Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-04-08
HEADLINE PERSONALITY
Tax Expert De Orsey
Is Tough, Emotional

smallish, plump. highly sue
cessful mother hen.
His breed Is a curious lot.
The members have very little
In common except money. The
group. marching down an ave-
nue.. would definitely be headed
by Leo, followed by Ted VIII
Iams. Arthur Godfrey, Jack
Benny. Amos & Andy, Max
Factor, Marlene Dietrich, a
politician on the way up, seven
astronauts and George Preston
Marshall.
Mr.. Dorsey has as his
Washington office the second
floor Of the National Savings
& Trust Building. His own
suite Is in the corner, where
he can look down Fifteenth
street toward the Washington
Monument, or up Pennsyl-
vania avenue toward the White
House.
II he is not there, he's in
the Kenilworth Hotel In Miami,
which he owns q part Of, or in
Connecticut at a summer
home, or on the West Coast.
He has a private plane.
Answer Is Clear
His language Is simple, di-
rect and blunt. The following
exchange recently took place
between Mr.. De Orsey and q
reporter:
Reporter: Mr.. De Orsey, If
I walked in your office and
asked you to handle my fl
nancial problems, would you?
Mr.. De Orsey: If q fella
doesn't have money. he doesn't
need me.
On his desk the other day
was the income tax return Of
Edward r. Murrow, head Of
the USIA, and q small clock
set in q wooden frame. Under
the clock was a neatly written
note which read:
AT long last, the clock from
the first US. SpaceShip! My
father made the stand and he
didn't have the time to do 1t
until Just recently.
"The mahogany, by the way,
came from an old wooden pipe
organ in our home which he
Is renovating.
"Our sincere and heartfelt
thanks go with this little
token. We can never repay
your consideration and gener-
oSity for us.
For the seven boys,
Alan B. Shepard"
Represents AstrOnauts
MIR. De Orsey was recon-
mended by an official Of NASA
in 1859 to represent the seven
astronauts. He took the job on
one condition-that it would
be on a no-compensation basis,
including the defrayment Of
his own expenses.
Recently, he was In the mid
die Of the offer by a group of
Houston, Texas real estate
men who had offered to give
suburban homes to all the
spacemen. He recommended
that they accept the offer.
Ultimately. NASA officials rec
commended against the deal and
the astronauts agreed.
Mr.. De Orsey Is an interest
ing man. 81 can Sleep" he re-
ports, "on q picket fence"
- He Is an ''ice cream nut
his own expression. He has
been known to call a neigh
borhood drug store just before
closing time and order a pint
Of Ice cream. He gets out OF
bed, pulls on his pants over his
pajamas, drives to the drug
store and picks up the pack
age which has been left for
him behind the screen door OF
the darkened store.
Eyes Fill Up
When he talks Of the astro-I
nauts, his eyes-pale blue-fill
with tears.
Here's Col. Glenn" Mr.. De
Orsey says, circling the air
with his hand, "he goes around
the world four times.
"And when they get him to
Grand Turk he calls me up and
says, Eli, Leo, how's Helen|
Helen's my wife and she's had
some back trouble. Imagine the
guy doing that"
Mr.. De Orsey also plays golf.
He shoots in the 80s and uses
a two-iron off the tee.
His reputation as a brilliant
tax lawyer-accountant may
have started back in Holly
wood in the 1940s. A big name
wanted to incorporate his yacht
as q tax dodge. His consultant
was Mr.. De Orsey, who said no.
They had an argument. Mr.. De
Orsey sent the big name back
his $4,000 check. No one in
Hollywood had ever heard Of
such a thing and began getting
In touch with Mr.. De Orsey.
He Isn't Vetoed
when I take on a Client" he
said recently, 81 tell them I
make the decisions. If they
want to make decisions, If they
want to veto. then I tell them
they don't need me-"
He is of French Canadian
descent, the son Of a mill work.
er. He grew up in "a jerk-water
town." Northbridge, Mass.
He was always the best in his
class in mathematics. It came
fast and naturally to him. To-
day there are those who say an
adding machine gets in his way.
He played semi-pro baseball
as q kid and his mother would
drop around at the end of the
game to pick up the pay. He
once hit $40 with his high
school team.