone else saw tragedy, Alan and Arlene saw an opportunity. They both grabbed spoons and ate the cake right off the floor!
They started talking (presumably in between mouthfuls of floor cake) and a six-decade-plus relationship began.
"So that was it," explains Alan. "From that time on we were almost inseparable."
Related
8 Comments
