10.31.11: Driving snow and winds came to town

Driving snow and winds came to town

The view into Central Park at 72nd Street and FIfth Avenue. Saturday, 2:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Monday, October 31, 2011. Driving snow and winds came to town on Saturday just as the weatherman said. It was fortunate that the storm came on a Saturday for all the obvious reasons.

From fair autumn weather in the days before, we were transformed into wintry wild. By late afternoon, the rain mixed in with the white stuff and washed much of it away and turned the rest into slush.

Saturday afternoon ...

Lucky for us New Yorkers because our neighbors to the west and northwest --- New Jersey and central and eastern Connecticut really got hit. Friends in Litchfield County reported 10 inches by early afternoon and by the end of the day thousands were without electricity, heat, water and telephone. For many, power won't be restored for another five to ten days.

The pre-winter weather came on the heels of a very busy week on the New York social schedule. Last Thursday night alone (when the rains and colder winds were moving in), there were glamorous doin's all over town.

The day after: East End Avenue at Carl Schurz Park.

Riverside Drive at 87th Street.

Early evening over at "21," Joan Rivers, having flown in that morning on the red-eye from Los Angeles was hosting book party for her friends (and former neighbors) Alan Shayne and Norman Sunshine, celebrating their new book Double Life; A Love Story – From Broadway to Hollywood (Magnus Books).


	Click to order Double Life.

Ms. Rivers arrived looking absolutely fresh and fabulous, natch, wearing Valentino. Even with cancellations (due to the weatherman's promise of a horrendous coming storm) more than 127 friends of the authors braved the elements.

About 7:00 Joan got up ("can we talk?") to tell her guests about the book. She told them how at first she dreaded reading the manuscript, and then couldn't put it down. She found herself schlepping it onto planes in a shopping bag, to all her gigs, relating her heartfelt take on Alan and Norman as two separate accomplished men.

Not to mention the tales they wove of life on Broadway and in Hollywood that feature the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Rock Hudson, Barbra Streisand, Laurence Olivier, Truman Capote, Bette Davis, Robert Redford, Lee Radziwill and on and on.

Of course the Rivers signature humor kicked in with everyone cracking up in uncontrollable laughter over some of those tales that intrigued and fascinated her. But when Joan ended, she was in tears. Everyone was enthralled.

After that Alan spoke about Joan's influence in their beginning the book, and what he and Norman hoped it might mean for younger gay men who can be so discouraged about building their lives. More applause. Then Norman talked about the lengthy process of getting the manuscript to publishers, the tough editing process, the magnificent rejections -- based only on fears of no market for it – until they found Don Weise, of Magnus Books.

Alan Shayne and Norman Sunshine.

Hoda Kotb, Tamsen Fadal, Alan Shayne, Joan Rivers, Norman Sunshine, Jane Hanson, and Eileen Fulton.

These are two very successful men who have been together for a half century, both with varied and substantial careers, writing alternating chapters on their lives separately and together.

I haven't read it yet but a mutual friend of theirs and mine who can be a tough critic no matter who is writing told me it was wonderful and that he couldn't put it down.

Another guest, one of their neighbors (in Litchfield County) told them that although she'd known them for years, she really had no idea who we really were until she read the book, which she totally loved and admired.

Jane Hanson, Joan Rivers, and Hoda Kotb.

Brian Scottt Lipton and John Michael Kennedy.

Aubrey Reuben, Xiuli Ment, and William Ivey Long.

Tampson Fabal, Matt Titus, and Amy Rosenblum.

At just about the same hour, up on East 57th Street and Sutton Place, Randy and Connie Jones had a small dinner feting their friend Marc Rosen and his new book Glamour Icons. Yanna Avis – whose upcoming cabaret evening at the Café Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie this November 17th is already sold out ; Barbara and Donald Tober, Christopher Mason, Ellery and Marjorie Reed Gordon, Ann Dexter Jones, Stephen Schaum each toasted the prolific and highly industrious fragrance packaging designer for his great taste and true understanding of "glamour."

In fact, host Randy pointed out that he even married it – referring to Marc's glamorous wife – Arlene Dahl.

Marc had just returned from London and Monte Carlo where there were celebrations for his book. On the day after Thanksgiving (November 25th), Frannie Scaife and Kathy Bleznak will celebrate Marc and his latest creation at a reception at Club Colette in Palm Beach, followed by a dinner given in his honor by Ann Downey at the Everglades.

Arlene Dahl and Marc Rosen, and his new book. Click to order.

Also last Thursday night, over at the Plaza The World Monuments Fund hosted its 2011 Hadrian Award Gala where they honored Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder with the 2011 Hadrian Award and Marcela Perez de Cuellar with its 2011 Watch Award.

The WMF is the world's leading private, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the world's architectural heritage. Since its founding in 1965, the WMF has worked with local communities and partners in more than 600 sites in 100 countries. Through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training, the organization helps to preserve important monuments, buildings and sites across the globe.


	Marcela Perez de Cuellar, Ronald Lauder, and Jo Carole Lauder, Honorees at the World Monuments Fund's 2011 Hadrian Awards dinner at the Plaza.

The Hadrian Award recognizes patronage that advances the appreciation and preservaton of the world's art and architecture. It was inspired by the Roman emperor Hadrian who concerned himself with the survival of outstanding works of art. Mr. and Mrs. Lauder both actively support the arts and civic causes. The Watch Award recognizes individual preservation advocacy and ativism. Sra. de Cuellar serves as President of World Monuments Peru which she launched last year.

Coincidentally, same night up at Sotheby's, The Blenheim Foundation its gala dinner to raise funds for the restoration of Blenheim Palace. The historic country seat of the dukes of Marlborough, the magnificent palace built in the early 18th century, originally the gift of a grateful nation and its Queen Anne to the first duke John Churchill, for his victory over Louis XIV in the battle of Blenheim (Bavaria) in the War of the Spanish Succession -- and his duchess, Blenheim is also the birthplace of their great-grandson (by a factor of nine) Winston Churchill.

Beginning its fourth century of existence, the enormous palace – which with courtyard covers about seven acres (three acres of rooftop) – is now a World Heritage Site that is open to the public for tours as well as private events, and requires constant renovation and refurbishing. Both the current duke – the 11th – and his father's first cousin Winston – have strong American and New York roots (the current duke's grandmother, nee Consuelo Vanderbilt and Winston's mother Jenny Jerome.

The cocktail reception at Sotheby's for The Blenheim Foundation's gala dinner.

The viewing ...

The dinner table.

The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the duke's daughter, Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill were in attendance, as was the Foundation's president who also chaired the dinner Hilary Geary Ross (who writes a Palm Beach Social Diary for NYSD in wintertime), as well as foundation trustees Peter Lyden, Freddie Melhado Jamie Niven (of Sotheby's), Wilbur Ross.

Gala committee members also present for the evening were: Mario Buatta, Mr. and Mrs. Roberto de Guardiola, Sir Evelyn and Lady de Rothschild, Emilia and Pepe Fanjul, Jamee and Peter Gregory, Audrey Gruss, Earl and Carol Mack, Mr. and Mrs John Paulson, Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill (the duke's brother), Sir David Tang, Deborah Norville and Karl Wellner, Virginia Melhado, Barbie Bancroft, Jeff and Liz Peek, Karen LeFrak, Mandy Ourisman and Ambassador Mary Ourisman, Sir Mark Weinberg, Daniel and Leslie Ziff, Ambassador John Loeb (who celebrated his 75th birthday at a celebration at Blenheim) and Sharon Handler, Alexandra Lebenthal, Patsy and Patrick Callahan, Mark Gilbertson, Galen Weston, Amanda Haynes-Dale, Luce Churchill (widow of Winston Churchill II), Kari and Carl Tiedemann, Wendy Vanderbilt, Muffy and Don Miller, Cece Cord, Janet and John Cafaro, Susan Gutfreund, Susan Lloyd, David Koch, Jackie and Rod Drake, Somers and Jonathan Farkas, John Mashek, Fred Koch, Blaine Trump and Steve Simon, Bettina Zilkha, Pauline Pitt and Jerry Seay, Ellen and Ian Graham, George Farias, Christine Schwarzman, Usha and Lakshmi Mittal.