Posted by chicagomedia.org on May 05, 2009 at 13:15:51:
Steve Harvey on what it takes to be a real man
By Kevin Pang | Tribune reporter
May 5, 2009
Steve Harvey is a man's man. I mean, just look at him. Note the luxurious, spectacular mustache. His pearly whites gleam like reflective snow. His handshake is strong, firm.
It's entirely subjective whether Harvey, an "Original King of Comedy" and morning radio host on WVAZ-FM, is truly manly. But we shall go by these facts to support the notion: Harvey has his own line of suits, dress shirts, watches and shoes. He is the author of "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man" (Amistad, $23.99), a guide for women on how to understand men, which has been on the New York Times' best-seller list for 13 weeks and counting.
(He was also a non-drag-dressing actor in "Madea Goes to Jail," ipso facto: man.)
As much as his publicists wanted me to plug his radio show and book, I used up the 15-minute allotted interview time to ask how I can become a better man. He spilled his secrets.
Q What's the best advice about women you've learned from your wife?
A I have to treat her totally different than I do any of my friends. I can't talk to her the way I talk to my friends. I definitely don't look at her the way I look at my friends. I have to remember when I come home to leave my business, my work, my fame, check it all in the garage or at the door. And to do everything she says, and there'd be total peace in the house.
Q I recently was forced to watch "The Lake House" with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. The movie ran two hours. What could I have done to make the time go faster?
A Do you know how to sleep with your eyes open? I can do it. Only thing you got to do is watch your head from tipping. Or, if there's any promises of fooling around during commercial breaks, that can get you through. I was actually bleeding internally while I was watching "The Lake House." Keanu Reeves doesn't do anything for me.
Q Other than the obvious Al Green and Marvin Gaye songs, what is one record I must own to set the mood?
A Lenny Williams' "Cause I Love You." It is the greatest love song ever written and sung. The emotional outcry in that song ... you've got to play it.
Q What is the best cologne a man can own?
A Polo by Ralph Lauren. The hottest one right now is Stefano Ricci, but if I told you how much it cost per bottle, you couldn't print it in the paper.
Q How do I make a woman watch baseball?
A You can teach her how to sleep with her eyes open. Or, if every time there is a home run, she gets a gift card. You've got to give a woman something in return. That's the part men miss sometime. There's got to be a payoff for her. Baseball is not that exciting. She needs a shopping spree every time the ball goes over the wall, pal.
Q How do I apologize to a woman?
A Wow. [Thinks for a moment.] As long and as heartfelt as you can. Hold her hand, look her dead in her eye and make your apology that way. And be prepared to say it more than three times. See, you can't apologize to a woman once because once is "I don't think you mean it." The second time you apologize it's "Oh really?" The third time -- this is the same incident, now -- it allows her to ask you questions about what you did. Then the fourth time she vents about what it caused her to feel. Then right around the fifth or sixth time, it starts working around into, "OK, I believe you."
Q What is one piece of clothing every man needs to own?
A You have to have a black suit. You have to. A black suit goes to interviews, to weddings, to funerals, to clubs, to churches.
Q Why is dressing nicely so important?
A That's what real men do. Real men adore women. Until you do that, you ain't no man. You're flexing for dudes now.