Dinner at the premiere for Showtime's "Homeland" aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Susan Sawyers for NYSD: It's been a long time since the physician/scientist/husband and I were invited to a Hollywood-party but Friday night's premiere for Showtime's "Homeland" was worth the wait. The party aboard midtown Manhattan's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, with the sun setting over the Hudson when we arrived and a twinkling City skyline to the East when we left, was unlike anything we've encountered before. Our friends, Lauren White and Homeland Executive Producer and Writer Alex Gansa, were here for the celebration and added us to their guest list. An hour of photographers ogling the stars and some real military stripes who walked the red carpet prior to the screening did not disappoint. Actors Claire Danes, Damien Lewis and Mandy Pantinkin were all on board along with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, Designer Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti.

The Showtime network's award winning series about terrorism is currently President Obama's favorite TV show. Not surprising, this is the story of American war hero, Nicholas "Brody" played by Damien Lewis, who may make a bid for elected office, and a bi-polar CIA operative, Carrie Mathison, played by Claire Danes. There are messages about patriotism, culture and family with special attention paid to father/daughter relationships. The plot and characters are riveting and the people who are in charge, kept Friday's celebration classy. Just before the season's opener hit the screen, an executive's acknowledgement to the memory of September 11, with a special nod to the victims and first responders, brought a standing ovation from a seated audience. As a gesture of goodwill and corporate beneficence, he announced the network's contributions to the Wounded Warrior Project and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Showtime's Matt Blank and David Nevins, Time Warner Cables Robert Marcus, Jeffrey Hirsch and Glenn Britt were all on board for the announcements.

"Homeland" themed Cupcakes by Melissa

Following the screening, the crowd moved upstairs to the flight deck to watch fireworks over the Hudson while the Homeland script scrolled on the side of the Space Shuttle Pavilion. Among the celebrants were actors Morena Baccarin (Jessica Brody), Navid Negahban (Abu Nazir), Diego Klattenhoff (Mike Faber), David Harewood (David Estes), David Marciano (Virgil), Morgan Saylor (Dana Brody), Amy Hargreaves (Maggie Mathison), and Zuleikha Robinson (Roya Hammad). Writers Howard Gordon, Meredith Stiehm, Director Michael Cuesta, and Composer Sean Callery were also on on the scene. Artfully designed "Homeland" themed Cupcakes by Melissa spelled out "Enjoy Homeland Better." With the adrenaline and sugar rush, it would be hard not to have a good time. Whereas most reporters asked the actors and writers about plot twists and turns, I wondered if any of the creators ever considered working for covert agencies. Turns out, Writer Alex Gansa met with the CIA when he was in college. "I wore a trench coat," Gansa told me. "They were not amused." As my husband, Charles, and I left the party, a man wearing a dark suit and a wire in his ear walked in front of us. We spotted three people who were stuck in an inoperative glass elevator. I think one of them was wearing a trenchcoat.

Claire Danes and Anna Wintour

Damien Lewis and Helen McCrory

Giancarlo Giammetti, Morena Baccarin, Claire Danes, and Valentino

Sean Calley

Isiah Whitlock Jr

Morgan Saylor

Jazmin Grimaldi

James Purefoy and Zuleikha Robinson

Bruce Weber and Nan Bush

Katie Lee

Jennifer Missoni

David Zinczenko and Melissa Milne

Rosanna Scotto and Jenna Scotto

Julie Chen and Leslie Moonves

Archie Panjabi

Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl

Amy Hargreaves and David Harewood

US Navy service members

Patti Lupone

Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Montego Glover, Mandy Patinkin, and Kathryn Grody

Diego Klattenhoff, Morena Baccarin, and Valentino

David Nevins, Alex Gansa, and Howard Gordon

David Marciano

Stephanie March

Dan Abrams

Dana Walden and Gary Newman

Judy Licht and Jerry Della Femina

Katrina Bowden

Dania Ramirez and Jessica White

Minnie Mortimer

Benjamin Walker and Stark Sands

Richard Kind

Despite the threat of thunderstorms and a tornado watch, the Southampton Historical Museum Last Summer Party went off without a hitch and scores of Southamptonites turned out to share a delightful evening on the lawn of the historic Rogers Mansion built in 1843. The closing event of the season, the party brings together an interesting mix of  the summer colony and the old families for whom many of the streets are named - like Halsey, Herrick, Bishop, Hattrick, Nugent and Corrrigan. Executive Director Tom Edmonds and Board President Gerri MacWhinnie  as well as, a number of Trustees including Nancy McGann, Sandra Walser and Marge Sullivan were on hand to greet the guests who crowded around the overflowing buffet table filled with delectable hors d'oeuvres from Schmidt's Market. Cocktails were served in the barn, one of the many historic buildings on the property which also features the oldest one-room schoolhouse in Southampton.

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on the grounds of the Rogers Mansion

Hilary Woodward gave a private tour of the special exhibition she created “Escape to the Bay: Family Camps in Southampton,” which tells the story of how local families enjoyed their leisure time at the bay in their own rustic summer “cottages ” on Peconic Bay. Woodward collected photographs, objects and reminiscences that recall days of swimming, boating, clamming and feasting with family and friends — away from the pressures of daily life in the Village.  Ms. Woodward (nee Herrick) remembered with great fondness "Whalebone" the family camp built by her grandfather and "The Tower" constructed by the ancestors of current Congressman Tim Bishop. Acclaimed Plein Air Peconic painter Eileen Dawn Skretch was also on hand for an exhibition of her paintings that capture the serene beauty of the East End landscape.

Wyndanch Early Morning, 30x36, Oil on wood by Eileen Dawn Skretch

The end of summer celebration was a perfect opportunity to make new friends, see familiar faces and make plans for fall while supporting the Museum's education programs. While it may be the last party of summer, the Southampton Historical Museum is preparing for its annual celebration of life in  19th century Southampton with a Harvest Day Fair featuring a variety of activities that hark back to a simpler, hands on era where everyone, children and adults, pitched in to make an income for the family and to make a sustainable home life.

Oldest one room schoolhouse in Southampton

The event will have costumed trade and craft people demonstrating decoy carving, beekeeping, blacksmithing, candle making, basketry and many more traditional skills. In addition A special feature will be a silhouette artist cutting portraits and Civil War re-enactors making camp, rifle shooting and parading. New for this year’s event will be the reenactment of the 1850 marriage of Captain George White and Elizabeth Fordam. Captain White was a whaling captain who, after success in the gold rush of “49,” came home to marry his sweetheart. The wedding begins with the bride getting dressed (for girls only), a promenade to the ceremony, a reception with dancing, music, and cake, and finally the throwing the bouquet.

Dede Gotthelf Moan and Tom Edmonds

Sandra Walser and Stan Glinka

Mildred C. Brinn, Edward Callaghan, and Kay Gilman

Peter Hallock and Marge Sullivan

Katherine and Gary Andreassen

Author and architectural historian Gary Lawrance and portrait artist Zita Davisson

Bill and Laura Masterson

Jim and Maryann Nugent with Bob Wines

Zachary and Oxana Crawfford

Maryann Horwath and Michael Shaheen

Marie Glinka, Mary Welker, and Kathleen Glinka

Southampton Trustee Nancy McGann and artist Eileen Dawn Skretch

Barbara and Harry Hackett, Jr.

Michael Figliolia, Francesca Dricot, Amleto Mazza, and Denise Pavilonis

Board President Gerri MacWhinnie and Jean Shafiroff

Gregory D'Elia and Noel Herrick

Stephanie Abrahams, Kerry MacWhinnie, and Gerrie MacWhinnie

Stewart F. Lane, Bonnie Comley and Jack Lenor Larsen hosted a private reception on Saturday September 1st for a small group of invited guests to benefit The LongHouse Reserve. Mr. Larsen is one of the world's most accomplished textile designers, and one of the most innovative and influential in the second half of the 20th century. His travels around the globe have been incorporated into the thousands of fabric patterns he designed and then seen in houses and offices of celebrities, royalty and the average American home. The party was a mix of fashion, TV and theatre industry leaders. Attendees included: RKO's Ted Hartley, Lionsgate VP Rand Stoll, The View's Susan Soloman, HBO's Nancy Geller, PBS producer Ellen Krass, Screenvision's VP Darryl Schaffer, among others. Lauren Day Roberts, Sara Herbert Galloway, and Jack Larsen Jack Lenor Larsen's home, LongHouse, located on 16 acres in East Hampton, NY, was built as a case study to exemplify a creative approach to contemporary life. He founded The LongHouse Reserve, part museum, study and education center on the grounds of his home. Through its arboretum, sculpture gardens, and educational programs, LongHouse brings together art and nature, aesthetics and spirit, with a strong conviction that the arts are central to living wholly and creatively. Dedicated to quality and integrity, LongHouse programs encourage a broad concept of learning. LongHouse contains 13,000 square feet, 18 spaces on four levels. The gardens present the designed landscape as an art form and offer a diversity of sites for the sculpture installations. This summer the collection of art titled "Art in the Gardens" is an exhibition with pieces by sculptors including: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Howard Ben Tré, Alfonso Ossorio, Lynda Benglis, Claus Bury, Bryan Hunt, Pavel Opocensky, Dale Chihuly, Eric Fischl, Willem de Kooning, Grace Knowlton, Sol LeWitt, Daniel Libeskind, Izumi Masatoshi, Costantino Nivola, Ricardo Regazzoni, Mia Westerlund-Roosen, Toshiko Takaezu, Nuzuma Minoru, Yoko Ono, George Rickey, Barbara Shawcroft, Takashi Soga, Tony Rosenthal, Peter Voulkos and Shin Shang-Ho. For more information on The LongHouse Reserve see: www.longhouse.org [1].

Frankie Lane, Susan Solomon,Jodi Stuart,Ellen Krass, Sara Herbert Galloway, Stewart Lane, Bonnie Comley, Daryl Schaefer, Nancy Geller, and Lauren Day

Peter Olsen, Bonnie Comley, and Stewart Lane

Leah Lane and Ted Hartley

Leah Lane and Bonnie Comley

Leah Lane

Fiona and Jeff Slonem

Barbara Graham, Joe Troiano, and Palma Kolansky

Melissa Cohn, Robert Epstein, Debra Halpert, and Jack Larsen

Virginia and James Comley

Susan Solomon and Nancy Geller

Daryl Schaefer, Jodi Stuart, Margie Steinman, Ellen Krass, and Bonnie Comley

Palma Kolansky. and Joe Troiano

Antonella Bertello, Bob Rosen, and Melissa Cohn

Daryl Schaefer, Ted Hartley, Ellen Krass, and Margie Steinman

Angela Samii, Siamak Samii, Lauren Roberts, and Bonnie Comley

Bonnie Comley, Sara Herbert Galloway, Debra Halpert, and Lee Fryd

2012 Eleanor Roosevelt-Val Kill Medalists Peter and Jennifer Buffett, "first woman of Wall Street" Muriel Siebert, and New York State Assemblyman Joel Miller attended the kick-off celebration to honor the 2012 Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medalists. They were joined by ERVK patrons and Honorary Committee Members David and Manuela Roosevelt, Lisa Anastos, Meera Gandhi and Margo Feiden, founder of the Margo Feiden Galleries and the Al Hirschfeld Museum, where the reception was held along with a private exhibition of Al Hirschfeld drawings of previous medal recipients. The Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal is given annually to individuals and organizations of high ideals and courageous actions in their fields. It recognizes those who have made significant contributions to humanitarian efforts in their communities and around the world in areas that were the focus of Eleanor Roosevelt's life's work such as education, advocacy, social justice and human rights. This year, Eleanor Roosevelt Medals will be presented to Tina Brown, Peter and Jennifer Buffett, Sheila Johnson, Joel Miller, and Muriel Siebert.

The scene in the Margo Feiden Galleries historic Stanford White townhouse

The standing-room only crowd of over a hundred supporters squeezed into the Stanford White Townhouse grand room, ending the evening by joining noted cabaret pianist David Lewis in singing Broadway tunes! Eleanor and Al would have loved the evening. The 26th Eleanor Roosevelt-Val-Kill Medal Ceremony and Luncheon will take place in Hyde Park, New York on Sunday, October 14. To purchase tickets or to learn about the ERLC, please call 845.229.5302 or email medals26@ervk.org [2].

David Roosevelt, Kathleen Durham, and Manuela Roosevelt

Cristina Roosevelt

Janis Gardner Cecil

Amy Lau, Peter Rosenthal, and Laurie Dolphin

Margo Feiden and Muriel Siebert

Amy Rosi and Brittany Sellers

Jennifer and Peter Buffett

Jean Shafiroff, Leesa Rowland, R Couri Hay, Charles Cecil, Cassandra Seidenfeld, and Robert Grant

Maggie Norris and Ella Newman

Joel Miller

David Lewis

Newport was at its glorious best the during the last days of August. There were lunches, cocktail parties, dinners at the exclusive Clambake Club, sailing, golf, picnics and tennis. Bob Hardwick and his orchestra provided entertainment for many of these events. Maureen Donnell hosted a Coaching Weekend dinner for 200 featuring lobster and chicken under a large tent in the gardens of her magnificent estate, Ker Arvor. The dinner also celebrated her guest Doda Hamilton's birthday. Doda is a Dorrence of the Campbell soup fame from Philadelphia. Waiters with sparklers sang Happy Birthday and brought a big birthday cake to Doda's table.

Ker Arvor

Maureen Donnell with Jerry and Diana Slocum

Irene Aitken and Henry Lynn

Barbara Cates and Fern Tailer

Kenneth Naem and Jaime Manrique, Spanish painter

Lynda and David Lindh

Barbara Cates also celebrated her birthday dinner at Maureen Donnell's home along with her friend Fern Tailer. Barbara lives in New York City and Southampton and Fern, daughter of the late socialite golfer T. Suffern Tailer who was once married to a Gimbel, lives in Palm Beach. They were both house guests of Maureen Donnell.

Barbara Cates with Jim Mitchell and Fern Tailer

Dee Cushing, Fern Tailer, and Thomas Cushing

Jim Mitchell hosted a lunch at the New York Yacht Club which is located on a bluff overlooking Newport Harbor. Noreen Drexel and Donald Christ hosted a Clambake dinner at Bailey's Beach Club on Saturday night, September 1. The Clambake at Bailey's Beach Club on Labor Day weekend is one of the most glorious events of the summer season.

The New York Yacht Club, Newport, RI

Newport Harbor

Bailey's Beach, Newport, RI

Ruth Buchanan was at her magnificent estate Beaulieu on Bellevue Avenue. Ruth lives in Washington DC and Newport. Her late husband was Wiley Buchanan, who was Chief of Protocol and an Ambassador under President Eisenhower. Her daughter is Dede Wilsey of San Francisco and her grandsons are Todd and Trevor Traina of San Francisco.

Beaulieu, Ruth Buchanan's house on Bellevue Avenue

Alice Lynch was at her estate Horizons overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Oatsie Charles was at her cottage The Whim. Angela and Steven Kumble enjoyed their magnificent apartment at Bonniecrest. Seen in Newport were also Linda and David Lindh, Topsy Taylor, who hosts fun lunches on her private island, Nicole and Derek Limbocker, Irene Aitken, Ala and Ralph Isham (Ala is the daughter of the late Sunny Von Bülow), Helene and Archie Van Beuren, Jackie and Nick Drexel (Nick is Noreen Drexel's son and Jackie is the daughter of the late John Jacob Astor), Caterine Milinaire and Freddy Cushing (Caterine is the daughter of the late Duchess of Bedford), Louise Grosvenor, and Nancy and Alexander Von Auersperg.

Photographs by PatrickMcMullan.com [3] (Homeland); John Wegorzewski (SH Hospital).